Stay Conscious, Dress Green!

According to the Bridal Association of America, more than 2.3 million couples get married in the US every year. That translates to A LOT of wedding dresses. Think of it - mountains and mountains of bleached white froof! It's only natural that brides are beginning to look beyond the froof for some sustainable dress options.

Now of course, not everyone wears white. And not everyone wears a gown. But no matter what is worn, it's still a lot of stuff consumed, much of it used once and then never again. What's a savvy eco-fabulous bride to do? Choose a green wedding dress of course!

Let's define our terms here: a green wedding dress (or eco-friendly wedding dress, or sustainable wedding dress) simply supports the earth and her people and makes the most of available resources. Like your budget. Sure, an eco wedding gown is better for the environment. But it's also just plain better. Better fabrics on your skin, better health in the wearing, better value in care. A green gown can be better for your pocketbook and better for your closet space, especially if you get a dress that you can wear again. Of course you could wear your mother's dress if she saved it (mine didn't). Or you could find something secondhand or online if you had the time and the patience to look. But what if you've dreamed of your perfect dress and you don't see it anywhere? Or what if you're really hard to fit? Or what if, ::gasp:: you simply love the idea of something made just for you and for no one else? Something that not only promoted your values but started its life with you on your Very Special Day? It's ok to admit it: this is not just any dress we're talking about.

Wedding Gowns courtesy of Conscious Elegance, Lori Del Genis in her studio, courtesy of Voices Newspaper

So, once you've decided to use sustainable materials, what are your fabric options? First look for natural fabrics, since their creation and care is less likely to pollute the earth than fossil-fuel processing does (have you ever smelled burned polyester?)

The most popular natural fabrics for wedding dresses include:

Hemp! One of the most popular eco-supportive fabrics around. It grows quickly and doesn't need chemical pesticides or fertilizers. In fact, it's often planted as a companion crop to help keep pests at bay. Downsides? Not many, though hemp fabric cannot currently be grown or milled in the US.

Silk is called "the queen of all fabrics", and has been around for centuries. Silk comes from the silkworm, which as part of its life-cycle spins a cocoon from a thread it creates. Though conventional silk is created by destroying the silkworms before they can emerge from their cocoons, kinder alternatives do exist. Silk can be spun without harm by waiting until the worm has exited before using the cocoon (often called "peace silk" or "tussah" or "wildcrafted" silk). Silk is also usually made in countries other than the US, so again, there's some carbon footprint involved.

Cotton: though conventional cotton is among the most heavily-pesticided crop in the world, organic cotton is well known for its versatility and comfort and lots of it is made right here in the USA. Cotton makes sweet eyelets and airy crisp organdies. Cotton also breathes like no petroleum-based fabric ever can.

Bamboo: beware here. Bamboo is indeed extremely beneficial to the environment. Like hemp, it's fast-growing and needs little help in cultivation. And the fibers are naturally snowy white, eliminating the need for bleaching. But unlike hemp, bamboo usually requires caustic chemicals to break down its fibers. Processing the bamboo in that way is *not* eco-supportive, no matter how it's promoted.

With the rise of green weddings, there's a whole lot of green-washing out there. Clothing companies will put out a dress made from some organic cotton and announce that they have an “eco-couture line”, then they'll still farm out the dressmaking to sweatshops
overseas. 

Here are a just a few questions you can ask to determine the real from the wash:

• Does the company pay close attention to the entire life-cycle of the products? Can they verify the origin of their fabrics? What sort of packaging do they use?
• Does the dressmaker offer third-party vetting? (are they approved of or certified by a recognized green organization?)
• Do the companies practice mindful stewardship of their resources? What do they do with the leftover scraps?
• Do they support their local communities and if so, how?