Green Beauty

Eco Friendly Wedding Dresses

A year ago eco friendly wedding dresses were almost impossible to find. It was a real challenge to locate any online eco wedding gown designers who use sustainable fabrics such as organic cotton, peace silk, hemp, or bamboo. However, an Internet search now turns up thousands of results.

It’s every girl’s dream — to walk down the aisle on her wedding day in the most luxurious gown ever designed. The entire experience entails not only the wedding day but trying on designer dresses from high-end bridal couture shops. Even if she cannot afford a $10,000 hand-beaded Italian silk gown, she tries it on anyway and loves every minute of spinning on the pedestal in front of the three-way mirror.

It might be her dream dress, but she knows it will give her nightmares, because she knows how she will feel not wearing an eco friendly dress on her wedding day.

By using as many eco friendly options as possible, she had worked to make sure every detail of both the ceremony and reception reflected her commitment to preserving the environment. It wasn’t the money as much as the potential damage a new pearl-studded dress could do to the environment.

The bride-to-be began scouring the local thrift stores as well as the online auctions and bargain column in her local newspaper. Of course, the dress would not be listed under the eco friendly wedding dresses category.

Nonetheless, by virtue of being a previously worn item, the gown qualifies as eco friendly. The dress need not be a brand new item made from a sustainable fabric like peace silk or bamboo. Vintage clothing is by its very secondhand quality considered eco friendly clothing.

Therefore, if you want to walk down the aisle in your mother’s or grandmother’s or any favorite aunt’s or female relative’s wedding dress, you would be wearing an eco friendly dress. Think of the special memories you will make because you wore an heirloom or borrowed gown.

Plus, you will not be harming the environment, since the production processes that many clothing manufacturers employ are not environmentally safe. When dying fabrics, they often use chemicals, which produce waste and contribute to air or water pollution.

It is seldom that a mother or grandmother has preserved her wedding dress for use by the next generation. Therefore, if you do not have an heirloom dress available to you, beautiful eco friendly wedding dresses can be found at consignment shops.

The dress you find may be perfect in every way except it does not have the glitz and glamour you had always imagined. However, sacrificing this detail out of your respect for the earth demonstrates to others that you are committed to protecting the environment.

If your dress was passed down from another generation, be sure to let your guests know it is an eco friendly wedding dress. Maybe tastefully print the information in the program.

Whether a vintage wedding gown handed down from grandmother to granddaughter or a second generation dress passed from mother to daughter, eco friendly wedding dresses are a wonderful way to save money and the environment while making special wedding day memories.

Eco Friendly Jewelry Also Protects Human Rights

Ten years ago, if you had asked a jewelry store owner to show you some green earrings or a green necklace, you can be sure the pieces would not have been eco friendly jewelry. Most likely he would have shown you some beautiful jewelry made of diamonds and emeralds or possibly an exquisite matching jade bracelet, necklace, and earrings set.

Today, green does not refer to the color of precious gems or stones but to an earth-friendly approach to living. The responsible twenty-first century jewelry shopper also concerned with protecting the environment expects her jeweler to converse about fair trade gold and conflict-free diamonds while showing her various jewelry items made with materials mined in an earth-conscious manner.

While the green movement concentrates on protecting the water, plants, and animals affected by environmental policies, fair trade gold and conflict-free diamonds focus on protecting human rights and the environment.

Conflict-free diamonds, also called conflict or blood diamonds, are diamonds mined in a country where the diamond industry funds militia groups with profits from the mines. Militia groups in places like the Congo, Sierra Leone, and Angola war over control of the mines during which civilians are often injured or killed in the crossfire.

Conflict-free diamonds are certified by various programs. The Conflict-Free Diamond Council does not certify diamonds, but through their Diamond Audit Program they direct consumers to certification programs the organization has rigorously rated.

Fair trade gold, on the other hand, is certified through one specific organization, the Fairtrade Foundation, that places a Fair Mark stamp on gold extracted by a miner who has received fair compensation while also protecting the environment.

Like the people who mine blood diamonds, gold miners also live in poor countries where wealthy mine owners often exploit the poor by working them hard and paying them very little. The purpose of fair trade gold is to reduce poverty while focusing on sustainability in places like Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Bolivia.

The amount of attention the green movement has placed on protecting the earth has prompted both fine jewelry and costume jewelry buyers to seek eco friendly jewelry. These green accessories are also referred to as ethically produced jewelry or peace jewelry, and appropriately named because of the fair trade gold and conflict-free precious stones used.

Regardless of what you call eco friendly jewelry, purchasing new necklaces, rings, bracelets, or broaches and the like, is not necessary in order to acquire earth-friendly bling. Antique or vintage jewelry items, which do not require using new precious metals or gemstones, can be found at estate sales and are unique additions to an eco friendly jewelry collection.

When you think of recycling, you may envision aluminum cans and glass bottles. However, many artisans concerned with protecting the environment are no longer using traditional materials to make jewelry. They are designing exquisite eco friendly jewelry by melting down unwanted rings, bracelets, and necklaces for raw materials.

Your own jewelry box may hold some green jewelry, too, if you take several old pieces you no longer wear to a jewelry designer to melt down and fashion a new piece of eco friendly jewelry that you create.

Ecco Bella Natural Organic Makeup

I recently came across some natural organic makeup that I really love. The makeup line Ecco Bella offers everything from face wash and moisturizer, to lip gloss, eye shadow, foundation, and more.

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The Gorgeously Green Diet

Review

“Loaded with easy to implement strategies that will help you look good, feel good, and do good for the planet – simultaneously.”-Christiane Northrup, MD
–This text refers to the

Hardcover
edition.

From the New York Times bestselling author, a 30-day plan to a leaner body In the follow-up book to her bestselling Gorgeously Green, Sophie Uliano reveals the secrets to getting slim while being good to the planet . It turns out that eating local, orga (more…)

Natural Skin Care Products by Burt’s Bees

I’m sort of like a broken record…but in case you haven’t read it before, I’m glad to say it again. There’s a really good reason why I’m using, and preaching about, natural skin care products.

The skin care industry is not regulated by any agency. Broken down into simple terms, what the means is that the companies that make lotions, make up, lip balm, etc. can put pretty much whatever they want in their products and it doesn’t really matter if it’s harmful or not. Unfortunately, many skin care manufacturers do exactly that. Since no one is regulating what companies are putting into the products we use on our skin – it’s up to us to make sure we choose natural skin care products.

Now, I’m not one to overreact about health risks, I’m really not. And I’m well aware that there are many, many products that are far more dangerous than skin care products. That said, I think it’s absurd that we, meaning consumers, choose to support companies that engage in unsafe practices – even if they are only marginally unsafe.

In that vein, I’ve been making a choice to pay attention to who I buy products from. I want to know what’s in the things that I’m using on myself and my family. I want to support companies that are making an effort to do what’s right. I hope that others feel the same way. When we choose to support the companies that do the right thing – we force other companies to either get out of business or follow suit.

One of my favorite responsible companies when it comes to natural skin care products is Burt’s Bees. They state exactly what ingredients they are using in each of their products. According to the companies website, half of their products are 100% natural, and they are working to making every product they offer completely natural. They are a socially responsible company that has also managed to create high-quality products at an extremely fair price. I’ve used lots of their stuff and I love it all.

If you’d like to try some great natural skin care products and don’t know where to start, pick up some of their starter packs to see what you like. A few of my favorites are the Radiance Healthy Glow Kit and the Hand Repair Kit.

The Hand Repair Kit comes with shea butter hand repair creme, beeswax and banana hand creme, lemon butter cuticle creme, an instruction booklet, and really cute gloves.

The Radiance Healthy Glow Kit comes with a body bar, exfoliating body wash, body lotion, day creme, night creme, eye creme, and lip shimmer. With the exception of the lip shimmer, all of the products are trial-sized, so for a great price, you can try a small amount of each product to make sure that you like it.

When it comes time to purchase new lotion, soap, or other personal care products – make sure to give the natural skin care products by Burt’s Bees a try.

Burt's Bees Hand Repair Kit

Burt's Bees Natural Radiance Kit