wedding

Fair Trade Wedding: Cake

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This post is the fourth in a series about fair trade weddings. Read the previous posts on bridal gowns, bridesmaids’ dresses, and attire for the groom and groomsmen.

Fair trade wedding cake

The cake (or more recently, cupcakes) is a major focal point of most wedding receptions. No matter what dessert you offer, you can substitute traditional ingredients for fair trade alternatives to create a more ethical end to the meal. Fair trade ingredients are free from child labor, which is a major problem in the cocoa industry, and forced labor, which is prevalent in many agricultural regions around the world. Workers on fair trade plantations are paid and treated fairly, working conditions are safe, and better environmental practices are followed. On the day of your joyous celebration, you definitely don’t want abuse and slavery to leave a bad taste in your mouth. So choose fair trade instead!

Communicate with the person baking your cake that fair trade ingredients are important to you, and see if they are flexible about making substitutions. You may have to provide some assistance about where to purchase fair trade baking ingredients. Natural food stores and large chain groceries carry some fair trade supplies, and many more are available online. Here is a list of sources you can provide to your baker, as well as use for stocking your own kitchen:

If you plan to serve coffee with dessert, ask about making that fair trade as well.

Depending on the venue, your amount of influence over the food served at your wedding may be limited. If your venue has a required caterer or baker, talk to them about the possibility of implementing the above ideas. You never know until you ask!

Have you attempted fair trade baking at home? Are you Team Cake or Team Cupcakes for weddings? Share in the comments!

Fair Trade Wedding: Groom & Groomsmen

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This post is the third in a series about fair trade weddings. Read the previous posts on bridal gowns and bridesmaids’ dresses.

Men’s wedding attire is at once simpler and more complicated than women’s. Their uniform is a little more strict, so your options are limited from the start, but retailers of fair trade men’s clothing are also more limited. My first recommendation, as it was with bridesmaids’ dresses, is to start with what the guys already own. See if each groomsman already has a nice button-down shirt and dress slacks—if they have them in the right colors, score! If not, here are a few sources for ethical dress clothes for men:

Ethical Groomsmen's Attire

1: Hector Chambray Jacket in Gray from People Tree (fair trade)
2: Pink Herringbone Shirt from Arthur & Henry (fair trade)
3: Oxford Long Sleeve Shirt from The Union Shop (union-made in USA)
4: Applause Polyester Plain Front Tuxedo Trousers from DeMoulin (made in USA)

I have not yet found a manufacturer of fair trade or union-made full suits for men. Hopefully as the ethical consumerism movement grows, some company will fill this gap in the market (and the gap in the ethical men’s clothing market in general). For now, reusing and recycling existing suits seems to be the most ethical option, either by renting or buying used.

If you want to purchase used men’s formalwear, Tradesy has a section dedicated to grooms and groomsmen. It may be harder to find multiple matching items here, but it’s definitely a great resource for the groom. You can also try your luck at local thrift stores.

Fair Trade Groomsmen's Gifts

1: Handmade Silk Ties from Global Goods Partners (fair trade)
2: Silk Bow Tie from Celia Grace (fair trade)
3: Ethletic Cranberry Red Low-top Sneakers from Autonomie Project (fair trade)

The groomsmen’s gift is an opportunity to have fun and be creative. My brother-in-law gave each of his groomsmen a pair of Converse sneakers to wear at the reception. I thought this was a fun yet practical gift, and it would be easy to do ethically: Ethletic sneakers are fair trade and eco-friendly, plus they come in several colors. Another gift idea is matching ties for the ceremony. Like with jewelry for the bridesmaids, this is a great way to bring some unity to the wedding party if they’re not wearing totally matching outfits. And if you have hipster groomsmen? Celia Grace has fair trade bow ties.

What creative groomsmen’s gifts have you seen? Isn’t it about time some ethical company started making nice clothes for men? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Fair Trade Wedding: Bridesmaids

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This post is the second in a series about fair trade weddings. Check out the first post about ethical wedding dresses.

The bride’s dress is undoubtedly the sartorial focal point of any wedding, but she’s not the only gal who gets gussied up for the big day. Bridesmaids often have specific dresses, jewelry and even shoes, presenting a host of options for ethical outfitting. And don’t forget that members of the wedding party are traditionally given gifts as well. Let’s explore some ways to incorporate fair trade values into bridesmaids’ gear.

The most ethical option for bridesmaids’ dresses is to have the ladies wear something they already own. The benefits are multiple: there’s no stress of finding a style that looks good on everyone, it eliminates one of the major expenses of being a bridesmaid, and it’s reusing and recycling at its most basic! Take a look inside each maid’s closet and see if they have dresses that coordinate with each other. Thankfully the trend nowadays leans much more toward an eclectic ensemble than identical taffeta uniforms—take advantage by having bridesmaids wear sundresses with varying floral patterns, or even different colors altogether.

Fair Trade Bridesmaids' Dresses

If the maids’ existing dresses aren’t an option, Mata Traders has a lot of fun styles that would work well for bridesmaids. People Tree’s dresses are both wedding-appropriate and cutely trendy. (They have their fall dresses out now, but visit their sale section for summer wedding inspiration.) And if more traditional matching dresses are your thing, try Olivia Luca for custom dresses made out of fair trade fabric.

1: Jin Ju Ruffle dress in pink & blue – Mata Traders
2: Kara Embroidered Fitted Dress – People Tree
3: Custom orange and white dress – Olivia Luca

One thing to keep in mind if you’re having bridesmaids purchase new dresses is re-wear potential. Are your friends going to have occasion to wear a shiny, floor-length gown again? If not, try to choose a style that will have a longer, more useful life. A wedding doesn’t have to be a warrant for disposable fashion—any of the styles shown above would work just as well for attending a wedding as a guest or sipping cocktails at a fundraiser.

For shoes, the first choice again should be shoes the ladies already own. If new shoes are a necessity, go American-made with Oka B. or American Apparel, or benefit women in Uganda with Sseko sandals.

A traditional gift for bridesmaids is jewelry for them to wear during the ceremony. This is one way to bring some cohesion to the group if each woman is wearing a unique dress, or you can personalize the gift to the style of each individual bridesmaid. There are tons of sources for beautiful fair trade jewelry. Here are items from some of my favorite shops that would work well for bridesmaids:

Fair Trade Bridesmaids' Jewelry

1: Grace Knots Bracelet – Ten Thousand Villages
2: Connected Hoop Earrings – Mata Traders
3: Sterling Silver Rippled Links Pendant Necklace – Greenheart Shop

What do you think about non-matching bridesmaids? Have you ever gotten stuck with a bridesmaid’s dress you’ll never wear again? Share in the comments!

Fair Trade Wedding: The Dress

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I went to two weddings last month, which naturally left me dreaming about what I want to do for my own (hypothetical) wedding. That includes thinking about how to do everything as ethically as possible. Since I use a certain set of fair trade principles to guide my everyday shopping, I figure it’s even more important to follow them for the biggest, most extravagant party I’ll probably ever throw.

This post is the first in a series about all aspects of a fair trade wedding. We’re starting with arguably the biggest decision every bride has to make: what to wear! Thankfully for the socially-conscious bride-to-be, there are many options for making your wedding dress match your values.

Celia-Grace-Wedding-Dress-Rosa

“The Rosa” by Celia Grace

Fair Trade

Celia Grace offers wedding dresses that are “hand made by women’s cooperatives, Fair Trade producers, and refugees rebuilding their lives in the United States.” They use natural silk fabrics, mostly hand-woven on traditional looms, and provide safe and fair working conditions to their seamstresses. And they’re a member of the Fair Trade Federation. I kind of want to buy one right now and save it for the future—except I also want to see what new gorgeous designs they come out with in the meantime. Here’s how I would wear their tea length dress:

Wedding dress style board1: Celia Grace tea length dress
2: Teardrop Pearl Pendant – Ten Thousand Villages
3: Mughal Gems Cuff Bracelet – Ten Thousand Villages
4: Sseko sandals – They’re available in white, but a pop of color would be fun too!

 

Olivia-Luca

Dresses by Olivia Luca

Custom-Made

Olivia Luca is a design-your-own custom dress boutique, which you could use for your wedding gown or for bridesmaids dresses. They offer some fair trade or organic fabric options and all dresses are sewn in their design studio in Portland, Ore. They pay living wages and provide a safe, clean work environment.

Conscious Elegance is another option for a custom-made dress. This small sweatshop-free company creates gowns to order using eco-friendly materials.

Vintage

A used or vintage dress can also be a great solution, giving an old dress a new life. (Plus, that’s your “something old” taken care of!) Tradesy, a large online resale shop, has a wedding section that includes gowns plus accessories and men’s formalwear. Check your local antique mall for wedding dresses, and don’t forget to look close to home—your mom’s or grandmother’s dress might fit perfectly with just a few alterations and updates.

Handmade

Etsy offers wedding dresses, but search carefully. A lot of the items under “wedding dress” appear to be factory-made imports, so be sure to sift through and find the truly vintage and handmade listings. Alternately, you could have a local seamstress create a handmade dress using sustainable fabric like organic cotton.

Would you consider skipping the traditional wedding dress shop to find an ethical wedding dress? If you’re married, how did you find your dress? Let us know in the comments!