It’s undeniable that what we do everyday has an impact on the world around us and what we do matters. As we reflect personally on ways we can impact change, we want to spark a conversation on ways we can make changes in the bridal industry. Making eco-conscious choices when you’re in the bridal industry is challenging, but not impossible. We love learning and sharing all the amazing resources people in our industry have.

Here are some small wedding dress related changes with hopefully big impacts:

Buy an off-the-rack floor sample

Buying an off the rack wedding dress is a great eco-friendly option; when you purchase an off the rack dress, you are choosing a garment that has already been manufactured, which means you are not contributing to the demand for new materials and production processes. This reduces the environmental impact associated with producing a new dress, such as water and energy usage, carbon emissions, and waste. Additionally, by choosing an existing dress, you are reducing the need for shipping and transportation, which further decreases the carbon footprint of your purchase. Plus, you can score a sweet discount! Who doesn’t like that?

Resell your dress after the wedding

Reselling or donating your wedding dress after your big day is another eco-friendly option. By doing so, you are extending the lifespan of the garment and preventing it from ending up in a landfill. In addition, reselling or donating your dress provides an opportunity for someone else to enjoy it, potentially reducing the demand for a new dress and minimizing the need for additional resources to produce a new one. This approach also promotes circularity in the fashion industry, as it enables the dress to be reused and recycled, creating a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly system.

Buy a dress from an eco-conscious designer

There are so many amazing eco-friendly designers that constantly work towards making bridal fashion sustainable, a couple of our favourites at S+B are:

Truvelle, Laudae and Aesling

This Canadian triplet of Truvelle, Laudae, and Aesling are designed and made in-house in Vancouver, BC studio. Made for modern and conscious brides; one of their goals is to have zero waste with gown production. They contribute to this by ensuring all gowns are made to order.

They reduce their carbon footprint by manufacturing all gowns locally and shipping in large batches. All fabrics are sourced ethically and even feature recycled polyester linings.

Just one of the many reasons we love this Canadian bridal house.

Catherine Deane

UK based Catherine Deane draws her inspiration from nature and wanderlust – so it’s no surprise that Catherine feels it’s her “duty to make a change and help keep our world beautiful so wanderers can keep wandering and dreamers can keep dreaming.”

They’re reached their goal as a company of being 40% eco, which includes all of their lining fabrics on the bridal collection being between 60% – 100% recycled yarns and specific eco developments on shell fabrics. Further to using eco-fibers, all packaging materials for garment bags are made from bio-degradable corn, which allows the bags to naturally disintegrate back into the eco system, once they are discarded. Catherine additionally uses hangtags which are made from recycled paper, creating a full circle approach to sustainable packaging materials.

Other noteworthy designers:

These designers all cut their carbon emissions by producing all their dresses locally:

• Adi Shlomo handmade in Israel
• Alyssa Kristin handmade in Chicago
• Carol Hannah + Deaheart handmade in New York
• Daaalrna Couture handmade in Hungary
• Gabrielle Atelier handmade in Israel
• Studio Levana handmade in Israel
• Tara LaTour handmade in Minneapolis