Searching for your wedding gown is one of the most exciting tasks on your wedding planning list. And for you, finding the perfect gown and bridesmaid dresses will also include consideration of environmental and social issues. But this doesn’t mean that your search will be more difficult...

In fact, by limiting your scope you free yourself from the hours of searching through hundreds of wedding dresses on countless wedding websites that many brides-to-be are compelled to engage in.

Even if you aren’t among that group of women who have fantasized about their wedding dress since they were little girls, you may suddenly feel a sense of urgency about finding “the” gown that will ensure your radiant glow on your wedding day. You’ll also want your bridesmaids to look lovely and feel good about their appearance as they stand beside you.

So, where do you start to find the beautiful gown that you're seeking for your most special of days? There are a couple of basic approaches to being environmentally, socially, and stylishly responsible in your wedding dress search. One is to select new garments made of eco-friendly fabrics, constructed in sweatshop-free factories or home-sewn. The other is to choose beautifully unique items that have been previously worn.

New Gowns

Finding a new gown made of earth friendly hemp and other natural fibers isn't as difficult as it may seem. We've tracked down a few online companies with offerings that we hope will work for you!

Our favorite find is Conscious Clothing, which offers a line of stylish hemp/silk wedding gowns available over the Internet and at their design studio in Santa Fe. They also sell lovely eco-friendly dresses for bridesmaids and flower girls.

Founder and head designer Crystal Miller began the company about eight years ago with a successful line of women’s casual ready-to-wear clothing. Miller sold her garments through major retail outlets, and during the summers also traveled to various hemp festivals around the country. She made the transition to designing wedding gowns after a festival where nine or ten women approached her asking for hemp bridal wear. The next year she came back with a sample gown and left with several orders.

Since the company’s beginning, Miller has held to the principle of being “as conscious as you can be every step of the way.” She uses only the “cleanest” fabrics – environmentally sound hemp/silk and hemp/Tencel blends - and sewing is done locally. A limited number of hand embroidered bodices are available for the “Chiapas Gown,” obtained from a women’s handcraft cooperative in Mexico that a friend of Miller helped to organize.

Miller recognizes that there is a “huge explosion in green living in general,” and this contributes to the growing interest in environmentally friendly wedding gowns. She says that her clientele is expanding, from the young “hippie brides” to older brides who may be planning their second weddings.

So what is a hemp gown really like? Can it truly be elegant? Miller assures that the hemp blends can be used in just about any style that a bride may wish to create. While the hemp/silk satins tend to work best for drapey bias cut gowns, they can also be interfaced or boned to lend body to a gown. Miller notes that hemp/silk satin gives off a soft reflective light and creates a glow unlike that of synthetic satins. A jacquard with a floral pattern woven into it doesn’t have as soft a drape. You can see it used in the sleeve detail of Conscious Clothing’s Princess Gown.

What about trims, linings, and embellishments? Conscious Clothing uses 100% silk lining and organic lace trims. They will also incorporate vintage or personally significant fabrics, lace, beads, and other trims into custom designs.

Orders from custom requests and the company’s standard offerings are about 50/50, and around 75% of business comes via the Internet. Local customers may visit the design studio in Santa Fe – and most who do are intrigued by the environment of the “working studio” where they can see the creation process unfold before their eyes.

Getting accurate fit when buying a gown over the Internet may seem scary to some, since a personal fitting isn’t possible. Conscious Clothing addresses this by offering a muslin shell at a moderate price, stitched up for a bride to test for fit. Some brides order the mock-up in two sizes, then order the gown in the size closest to the ideal fit. They may then choose to work with a local seamstress to alter the gown to a perfect fit.

Conscious Clothing has plans to expand their offerings to a (much needed!) mother of the bride line, as well as prom dresses and other formal wear.

Some other good sources of hemp/silk bridal wear are Venus Hemp Organics, Threadhead Creations, and Wholly Jo's Threads of Life. In addition to the designs shown on their websites, they also offer to work with brides to create custom designed gowns.

For more casual weddings, dresses made of 100% hemp fabric may be just what you're looking for. This fabric has a more natural finish than the hemp/silk blends, and is especially well suited to outdoor weddings.

Check out some styles we've found that may work for your wedding gown or for your attendants' dresses at Hemp Solution, Downbound, and Rawganique. The dresses shown at left are designed and manufactured sweatshop-free by Ecolution, using organic hemp. They do not contain silk or any other animal products, so they are suitable for vegan weddings.

A word to the wise: the white and lighter colored dresses made of the 100% hemp fabric may require underlining to prevent see-through.

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Stitch It Up

If you, your mom, your uncle, or some other wonderful person in your life can sew - creating your own unique dress may be a great option for you. If you don't know anyone with the time or the talent to do it, you may be able to find a seamstress in your area who can whip up the one-of-a-kind dress that you've designed.

There are lots of attractive bridal gown patterns available that may be sewn exactly as designed or customized by a skilled seamstress to create a truly one-of-a-kind creation. Bias cut skirts and draped designs work especially well in the hemp/silk blends.
 

Now, you may be wondering where you can buy hemp fabric. It's unlikely that you'll find hemp or hemp/silk blends at your local fabric store. It just isn't readily available at present, possibly due to some confusion about what hemp cloth is actually made from. Industrial hemp, the plant from which hemp fabric is made, is an environmentally friendly plant cultivated for its long, strong, and durable fibers - it is not marijuana! Due to misconceptions about its relationship to marijuana (it's a distant cousin), cultivation of industrial hemp is illegal in the United States. Most hemp used in American products is grown legally in Canada and Europe. Happily, there are several online retailers that sell hemp fabrics by the yard in retail quantities. Most will send you fabric samples so that you can see and feel for yourself what the various weights and weaves are like. In addition to the natural off-white color, hemp/silk charmeuse and satin are generally available in a limited selection of colors including pink, light blue, and black. 100% silk fabric is also a good option, and is much easier to find in fabric stores. It comes in various weights and weaves, including satin, charmeuse, chiffon, and dupioni. You'll find vibrant colors in the silks. The Aurora Silk Co. sells a fabric called "peace silk" which they say is suitable for vegans because the cocoons are gathered after the moths emerge. For linings and trims, you may wish to use silk or organic cotton. Several of the online retailers listed at right carry these in their natural fabric lines. Return to top		Sustainable Fabric Sources Aurora Silk www.aurorasilk.com Clothworks www.cameronclothworks.com GreenSage www.greensage.com Hemp Traders www.hemptraders.com Near Sea Naturals www.nearseanaturals.com Organic Cotton Plus www.organiccottonplus.com Pickering International www.pickhemp.com PM Organics www.pmorganics.com Silk Road www.srfabrics.com Sweetgrass Natural Fibers www.sweetgrassfibers.com

"Lovingly Worn"

Another approach to being environmentally responsible is to wear a previously worn gown. These may be found in a thrift stores and consignment shops, or at a local non-profit devoted to helping those who may not otherwise be able to secure needed formal wear.

One such non-profit enterprise is Cinderella’s Trunk in Bothell, Washington. In space donated by the Clover Leaf Rebekah’s Lodge, Cinderella’s Trunk maintains an inventory of around 1,400 dresses available for borrowing with few questions asked. Racks of shimmering jewel-toned gowns fill the second floor of the lodge’s quaint pink building.

All that’s required to borrow one of these dresses is ID and a $30 deposit, which is refunded upon return minus a $5 dry cleaning fee. (Campus Cleaners, an environmentally friendly dry cleaning company in nearby Seattle, offers a discounted rate for cleaning the returned dresses.)

Cinderella’s Trunk began in April 2000 with only 14 dresses and a few pairs of shoes in the closet of a local church. Founder and current executive director Jackie Hallstrom started the organization with the mission to “help meet the needs of local teens, women, and men of all ages” by providing semi-formal and formal wear for “events such as school dances, proms, weddings, and banquets.” The underlying mission was, and remains today, to “improve the self-esteem of our community.”

While bridal wear is not the main focus of Cinderella’s Trunk’s offerings, media director Danielle Rogovy explains that wedding parties are often served. When bridesmaids are assigned a color with the option to select their own individual dress styles, they are often able to find coordinating dresses here. Brides may be able to find formal dresses in shades of white that will work well as bridal gowns. Mothers of the bride and groom may also find more mature style options to choose from for their wedding attire.

Cinderella’s Trunk also lends out accessories including jewelry and shoes. These items are cleaned with hydrogen peroxide upon their return. New undergarments, hosiery, and makeup are given as a gift to needy and homeless clients who are not able to purchase them on their own.

Rogovy points out that Cinderella’s Trunk operates with 100% volunteer labor and donated garments. To cover administrative costs, the organization relies upon fund raisers such as their annual auction. Mother-daughter teas and a recent fashion show sponsored by radio station KISS 106.1 and Plato’s Closet have also raised needed funds. Presence at the Seattle Bridal Show and the Northwest Women’s Show have helped raise awareness to the organization’s needs. A University of Washington sorority enthusiastically took on the project of donating their once-worn formal gowns to help increase the organization’s dress inventory. As Rogovy explains, many people would "much rather see their used formal wear go to a good cause than have it take up space in their closets.”

If the idea of reusing beautiful donated garments appeals to you, take a look at the Cinderella’s Trunk website for listings of similar projects in many parts of the country or check your local listings to see what is available in your area.
 

You may also find used bridal wear at thrift stores, and at consignment and vintage shops. Searching can be time consuming, but what you'll find in these are definitely "one of a kind" models. The rewards of finding a treasure in one of these shops can be extremely satisfying! And don't overlook online resources such as eBay and craigslist for used wedding apparel. Keep in mind that many second-hand stores, and thrift shops in particular, do not clean their garments and accessories before putting them up for sale. You will want to have dresses professionally dry cleaned (by environmentally-safe companies), and you can disinfect accessories such as shoes with an eco-friendly homemade concoction of 2 teaspoons borax, 4 tablespoons vinegar, 3 cups hot water, and 1/4 teaspoon liquid soap.

Used Gown Resources Goodwill Industries www.goodwill.org Indiebride Trousseau www.indiebride.com/trousseau PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com www.preownedweddingdresses.com The Salvation Army www.satruck.com Society of St. Vincent de Paul www.svdpusa.org Value Village www.valuevillage.com

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Gown Rental

Common for men, but until lately fairly uncommon for women, is the practice of apparel rental. At select shops around the country, gowns may be rented for a fraction of their purchase price. Examples of companies that provide this option are Alexandria's Formal Gown Rental in Roseville, CA, and MyrJan Bridal in Brooklyn, NY. Bridesmaid dresses and bridal accessories are also available for rental.

So, why rent? The fact is, after the wedding most gowns quickly lose 90% of their value and end up hanging in the closet for years to come. One-time-use garments such as this are not the best use of the planet's resources - or your financial resources!

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