NOW Magazine: Fair Trade Jewellery Co.

NOW Magazine: Store of the Week: Fair Trade Jewellery Co.

Fair Trade JewelleryCo. "FTJCo are proud to be North America's first registered Operator for Fairtrade Fairmined Gold & Platinum, crafting stunning jewellery that matters. Certified by Fairtrade International and the Alliance for Responsible Mining, the metal in our rings supports communities employing artisanal mining processes and contributes to preserving the ecology of Colombia's priceless Chocó rainforest". (from their website)
"Owner and designer Ryan Taylor works with 18 karat gold and platinum to create a collection of rings and custom pieces that range from classic to contemporary. Ethics and eco-friendliness aside, Taylor wants FTJ to be known for its sense of style and craftsmanship, as in the smithing skills required to forge a new grouping of tricky tension-set rings.  Taylor encourages clients to think about using vintage or inherited stones in custom settings. (CBC also recently mentioned) A documentary on FTJ’s website about Taylor’s 2008 visit to the Chocó rainforest in Colombia where the fair trade metals are mined."

Sustainable Wedding Florists

I spend most of my time between Toronto and Manhattan.  Its interesting to compare the two cities, and what type of green services are available.  Here is a great florist, located in a 'gentrifying' area of Toronto known as Corktown:

 Eco|Stems :

"We are an environmentally and socially sustainable flower shop located in downtown Toronto. Our award-winning designs use only local, organic, and fair trade flowers to create unique and beautiful floral arrangements that are available for delivery throughout Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area.

We strive to minimize our impact on the environment.  We limit our water use, reduce emissions from cars by delivering by bicycle, reduce energy consumption, and use green electricity.  We reuse and repurpose floral containers and materials, and we buy used before new.  Our packaging is biodegradable, made from recycled materials and is recyclable.  Finally, we donate old flowers so they don't go to waste."

Lovely website, and their comprehensive approach to sustainability is impressive - because it also includes fair trade flowers - and here is an essay from the website discussing labour exploitation and other issues:

eco|stems offers local, organic and fair trade flowers, plants and accessories because we know the truth about the cut-flower industry. The majority of cut flowers bought in Canada are grown overseas, usually in Columbia or Ecuador. Workplace legislation in these countries offers little protection for workers. In the cut-flower industry, workers are paid less than a living wage, forced to work overtime without pay, exposed to hundreds of toxic chemicals, deprived of the right to unionize, and subject to harassment and violence.

Environmental issues also abound. The cut-flower industries in these countries use toxic chemicals that have been banned in North America. Some of these chemicals leech off of the flowers and contaminate the subsoil and water table where they are grown, but some remains on the flowers and end up in your home. The cut-flower industry also contributes to water and soil depletion by placing unsustainable demands on the local biosphere. When the flowers are fully grown and ready to be sent to Canada for you to enjoy, they are flown. Emitting 1.48 tons of carbon dioxide and contributing to global warming.

These are a few of the reasons why eco|stems chooses local, organic and fair trade flowers. To learn more about the cut-flower industry, please visit the International Labour Rights Forum's Fairness in Flowers campaign website.

Ethical gift registries - Green companies

This post lists green companies for gift registries, including recycled, sustainable, fair trade companies. See the other list on ethical gifts to charities in lieu of a wedding present.

3rliving, Green registry
Sendusoff Ask for an eco-friendly honeymoon
TenThousandVillages Fair Trade
Coopamerica Green Pages
Vivaterra by the Lazy Environmentalist
Greenfeet Eco
GlobalExchange Fair Trade
EcoExpress Fair Trade, eco & spa gifts

Organic, natural wedding dresses

Here is the original article on organic, natural dresses on ethicalceremonies.com.

The picture is a dress made of toilet paper - just for fun. (I think the paper is bleached, though -LOL).

Here is our list of wedding dress suppliers so far. These sites are meant to be for inspiration as well as for retail purposes.

Conscious Clothing Santa Fe, NM
Rawganique BC, Canada, Portland OR, & CA
OliviaLuca Portland, OR
TaraLynnStudio VT
Threadheadcreations(tennesee?)
AnnatarianCA
Wholly-Jo London, UK
Puridee.com Peace Silk, LA
Isadora Bridal, BC, Canada
Rene Geneva mostly bridal corsets, but some gowns.
Consciouselegance Another extravagant seamstress - once located in the UK, now in State College, PA, only a few hours' drive from New York.
They get lots of extra points for their thoughtfulness, including labour and packaging:
"Our eco-friendly fabrics are completely sourced from sustainable materials and are 3rd-party certified organic by Control Union World Group (formerly SKAL). We at Conscious Elegance earn a fair living wage and no child labour or sweatshops are involved in any facet of our dressmaking. Our biodegradeable packaging is purposefully chosen to have minimal impact on the environment and we ship our gowns through eco-friendly couriers."

Cheaptux.com PETA recommends them as a "non-wool" Tux supplier - but that means polyester, and you still have to pay for carbon-intensive shipping. Perhaps you should visit a good vintage shop for a vintage tux!

UPDATE: Here is a useful post on the possible 'greenwashing' of the 'sustainable bamboo' fabric industry:

Please let us know of any additions, recommendations, or discoveries. Check Organic Consumers clothing suppliers for more ideas.
and here is another really fun paper dress from the Craftzine.com blog

Poetic Justice has a wedding section, (tip to Matthew). North Carolina. Very nice traditional dresses.