Recycled Bride: Sustainable Wedding Favors that Wow
About Recycled Bride
Photo: Theo Chocolates
Want to give your guests stylish favors that are thoughtful, ethical and beautiful -- just like you? Here are the 4 hottest trends in eco-fabulous wedding favors for 2010.
1. Ethical Sweets These chocolates are not your mama's Hershey bar. Heart-healthy, delicious organic and sustainable dark chocolates make a sweet and sophisticated wedding favor. Try mini boxes from Theo Chocolate, the only organic, fair trade, bean-to-bar chocolate factory in the US. Theo's handmade confections are almost too pretty to eat, and they're good for people and the planet. Or check out these handmade vegan chocolates from GBG company, featuring healthy fruits, berries and tea infusions. And GBG's wedding favors come packaged in a hand-made box embedded with flower seeds.
2. Grow the Love Plantable wedding favors are all the rage. Sending your guests home with seeds to plant gives them a living reminder of your beautiful big day. These "Love Grows" seeded paper wildflower favors by Kate Aspen are a sweet, pretty choice. Or gift your guests with their own handmade recycleable flowerpots from Earthbloom Organic. The potted flowers will grow with nothing more than a daily water misting. Miniature potted cacti also make great, low-maintenance living favors. Arrange mini cacti towers on each table as centerpieces, then have your guests take them home when the wedding is over.
3. Carry the Memories Everybody knows that it's important to have reusable bags on hand for grocery shopping instead of using plastic. Help your guests reduce their use of disposable bags with reusable grocery bag favors, lunch bags, or wine totes. You can custom-print your monogram, your wedding date, or an image on the bags that will remind guests of your wedding (and your generosity and commitment to green living!) when they use them. Be sure to choose bags made from sustainable fabrics like organic cotton, or recycled materials. Avoid bags made from polypropolene, a plastic that gobbles tons of energy in its production.
4. The Kindest Favor Rather, send your guests home with a warm fuzzy feeling instead of a trinket. Make a small donation in the name of each of your guests to a charity that you and your fiancee care about. You'll be sharing your values with friends and family, and turning a consumer opportunity into a charitable experience for all your friends and family. A dear friend of mine made a donation to Susan G. Komen for a Cure after losing her aunt to breast cancer shortly before her wedding. Each guest received a small card to commemorate the donation. You can do the same for your favorite charity with the help of the I Do Foundation, who recently merged with JustGive.org to give marrying couples even more options for incorporating charitable giving into their weddings.
All of these favors cost $5 or less each, and add a unique personal touch to your guests' experience. When you choose green wedding favors like the ones mentioned here, you promote positive-impact environmental choices among your friends and family, and support sustainable businesses with your consumer dollars. And that sure beats a bag of Jordan almonds any day! For more eco-friendly wedding inspiration and ideas, check out my site, RecycledBride.com!
The kindest favor is very benevolent. Of you feel weird about not giving anything yo your guests give an inexpensive treat. Hershey kisses?
I like those wedding flowers a lot. The idea of them lasting a long time is great.
We like these Bamboo Coasters: http://www.favorsandaccessories.com/natural-bamboo-coasters.html
Those chocolates look absolutely delicious, I will have to check them out.
Domed Cherry
Great post. Good to find green favors under $5.
Green Wedding
Great ideas! Any of these choices will make an excellent green favor.
Another option is a charitable favor from my organization, the I Do Foundation (www.idofoundation.org) which offers favors through The Knot's Wedding Shop (www.theknot.com) where you can donate to any US-based charity. From your small backyard conservation organization to national organizations like the National Wildlife Federation, it's your choice. You also choose the donation amount and can personalize the type of card you want to share with your guests.
Awesome post I have viewed recycle bride, because of this post and I think it's a wonderful site with great ideas.
Very cool idea -- Keep em coming...
Already a member of OneWed.com? Sign in | Register