Source: Pure Magnolia
Weddings make up a whopping $300-billion worldwide industry. It is a notoriously extravagant industry driven by people’s desire to have the “perfect wedding”. The possibilities are endless if you can cover the costs. For many couples however, the “green wedding” trend may stem more from a cost-savings mentality, rather than an eco-friendly one.
Pure Magnolia is a North Vancouver company that provides eco-friendly wedding dresses. They do this by using vintage and new fabrics that have minimal impact on the environment. In addition, they accept donations of old dresses, adding them to their fabric collection and redesigning them into new dresses. The price range of their dresses is fairly standard. In this way, Pure Magnolia is targeting eco-conscious brides, including those who may not be willing to pay a premium for it.
For brides who are more price-sensitive, Pure Magnolia does offer dress rentals. While rentals are a more cost-effective option, selection is limited and the dresses cannot be altered. However, it does solve the problem of storing the dress once the wedding is over. It is an issue that is particularly prevalent in Asian countries, including Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea, where urban density is high and free space is scarce. In these countries, it is very common for brides to rent their wedding dresses. In North America, however, the wedding gown rental market is only beginning to catch on. As with Pure Magnolia’s customers, the rental market seems to be driven more by a desire to save money and to be environmentally friendly, rather than saving space.
It will be interesting to see how the wedding dress rental business in North America will change, and how businesses in the industry will respond to brides’ growing environmental concerns.
This is a very interesting post! When I read the title “Sustainability+Weddings” I certainly did not expect to read about wedding dresses! My critique for buying more environmentally friendly wedding dresses is that I think because bride’s typically have the “once in my life time mentality” (… or may I just watch too much reality TV!). I think that if a bride loves a dress, she is less likely to care if it is sustainable or not. And alternatively, if she doesn’t love the dress she would not buy it just because it is sustainable. That is to say, their may not be too many brides with sustainability on the top of their list of purchase criteria. With that said, I think the rental idea of wedding dresses is great, and I also really liked what you said about having a green wedding is much like cost saving. I think that is a great sell for couples getting married!
Really great post. It was an unexpected topic that really got me thinking about other ways that weddings could be more sustainable. Locally produced food and flowers, recycled stationary or emails for invitations are just some of these ideas!
It’s great to hear about Pure Magnolia and their eco-friendly efforts in the weddings industry! I have to agree with Jessica here – my first thought was also along the same lines. Many brides might be looking for “that special dress” and will purchase it regardless of how it is produced. Price and dress design seem to be the two predominant factors when a bride chooses her dress. Most brides go into dress shopping with a budget and a style in mind, and perhaps it would be interesting to see if eco-friendly dresses can be more budget friendly? If so, Pure Magnolia might be able to indicate an economical reason (cost savings) to brides as an additional reason to purchase a eco-friendly version of a similarly designed brand name dress. Hopefully more and more brides begin to look into eco-friendly dresses as an alternative to the norm!
I must say that as soon as I read “Weddings + Sustainability” it did catch my eye. I must admit that I am part of that large pool of girls who really looks forward to an “ideal wedding” ( I say ideal because “perfect” is too overrated and impossible). I do as well consider myself environmentally consciuos and active, and therefore would be willing to compromise in some ways in order to have a more green efficient wedding. However the question is, until what point are we ‘Green Bridezillas’ willing to compromise. As Jessica mentioned, if a bride finds a dress she loves she will most likely not care if it is sustaible or not, therefore not willing to compromise to that extent. My point is that I strongly support the concept of a sustainable wedding but unfortunately, at least on the eco-friendly-dress aspect of it, it may not be very successful. On the other hand, the whole idea of renting a dress I believe is great. You spend less money for an item that you will only use once, and will not have to store for the rest of your life. The issue just lies in being able to find that “ideal or perfect” dress that is available for rent and fits perfectly, as no alterations can be made.
I know you posted this a while ago, but I think this is a really great idea! Weddings are overly extravagant and use up a lot of resources. My first worry concerns all those flowers that decorate wedding halls that are later tossed. Not only is there waste, but also transportation costs to get them there in the first place. A writer in Britain claimed that 80% of flowers are imported from overseas. One option is to buy local. But why stop there when making your wedding green? Try reducing the size of the guest list, using electronic invitations, and choosing a location close to home (ideas from the second link below). The wedding dress is just the tip of the iceberg.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/apr/01/ethical-flowers-wedding-day
http://www.infoplease.com/science/environment/green-weddings.html
Hi! Great post thanks for bringing this up.
The sustainability trend in the wedding industry is great, and I can see it especially flourishing in Vancouver (hippie city 😛 )– but we need to remember the mentality of a wedding dress, it’s used for YOUR one special day, it means so much more to brides then we know of. It’s almost like a wedding or engagement ring, how would you feel receiving a “second hand,” or “rented,” one? It’s an item where the secondary market seems difficult because of what the wedding dress represents. I know my sister had a $10,000 wedding dress, and had a LOT of difficulties selling it and had to cut the price to around $3000 and I think a large reason is everyone wants to firstly get married in their OWN wedding dress.
I hope the wedding dress rental industry will grow as it does save so much in terms of fabric, transportation costs and on top of that wedding dresses are ONLY one time wears anyways.
Have you ever considered writing an e-book or guest authoring on other websites? I have a blog based upon on the same ideas you discuss and would love to have you share some stories/information. I know my viewers would value your work. If you’re even remotely interested, feel free to send me an e mail.
Very interesting idea! The concept presented here holds immense potential, especially if it strikes a chord with young couples. Imagining the ripple effect it could have on the next generation’s choices and values is truly exciting!