Throwing a sustainable, zero-waste, and ethical wedding does not have to feel impossible. I created this guide as a way to help put all the options in one place. In June of 2019, my husband and I pulled off our very own sustainable wedding and I am so excited to share the eco-friendly an zero-waste options you have at your disposal, hah, you see what I did there?
If you are here as a new bride, congrats! If your here because you want to get your research done before the ring is on your finger, awesome! Take a moment and give yourself a pat on the back for caring enough about the earth to learn how to go about a green wedding. I want to preface this guide by saying I worked as a wedding photographer for a decade in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois. I’ve photographed over 100 couples and thus have seen a lot of different types of weddings, and in turn, have seen first-hand the amount of waste that is produced from the average wedding day. Even then, when I wasn’t the conscious consumer I am today, it raised a red flag in my mind. 
A 130 person wedding on average produces 62 tons of carbon dioxide and 400-600 lbs of waste. These numbers include everything from the wedding invitations to the flowers to the wedding dress.
An opposition arises when you try to have an earth-friendly wedding within the confines of modern wedding culture. We are constantly bombarded by pictures and ideas on Pinterest of perfect personalized weddings with all the trimmings. Then you have the concept of zero waste, which can feel so minimal and bare, making a bride feel like there’s very little wiggle room to make it feel special for herself and her guests. The good news is that there are so many options for making your day feel special while still achieving an earth-conscious wedding. Once you understand the basics of having a green wedding then you can choose your own adventure from there. In this guide, we will go over the options you have from finding an ethical engagement ring to where you can buy an eco-friendly wedding dress. While we talk over these options, I’ll provide you with what I chose for my low to no-waste wedding so that you have some experience to fall back on and you know you are not alone as you plan your own big day.
The Green Wedding Guide covers:
Happy green wedding planning!
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Four years ago when I started practicing conscious consumerism, I had the darndest time finding sustainable shoe companies I could trust. So many footwear brands didn’t openly talk about where their materials were from, how their shoes were made, and how they treated their workers. The opaque quality of the fashion industry is starting to be chipped away thanks to nonprofits such as Fashion Revolution and trending hashtags like #WhoMadeMyClothes.
Transparency is what I look for first and foremost when assessing if companies are eligible for these sustainable posts. If companies aren’t openly sharing how they treat their workers and what they are doing regarding buffering their effect on the environment, it’s a hard pass. Next, materials used to make the shoes is assessed. If there is no open statement on their website about where they source their materials then it's a pass. I look for eco-friendly, regenerative or sustainable, and organic materials being used. Lastly, how comfortable and versatile the shoes are comes into play. I won't lie, I think Toms are hella uncomfortable! Maybe my feet are extra sensitive. Rest assured, I won't be sharing any companies that may work hard to be transparent and eco-friendly, but fail to consider the customer's comfort level. So let’s dive into the top three sustainable shoe companies I’ve found and why they rock! 
If you've fallen into a slump with your green and clean beauty routine and want to take it to the next level - one of mindful and conscious self-care, this episode is for you. Becca walks Kelsey through her very own Custom Green Beauty Consult, which is full of tips on how to take your own toxin-free beauty habits from humdrum to heck yes!
Becca recently launched her Organically You: Custom Green Beauty Consult service. So today, you get a front-row seat to the amazing work she does as she walks Kelsey through a consult of her own. With all of Becca’s hard-won knowledge on organic skincare, she helps Kelsey find a perfect, simple, and natural routine with some new clean beauty and skincare products.
Products Recommended to Kelsey:
To book your very own custom green beauty consultation with Becca, click below. I can't recommend her service and expertise enough! If you want to see the companies you love the most utilize fully recyclable or compostable packaging for their products - I created a group where we can tackle the problem together. After listening to your feedback on the #PackagingForThePlanet movement, I decided to put together a central community where we can problem solve openly together. We now have a Packaging For The Planet Facebook Group for us to call home! This way we can have more of a conversation together, rather than replying via email on an individual basis.
Having a group is also an opportunity to share the good with the bad. If you find a company that's utilizing fully recyclable or compostable packaging - share it with us! We have to celebrate the small wins in order to get through this mounting waste problem with our earth-loving hearts intact. While you'd hope that the companies we love would take it upon themselves to make these earth-friendly changes, the reality is without us as the consumers putting pressure on them, things won't change. Join the movement and let's make our voices heard by giving the companies we adore a gentle nudge to starting looking for and investing in innovative eco-friendly solutions for packaging. So head on over and join our new community of eco-warriors, tag some more companies you'd like us to contact, and jump into the conversation. I can't wait to see all the amazing things we are going to accomplish! 
If you are wondering how to use diatomaceous earth for a parasite cleanse, you are in the right place! I can tell you that it has safely helped not only me and Paul, but our three cats, and all 90+ chickens on our farm.
I tried diatomaceous earth as a last ditch effort to find out why I suddenly couldn’t eat eggs anymore. TMI, I had been dealing with constant diarrhea for nearly a month that would worsen with eating eggs. I was so frustrated and at the end of my rope. After doing exhaustive research, I felt that I was dealing with a parasite. Enter diatomaceous earth. In this post, we will discuss exactly what diatomaceous earth is, how it works to kill pests and parasites, and how exactly you can use it for your health and your pets and livestock. Let’s dive in! 
In this episode, Kelsey and Becca talk all about why you should work towards a zero-waste and toxin-free menstrual cycle. They also share their favorite zero-waste options for feminine items, like absorbable undies and the menstrual cup, and how to use them.
Show Notes:
Products Mentioned:
If you have been thinking this is the year to get your first organic vegetable garden started, then we have the perfect episode to give you the final push. Discover the five surprising reasons to get your first vegetable garden going and how gardening can have a positive impact on your health, community, and the environment.
Show Notes:
Blogs and Books:
Kelsey’s Five-Part Blog Series on Organic Gardening
The All New Square Foot Garden The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible 
Sustainability In The Press
Ford has partnered with electric vehicle startup Rivian to develop an electric pickup truck and SUV. These partnerships are becoming more and more commonplace because it allows major automobile companies to share the innovation load with tech startups and work towards a cleaner transportation future.
You may not realize, but the bulk of the US’ plastics, paper, and glass actually is repurposed overseas. One of the biggest countries, China, has decided to restrict imports of certain recyclables and it’s causing a terrible ripple effect. This decision has forced US waste management centers to either pay a much higher rate to repurpose the plastics somewhere else - or just dump it in a landfill. Unfortunately, many have chosen the landfill. This is the perfect example of how recycling isn’t technically the answer when it comes to our waste problems, it has actually propped up the throw-away culture we as Americans have gotten used to. It’s time to think more deeply about how much we consume and the cost it has on our world. I highly recommend learning about closed-loop cycles to get started. As the viability of recycling comes under scrutiny, a better option exists (and has been here since the dawn of time) - composting. I love seeing major companies step up to replace disposables with compostables, like Igloo and their new compostable cooler. As deforestation exacerbates climate change, a study has shown that when women are involved with the decision making process, less forests are razed. Many countries in South America and Asia are facing accelerated deforestation, but governments are trying to slow the process down by offering Payment for Ecosystem Services incentives. The study showed that when women make up at least 50% of the leaders within the local village, those groups harvested 51% less trees. Sustainability Podcasts
The Green Dreamer Podcast Episode 134: Empowering farmers of color and dismantling racism in the food system.
The Sustainable Dish Podcast Episode 85: Ideological anti-meat agendas in dietary guidelines with Gary and Belinda Fettke 
Sign up below to be sent "This Week in Sustainability." Staying informed and being a part of the conversation are integral in the fight to curb climate change. Thank you for being a force for good!
Spring is finally here! And in today’s episode of the Positively Green Podcast, we’re talking all about sunscreen. Believe it or not, we need some sun exposure without any sunscreen to help our bodies get Vitamin D. We’re also talking about the ingredients in conventional sunscreens and their health effects, as well as how they are negatively impacting the environment. Then we also leave you with safe, non-toxic, mineral sunscreen options. We’re all about practicing safe sun exposure over here!
In this episode we discuss:
Show Notes:
Studies:
Environmental Working Group’s Sunscreen Guide Becca’s SPF Recommendations: Kelsey’s DIY Recipe:
Download the free dminder app! 
Sustainability In The Press
A small family business is turning green waste into greener fields in Arizona. Green Waste Recycling collects clippings and trimmings from local landscaping businesses, chips them, composts them, and then spreads it over farmers’ fields to increase the biodiversity of their soils, skyrocket water retention, and boost yields. Some of these fields include alfalfa, which is then fed to local cattle. As the reporter puts it, “turning sticks into steaks.” This is such a fantastic example of using closed loop cycles!
In an effort to cut down on their carbon footprint, Amazon is launching a program called Amazon Day. The program organizes all your orders into one single delivery day for the week, cutting down on transportation for all the must-haves you order. My podcast host, Becca, and I chatted about this on one of our earlier Positively Green Podcast episodes. Paul and I have been trying to do this mindfully, keeping things in our cart until we hit about 5-7 items then we would order and get them to come on the same day, but it’s awesome that Amazon will do it for you now! The milkman method has been making a comeback, where the packaging for the items you purchase is reused over and over again (like old milk bottles). Major companies are opting in to package their goods in reusable, durable, and attractive containers that are then sent back to the manufacturer for continued use (instead of winding up in a landfill). When Greenpeace released their top ten worst companies for plastic pollution in the ocean, those companies realized they had a mounting PR crisis on their hands. Now, eight of those ten companies are a part of the Loop program. The methodology is definitely not without its faults, as the program requires a huge amount of transportation to make it possible, but I still think that it’s a step in the right direction. Extreme weather events are not only affecting American farmers, but farmers across the globe. Coffee farms in Honduras have suffered increasing droughts, disruptive rain events, and unpredictable winds that have decimated their crops. Families are beginning to flee to seek a more stable life in the United States, crossing the border illegally. This is the perfect example of major issues converging, until our government gets on board with the rest of the world for curbing climate change then our illegal immigrant situation is only going to get worse. Sustainability Podcasts
Food Heroes Podcast Episode 29: How a purple berry is saving the Brazilian Amazon with Ryan Black Sambazon
Green Dreamer Podcast Episode 132: Greening transportation with vehicles powered by Hydrogen fuel cells with Brian Goldstein Parting Thoughts:
In light ofEdition 6 of This Week In Sustainability, I have to share an experience I had at Ikea over the weekend. I ended up purchasing the wrong item (you know how the pick bins can be a bit confusing) and wound up with a mattress for a futon when what I wanted was the cover. It came shrink wrapped in unidentifiable plastic, so when I opened it up and realized it was a mattress, it had expanded and would not fit back in the original plastic bag.
I carefully wrapped it up best I could and brought it back to Ikea return it. At customer service, the Ikea employee told me I had to put it in another plastic bag to make the return. She handed me a flimsy plastic bag and I stared at her blankly and asked, "Could I get some help?" The futon mattress was huge and cumbersome to move, I mean, Paul had to help me get it into the van! She replied, "We're not supposed to help customers with this." Then she sat there and watched me struggle to shove the mattress covered in the first plastic bag, into another plastic bag that also wasn't big enough to fit it. After a few minutes of struggling, the people behind me in line graciously offered to help. We all proceeded to shove half of the mattress into another plastic bag. So much for customer service and care for the environment Ikea. How strange right?! Last 24 Hours Of The Earth Day Sale!
These are the final 24 hours on my Earth Day Sale. So if you have been eyeing my awesome sustainable holistic living ebook, The Holistic Home, now's the time to grab your copy at 20% off (no offer code needed). Cut through the overwhelm that trying to live more sustainably brings, and learn from my decade's worth of experience, eco-friendly product testing, and research.
Sign up below to be sent "This Week in Sustainability." Staying informed and being a part of the conversation are integral in the fight to curb climate change. Thank you for being a force for good! |
Meet Kelsey,Thanks for stopping by Green Willow Homestead! From chicken rearing to composting, we've got our hands full and we love sharing what we've learned along the way. Follow along as we strive to live sustainably and turn these five acres from just property to a fully functioning small-scale homestead. 
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