Eco-Friendly & Sustainable Wedding Dresses You Can (Naturally) Tie The Knot In
“Here comes the bride, all dressed in…a sustainable wedding dress“!
A bride’s conscious wedding journey starts with an eco-friendly engagement ring and ends with an eco-friendly wedding ring. In between, joining the two in holy matrimony should be an ethical and sustainably-made wedding dress.
If there’s ever been a day to dress with heart, “the big day” is it.
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“Save The Date” For The Best Eco-Friendly Wedding Dresses
If all-natural wedding dresses are filling up your wedding Pinterest board, Lea Silk offers both 100% silk or organic cotton/linen blends, for the most elegant-drape.
Reformation makes our eco-hearts flutter across their range of recycled wedding gowns and conscious cocktail dresses.
Finding a sustainable wedding dress used is perhaps the most sustainable (and often affordable) option available and for that, Once Wed is your one-stop shop.
If you’d like us to walk you down the aisle of how to find a sustainable wedding dress, jump to the end of the article.
The Full List Of Sustainable Wedding Dress Brands
Something Old: Secondhand Wedding Dresses
Something New: Upcycled Or Natural Fabric Wedding Dresses
Secondhand Ethical Wedding Dresses
1. Once Wed
Once Wed
Price Range: $67–$16,000
Vintage wedding dresses are the embodiment of an eco-friendly wedding day and Once Wed satisfies all your secondhand, sustainable wedding dreams.
The large pre-owned selection is easy to sift through and can be narrowed down by designer, size, location, and type.
In addition to actual wedding dresses, they offer ethical bridesmaid dresses, flower girl dresses, and elegant dresses for Mom.
If you’re looking to pass on your dress to another, this platform makes it easy to sell your used wedding dress, too.
2. Stillwhite
About Stillwhite
Price Range: $15–$68,000
Stillwhite is the world’s largest online marketplace for new, used, and sample gowns.
With more than 55,000 gowns, you’re sure to find the perfect ethical wedding dress in your budget.
Shop the Look for celebrity-inspired wedding looks for the fashion-forward bride.
While you’re helping Stillwhite protect the earth with 1% of your purchase going directly to carbon offsets, you’ll be protected by their purchase guarantee too.
3. Rent The Runway
About Rent The Runway
Price Range: $35–$225 (rent) or $168–$1,695 (buy)
If you’re looking for the most affordable sustainable wedding dresses, online clothing and dress rental services are hands-down your best option.
If you’re not ready to say “yes” to a dress permanently, Rent the Runway is an excellent option for sustainable wedding guest dresses too, and it that supports the sharing, circular fashion economy.
With mostly non-white eco-friendly wedding dresses, they’re especially suited for unconventional weddings, elopements, or anyone who wants to throw a curve to the ol’ “dressed in white” expectation.
Choose between a one-time rental, or opt for a subscription for access to top designers oncue.
4. Vince Unfold
About Vince Unfold
Price Range: Depends on subscription
While they aren’t wedding dresses per se, Vince Unfold’s rental service caters to those who still want a white dress, but something more minimalist and simple. Something that can be used again and again.
The rental subscription provides an easy way to discover new styles. Four items can be borrowed at a time, then returned in a pre-paid bag. Or you can keep the dress for a discounted price.
Getting double the sustainability points, most of these simple organic wedding dresses are made of natural materials like alpaca wool and organic cotton.
New Sustainable Or Natural Wedding Dresses
5. Lea Silk
About Lela Silk
Price Range: $91–$680
Catering to the young, modern woman, Lela Silk offers some of the best affordable ethical wedding dresses.
From breezy, cottagecore-inspired cotton/linen dresses (perfect for a beach wedding) to eco-friendly silk wedding dresses, they’re a breath of fresh bridal air for any stressed wedding planner.
You’ll also find sustainable bridesmaid dresses in a variety of colors.
Lela Silk’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
The best choices are their linen and cotton wedding dresses, followed by 100% silk options.
Both types of natural fiber wedding dresses are biodegradable, but the silk styles are not suitable for vegans.
Some are made using a silk blend, French lace, or Crepe De Chine, which we’d would recommend avoiding if you can since these aren’t natural fibers.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Lela Silk is based in Hanoi, Vietnam, where all garments are sewn in-house by a small team of local artisans.
Green business practices:
Each eco wedding dress is hand cut and French-seamed “to protect the true value of authentic quality garments”.
By selling on Etsy too, they’re choosing to ship their eco bridal gowns carbon neutral.
Inclusivity:
These handmade wedding dresses are tailored for individual body measurements and ideal fit requests.
6. Saldana Vintage
About Saldana Vintage
Price Range: $296–$948
Whether you have a traditional church or nature wedding, dresses should make you feel like something out of a fairy tale and Saldana Vintage’s certainly will.
Something old and something new all rolled into one, they take vintage fabrics and reimagine it into something 100% custom boho lace dresses that are one-of-a-kind.
They also offer non-recycled wedding dresses but why opt for those when the vintage options are so elegant?
Saldana Vintage’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
The main dress body is made of vintage lace.
The only component not made of recycled fabric is the slip (or full lining, if requested). We’ll be reaching out to ask what this is made of.
Supply chain & labor practices:
“No sweatshop here”, everything is handmade in their own Southern California workshop.
Inclusivity:
Because the dresses are custom made-to-order to your exact measurements (which they instruct you how to take), they can come in any size up to a 40”bust, 35” waist, and 44” hips.
7. Sole Role
About Sole Role
Price Range: $125–$160
Sole Role creates a small collection of simple natural wedding dresses for the bride who wants her wedding day to be unencumbered by long trains and fragile lace.
Founder and wanderlust-driven soul Nancy calls them “simple ,yet elegant. Stunning but able to withstand a hike to a beautiful location on the coast or the forest and then dance the night away!”
If you’re planning an adventure elopement, slow your roll to check out Sole Role.
Sole Role’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Each natural wedding dress features organic cotton, hemp, and just 4% spandex so you can show off your dance moves at the reception.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Items are custom made-to-order by hand in her Hawaii studio across a period of 2-3 weeks, though rush orders are sometimes possible.
Inclusivity:
They generally cater to XS–XL (US 0-18) sizes but the custom nature allows for larger dresses, too, though there may be a slight extra surcharge.
8. Reformation
About Reformation
Price Range: $218–$648
Reformation is one of our favorite fast fashion alternatives for just about everything—eco weddings included.
They have a range of affordable options, from the classic Ronda sustainable black tie wedding dress to the less conventional Haisley Two Piece 100% recycled wedding dress.
Reformation’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
You’ll find dresses made of 100% silk charmeuse (not vegan), 100% recycled polyester, NAIA renew acetate, and viscose fabric.
While this wood pulp-based semi-synthetic uses harsh chemicals in the processing, theirs is at least sourced from sustainably managed forests with the help of the non-profit Canopy.
Still, we encourage you to opt for their other fabrics first.
Supply chain & labor practices:
With 28 factories of their own in downtown Los Angeles, Reformation is able to provide made-in-the-USA ethical wedding dresses.
Some manufacturing takes place abroad in India, Turkey, and China, protected by a strict Code of Conduct and living wage requirements.
Green business practices:
Water Neutral, Climate Neutral, and a Circular Fashion System Commitment member, they’re working on more circular, carbon reducing practices. They currently recycle 75% of their garbage and textile scraps.
The certified Green America sustainable fashion business uses zero waste office supplies, renewable energy whenever possible, and compostable and recycled LDPE bags for packaging.
Ref’s dyeing partners bear bluesign® or OEKO-TEX certification, meaning no toxic chemicals.
Inclusivity:
Sizes run 0-12 in most styles, but their ethical plus size clothing runs 14-24.
75% of management are women or people from underrepresented populations.
Community & charitable giving:
The Reformation Relief Fund was developed to support team members facing financial hardship.
They also regularly collaborate with local sustainability-focused organizations, provide paid volunteer days for employees, and plant a tree through TreePeople for staff birthdays.
9. Christy Dawn
About Christy Dawn
Price Range: $198–$498
Christy Dawn is a zero waste fashion brand for a zero worry wedding—at least as far as the dress is concerned.
Simple, elegant, and modest, all of their garments and footwear are produced in a way that honors Mother Earth.
They’re one of the best places to find free-spirited, non-white wedding gowns and wedding guest dresses.
Put the “green” in “green and sustainable wedding dress” with the green and blue floral Lillies in Bloom Regenerative Silk Autumn Dress. Or check out their white sweater dresses if you’re planning an outdoor winter ceremony.
Christy Dawn’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Deadstock fabric (rayon, silk, cotton) and climate positive regenerative organic cotton made for an eco conscious bride to Christy Dawn.
Supply chain & labor practices:
The cotton comes from the regenerative agriculture Oshadi Collective in India and deadstock fabrics are sourced in LA where their factory produces the garments.
All workers receive wages roughly three times as much as the average garment worker.
Green business practices:
Their Farm-to-Closet project allows you to get involved in the “Regenerative Revolution” by buying your own regenerative cotton plot—of which you’ll receive your yearly yields in the form of shop credit.
They work with thredUP to ensure pre-loved garments are given the chance at a second life.
Inclusivity:
Sizes run XS-XL.
Community & charitable giving:
Christy Dawn regularly supports local LA initiatives, like a fundraiser to open the first and only organic grocery store in the South Central Los Angeles food desert.
10. Whimsy + Row
About Whimsy + Row
Price Range: $218–$1,500
Whimsy + Row puts the L-O in low impact (or love) materials and locally-made vegan wedding dresses.
Aside from comfortable, stylish, and elegant dresses for any occasion, their wedding collection includes sustainable bridesmaid dresses and bridal gowns like.
Whimsy + Row’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Each sustainable fabric wedding dress is made from a blend of TENCEL™ and cupro, a cotton-based vegan silk produced using a closed-loop process.
Combined with low-impact, non-toxic dyes means the dress is biodegradable (or should we say, bridal-degradable!).
Supply chain & labor practices:
If you want an ethical wedding dress that’s USA-made, Whimsey + Row’s are made in a fair and safe Los Angeles factory.
Since it’s down the street from their office, Whimsy + Row regularly visits the factory.
Green business practices:
The small supply chain is easier to oversee and means a smaller transportation footprint, which contributes to their carbon neutrality.
Small scraps of waste get turned into a new product (like a bandana or scrunchie). Larger scrap quantities are transformed into new products by Marimole, a textile recycling company in NYC.
Inclusivity:
Sizes 0-12 (or XXS–XL) are offered.
Community & charitable giving:
Everyone gets a slice of the wedding cake—meaning organizations like Reclaim the Block, Black Vision Collective, One Tree Planted, and Global Fund for Women are supported by your wedding day.
11. Wear Your Love
About Wear Your Love
Price Range: $1,620–$3,120
Choosing an unconventional sustainable wedding dress doesn’t mean you’ll compromise on how stunning you’ll look.
Just ask Wear Your Love and their gorgeous range of bohemian ethical wedding dresses–like the Ari that radiates timeless elegance.
They’re designed with the philosophy that marriage is about creating a future, of which the planet plays a crucial role.
Since everything is made-to-order, it comes without the traditional bridal shop mark-up for the same luxury quality.
Wear Your Love’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Eco-friendly, organic fabrics are en vogue for this brand, with most environmentally friendly wedding dresses consisting of 30-50% organic cotton.
That’s combined with French lace, English tulle, or natural silk or vegan chiffon.
Supply chain & labor practices:
These romantic dresses are handmade from start-to-finish in the brand’s Northern California studio. Everyone is paid fairly and protected under US labor laws.
Green business practices:
Wear Your Love only makes what gets ordered. To prevent waste, you can order swatches to first find the fabric you like.
Production scraps are donated to a textile recycling facility to be turned into furniture cushions and carpet pads.
Orders are shipped in recycled paper packaging.
Inclusivity:
By taking 18 different measurements, they guarantee the perfect dress fit for your perfect day (at no additional cost).
12. Pure Magnolia
About Pure Magnolia
Price Range: CA$450–CA$3,300
Choose kindness, style, comfort, and sustainability by becoming a Pure Magnolia bride.
Driven by values like responsible sourcing, natural fabrics, local production, waste reduction, and fair wages, the “big day” can also be sustainable and ethical.
These sustainable women’s wedding dresses are perfect “for the bride who expects more”.
Pure Magnolia’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Tulle, cotton/polyester voile, velvet, mesh, crepe, lace, and cotton silk are commonly used, along with our favorite choice: organic cotton.
Recycled fabric is used whenever possible for any synthetic fabrics.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Starting with responsible sourcing, they research exactly where the fabrics come from and how they’re produced.
Each made-in-Canada sustainable wedding dress is handmade in-house, where team members receive fair wages.
Green business practices:
Scrap fabric is reused when cutting new pieces, anything in excess is responsibly recycled by FABCYCLE.
Inclusivity:
All eco conscious brides can feel like a princess in the 0-28 size range.
13. Indiebride
About Indiebride
Price Range: Quoted by appointment
Looking for a sustainable wedding dress in the UK?
London’s Indiebride wants to help you find your dream dress, whatever that may be.
Long dresses, short dresses, and wedding accessories are the big offerings here, but there’s no limit to the style variety in each.
Everything is beautifully bohemian and will help keep our planet more beautiful, too.
Indiebride’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
In terms of eco-friendly fabrics, wedding dresses by Indiebride prioritize natural materials like organic ramie (a linen-like fiber), peace silk, and cotton.
Deadstock fabrics, lace, and recycled PET are also used, as well as some virgin polyester and nylon we recommend avoiding.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Each handmade eco wedding gown is created from scratch in a studio in South London over the span of 18-20 weeks.
In fact, since most of their lace is also made in the UK, you can get a product 100% UK-made, from materials to finished product.
Green business practices:
This hand made-to-order wedding dress production process ensures fabric scraps are kept to a minimum.
Off-cuts that are produced are used to embellish a sash, veil, or headpiece, or are donated to students or facilities that repurpose them into things like carpet underlay and insulation. Nothing gets thrown away.
Inclusivity:
UK sizes 8-16 (US 4-12) are available. If your dress doesn’t fit just right, they offer alteration services.
Female-founded Indiebride is the product of designer and dressmaker Miina Laitsaari.
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How We Found These Sustainable Wedding Dress Designers
From choosing eco-friendly wedding invitations to planning the bridal shower to picking out wedding bands and your bridal party, being a bride-to-be comes with a lot of concerns and considerations.
But with added climate pressure (bringing it ith it unpredictable weather that could ruin your outdoor wedding), you might also be wondering, “How can I make my wedding more eco-friendly?”.
Of all ethical women’s dresses, wedding gowns are some of the most difficult to make sustainably due to the reliance on synthetic materials like lace and beads.
Still, we’re betrothed to sustainable and ethical fashion, which is why we sent a Save the Date to these brands.
Materials:
Just as vintage, used, and secondhand dresses are the most sustainable, often the best materials are those already in existence (especially when it comes to a wedding gown that often contains large amounts of synthetic fabrics).
That’s why we look for deadstock or vintage fabrics (lace, rayon, nylon, and polyester).
We were also pleased to find high quality natural fabrics and semi-synthetics walking down to Canon in D Major: TENCEL lyocell and modal, cupro, regenerative and organic cotton, linen, and hemp fabric.
Supply chain and labor practices:
We want you to tie the knot without getting your stomach in knots over ethical concerns.
Thus we look for fair trade wedding dresses that come with proof of safe and supportive working environments, the provision of fair or living wages, and benefits to support garment workers “in sickness and in health”.
- Certifications: Fair trade
Green business practices:
Nothing greens up the wedding industry like local supply chains and made-to-order handcrafting that reduce emissions and textile waste alike.
Sustainable practices to make use of fabric scraps or properly recycle them, circular initiatives to accept old garments, climate positive companies (through farming and offsets), and the use of renewable energy help, too.
Inclusivity:
We always look for size ranges that accommodate all blushing brides, and because most brands offer custom sustainable wedding dress options, that criteria was almost always ticked.
Community & charitable giving:
Donations to local/international organizations and paid volunteer days for staff help to support all of the people not included on the guest list.
Final Thoughts On Eco-Friendly Wedding Dresses
Congrats on finding your perfect partner!
Now we just hope this list will help you find the perfect sustainable wedding dress to stun him, her, or them.
If you’re going to be wearing a dress for just a single day (there are a lot of eco-ideas for what to do with your old wedding dress, when you’re ready to let it go, eventually) something from a thrift store à la vintage dresses are best.
But if you have your heart set on a dreamy new dress, it’s heart-warming to see brands that are committed to eco-materials and ethical supply chains. White has truly never looked so green.
PS: Don’t forget to scope out some sexy sustainable lingerie to go underneath for after the reception.
If love is in the air and you know someone who will be walking down the aisle, standing beside you on your special day, or sniffling in the audience, share this article (and maybe these linen wedding guest dresses) with them in support of conscious communions.
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Good morning, I know this is probably a long shot but the wedding dress at the top of your website on the right is something that I have been trying to source. Could you please give me some details as to designer etc so I could maybe source something similar. I wait in anticipation for your reply.
Kind regards,
Dee
Hi Dee, I’m sorry I’m not sure of that designer. Perhaps Google Image Search could help? Or try Shady.Club extension to search for similar? We learnt about this in our podcast interview with them here