Getting married soon? These ethical wedding dress designers will be sure you’re off to a green start to your new life!
By Chantal Brocca
When it comes to how to plan a wedding, there’s plenty to consider. The venue, the food, the guest list, writing that wedding ceremony script, the groom’s tuxedo, and the music, for example. But top of the priority list for any bride-to-be is, of course, the wedding gown.
No matter what kind of wedding you are planning – be it a small eco-friendly ceremony or a lavish and luxurious party, the wedding dress is the key to success.
It’s important not to leave the gown decision until last minute. There are plenty of ethical wedding dress designers whose work you’ll want to inspect! And even after you’ve managed to sift through their creations and have chosen a style, it takes time to sew a gown, especially since most are bespoke.
But we’re here to help! We’ve found some of the best ethical wedding dress designers, whose works capture the beauty of the female body.
Why wearing a sustainable wedding dress is important
There are many reasons why buying a sustainable wedding dress is important. As you probably know, the fashion industry contributes to around 300,000 tonnes of clothing ending up in landfill each year. And some of those garments are made out of materials like acrylic and polyester. Which means they take centuries to break down. Do you really want the most memorable dress you’ll ever wear to be contributing to that?
We all need to take responsibility for improving our planet. And one of the easiest ways to do is is to choose fashion brands that are conscious about their impact.
What to look for in an ethical wedding gown
It was once a tradition to wear your mom’s wedding dress. Sure, styles and times have changed, but vintage is still a great way to go. That could be your mom’s gown, grannie’s, or a perfect stranger’s. That way, your dress can also count as your ‘something old’!
If you prefer a new dress, look below to check out a few of the ethical wedding dress designers we really admire. Not just for their diverse styles, but for the fabrics they use. Whether it’s peace silk, dead stock organic cotton or Tencel, all of these materials are sustainable for different reasons.
Before you buy, always look for ethical certification schemes. These include: Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the FAIRTRADE Cotton Program mark. Knowing your dress is backed by one of these certifications means you can rest assured you’re avoiding harmful synthetic fabrics, fur and leather. In addition, avoid feathers, as these are just as cruel as fur!
Overall, fabrics that have the lowest negative environmental impact are recycled or organic. Conventional cotton, viscose, rayon, elastane, polyester and nylon should not only be avoided because they’re not at all eco-friendly, but they look cheap, too!
Choosing a gown by one of these designers below brings a lot of benefits. Not only are these creators talented and sustainable, but they accommodate brides of different shapes and sizes, and ensure their workers are treated fairly, too.
Main image: Reformation Image below: Anita Hamremoen
10 Ethical Wedding Dress Designers We Love
1. Reformation
This California based brand is set on celebrating all body types with its effortless silhouettes and sustainable fabrics. It only takes about a month to bring your design to life – but the perfect fit is the brand’s priority
Its extended sizes collection goes up to size 22, and there are even gowns for brides with a full DD cup. Rescued deadstock fabrics and repurposed vintage clothing make these ethical wedding dresses not only affordable and eco-friendly, but also truly unique.
Best for: Plus-size brides
Based: USA, delivers worldwide
2. Christy Dawn
Based in Los Angeles, Christy Dawn is one of those ethical wedding dress designers who also makes dresses for everyday looks.
She’s inspired by timeless, no-nonsense style. Every wedding gown is handmade using dead stock and vintage fabric, lending them a flowing, boho sensibility. The clean lines of her frocks pair well with ethical jewellery and accessories, too!
Christy Dawn ensures skillfull artisans create her ethically and locally made gowns. They do so in a small, southern American town, instilling your dress with light, happy, positive vibes.
Best for: As all of these dresses are in the $200-$500 range, this brand is best for ethical brides on a budget.
Based: USA, delivers worldwide
3. Sanyukta Shrestha
This is one of those ethical wedding dress designers who is a pioneer for her eco-friendliness and sustainable high-end wedding styles.
She combines daring silhouettes, cuts and colours with a timeless aesthetic. Sanyukta finds her inspiration in inner beauty, and wants her dresses to reflect the personalities each client. The finest details of the wedding gowns and hand tailored to each bride. And if you’re looking for a trendier style in a colour other than white, she’s got lots of great ideas to choose from!
You can feel really good about wearing one of her gowns, knowing that her eco-friendly, non-chemically enhanced materials provide Fair Trade work for poor communities in her home country of Nepal.
Best for: Those looking for a truly, deeply eco-friendly wedding dress that’s ethically made.
Based: UK
4. Atelier Tammam
Assamese peace silks woven from open ended Eri cocoons. Organic GOTS and FLO certified cottons. Traditional hand loomed fabrics. Nepalese banana yarn. These are just a few of the sustainable fabrics that the Tammam atelier uses.
Tammam products are 100% vegetarian and cruelty free. Most of their fabrics are vegan. Apart from peace silk there are no animal derived products in any of their collections.
This British wedding brand is known for its bespoke ethical bridal gowns. Their clients are women of various size, age and walk of life who lust after a handcrafted wedding gown embellished with sustainable, organic, and recycled textiles.
5. Deborah Lindquist
World-renowned designer Deborah Lindquist is not only one of the best ethical wedding dress designers, but she’s also a cool lady, too! (yep, she’s a friend of us here at Eluxe).
She offers a range of sustainable bridal gowns made from recycled and organic fabrics. ‘The Green Queen’ of Los Angeles has designed ethical red carpet gowns for a variety of A-listers, including Rihanna, Christina Aguilera, Pink and Sharon Stone. Her exquisite designs feature embellishments such as upcycled semi-precious stones, crystals or vintage jewels to truly bedazzle.
Best for: Sustainable wedding dresses with some modern Hollywood glamour.
Based: USA, delivers worldwide
6. Ann Wiberg
Ann Wiberg Bridal Couture dresses are the very image of poetry. Here, modernist trends meet romance.
Wiberg is quite popular among Hollywood celebrities for her unique style. Her other brand, Trash Couture, also emphasises sustainability, since these stunning dresses are made with antique fabrics, lace, and beads.
Her prevailing style has a definite baroque aesthetic, with a touch of rock-n-roll thrown in, too.
Best for: Rock’n’roll, alternative brides with attitude.
Based: USA, delivers worldwide
7. Wear Your Love
A wedding is a day when the love is in the air – so why don’t you Wear Your Love? Organic cotton, natural silk chiffon, quick growing bamboo and soft English tulle fabrics make this frock brand sustainable. Ethereal layers come to life with every small movement, no matter which style you choose, be it a cropped boho halter dress or a delicate, classical lace design worthy of a royal wedding.
If you’d like to spend one of the most important days of your life wearing something that perfectly expresses your individual style in a way that doesn’t hurt the planet, this is one of the best ethical wedding dress designers to contact with your bespoke order.
Best for: Up-to-the-minute bridal trends, in sustainable style
Based: USA, delivers worldwide
8. Leanne Marshall
Ms Marshall was by far our favourite contestant – and the winner – of Project Runway’s Season 5. She won mainly for her talent for creating light-as-a-cloud dresses made with zero-waste cutting techniques.
Her bridal line, below, beautifully demonstrates Marshall’s talent for draping. She creates gowns that effortlessly move like a puff of elegant smoke around the wearer.
Based in New York, the designer does have a ready-to-wear range, but is also happy to take bespoke orders, too.
Best for: Stunning, sustainable wedding dresses that will take the breath away from every guest.
Based: USA, delivers worldwide
9. Luna Bride
This British-based atelier specialises in fabrics are personally selected from sources that are cruelty-free, organic and vegan. Materials such as English lace, organic peace silk and vegan bamboo are produced to the highest social standards whilst offering a sublime look and sumptuous feel.
10. Pure Magnolia
Looking for an ethical bridal gown that blends tradition with the modern style? Look no further than Pure Magnolia. This Canadian brand designs classic-inspired sustainable wedding dresses with contemporary touches. Each gown is made in their studio by seamstresses earning fair wages from eco-fabrics, such as organic cotton and hemp silk.
The brand sources recycled fabrics whenever possible, but that’s not all! They even recycle scrap fabrics through their FABCYCLE program.
Best for: Traditionalists and romantics
Based: Canada
Choosing a sustainable wedding dress can be fun and adventurous! Are there any ethical wedding dress designers we missed? Let us know in the comments, below!
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I’m pretty sure Minna hasn’t operated for years. What about sustainable bridal couture pioneer Tammam?! https://www.tammam.co.uk/couture-atelier/couture-bridal-collection
Thanks for the info! We have added the brand. You can just email me at [email protected] for inclusion next time!
These are fantastic, beautiful gowns. I am inspired and encouraged by these designers as they have the courage to be conscious of the challenge we face in the coming years with regards to climate change. Sustainability is one of my greatest motivators for my own business. I will definitely encourage my brides to purchase gowns from these designers and I truly hope to see more professionals jump onto the eco-friendly bandwagon, no matter what their business is. Cheers!
Thanks Melissa! Agree wholeheartedly. Hope more businesses jump on this bandwagon too! 🙂