Wedding Blog
Congratulations to the winner krys!
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Today we have a fantastic giveaway from The Body Shop - a gift basket filled with 9 of their best selling products!
1. Peppermint Foot Soak (for the day after the wedding), 2. Satsuma Shower Gel, 3. Vitamin E Eye Cream, 4. Cocoa Body Butter, 5. Hi Shine Lip Treatment, 6. Shea Body Scrub, 7. White Musk Perfume, 8. Peppermint Foot Lotion, 9. Shimmer Cubes (X2, different shades)
The Body Shop has always been recognized for their natural inspired and ethically produced beauty products. They run their business on five main values: Protect the Planet, Support Community Trade, Against Animal Testing, Defend Human Rights, and Activate Self Esteem.
To enter this contest, please tell us what you’ve done (or plan to do) to support any of these five values. You have until 12pm EST Friday to enter. Good luck! 
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I love the Body Shop, such great products.
To protect the planet we plan to have both ceremony and reception at the same location (less traveling). We used tree-free paper and postcard rsvp for our invitations and will use only seasonal flowers for the bouquet and seasonal food. No flower centerpieces but again something seasonal that we can pick up in the forest and bring back after the wedding.
To support community trade we are avoiding big companies and working with a local organic brewery for the beer.
To protect the planet, we’re giving our guests reusable grocery bags from Whole Foods, made from recycled material. We hope the guests will nix the plastic bags, and use the recycled totes instead!
Protect the Planet - we use re-usable grocery bags, carpool, recycle, re-purpose items in our home instead of buying new items, etc.
These products sound great. I recycle cans, bottles, and paper. I try to do my part to make our planet a better place to live.
I try to activate self esteem every day that I’m at work. I’m a teacher, so I find that that is one of the most important things for my kids.
As for our wedding, we are using a company that uses sustainable seafood, local and organic produce, and is very adament about protecting the environment in all of their work.
We are also supporting community trade through our beers by using locally brewed beer.
Protect the planet: I used cute reusable shopping bags as the gift bags for my bridesmaids. If we do OOT bags, we’ll be using reusable bags as well.
In our daily lives we compost regularly and use reusable shopping bags. When we get plastic bags we take them back and recycle them.
For our wedding we’re purchasing as much as we can locally including our DIY bouquet and groom’s boutonnière. I’m buying flowers from the farmer’s market.
We also have a wedding rule: if we can’t reuse it we’re not buying it! Our Thank You cards are left over stationary from our RSVP postcards, our card box is going to be used as a planter, etc.
Those are a few things we do to do our part.
I’m an engineer and I mentor 8th grade girls who are intersted in math and science, which helps self esteem.
It’s quite simple. Think about what you actually need, and don’t be wasteful. We’re not doing anything in the wedding that would create more “trash.” No tangible favors - edible ones are the best anyway! No save the date magnets - just email. Etc.
Ooh, I love it! I do not purchase any products from companies that test on animals. I also work for an environmentally sustainable company so I help drive ways we can better protect the planet every day.
Protect the planet - we use as much locally farmed/raised/grown stuff as we can get our hands on, use those awesome cloth grocery bags, reuse or recycle when we can. It sounds silly, but I also compliment at least three people every single day - promote self esteem, woot!
I use reusable shopping bags for all my shopping. I recycle & I will not buy products that have been tested on animals.
To protect the planet we bought bus passes for our guests that wanted to try out our city’s fabulous public transportation.
Our wedding planning is centered on protecting the planet! Our venue will use foods from local farmers and our main dish is vegitarian!
My fiance and I share 1 car and use it as little as possible by walking, biking, and taking the train. We also are using reusable shopping bags for our oot bags. Rehearsal dinner is walking distance from our hotels and the ceremony and reception are in the same location.
I installed the curly low-energy light bulbs (whose name is escaping me right now) in my house and am a loyal recycler.
Protecting the planet: We recyle anything we can, both at work (which is hard to do in a research lab) and at home. For our wedding favors we gave away wildflower seeds. I make a conscious effort to never buy cosmetics or similair products tested on animals for myself or as gifts.
I’ve been a vegetarian for the past 5 years which ultimately helps animals as well as the planet. I’m using recycled paper for my invitations and recycled bags for my bridesmaids bags.
I love Body Shop products!
To Protect the Planet I am actually making my own invitations from scratch using reycled paper, We are making plantable paper favors, and are having seasonal flowers.
To Support Community Trade we have found a local caterer who uses organic and local products.
In our OOT bags we are putting small bottles of shampoo and lip balm that don’t do animal testing. I am against animal testing as it is so this was important to me.
To defend human right we have decide to purchase our wedding bands from a jeweler that uses conflict-free diamonds and metals. The jeweler is also local.
To activate self esteem, I consciously make an effort to give at least one truly sincere compliment a day to someone I know or a stranger.
I activate self esteem as a teacher. I give my students the skills to make discoveries and “build them up” through positive reinforcement.
To protec the planet, we are having the ceremony & reception at the same venue, using silk flowers, recyled paper invitations, centerpieces will be potted flowers for guests to take home & plant.
With the Beijing Olympics going on, I am reminded of my two trips to China that have really spurred on all 5 of the goals when I went there to teach English. Everyday we had different topics and each of the 5 points were addressed, in a rural area that had bad pollution, struggling to be top of their class, globalization, etc. My goal everyday was to challenge the way they think and to help appreciate what’s around them.
to protect the planet - i stopped drinking bottled water (i heard that 1bottle of water actually takes 4x that much water to produce!) and we reuse canvas grocery bags.
We’re supporting community trade by using a local caterer who uses only products sourced locally for the food. Also, our venue is a registered historic building, and our site fees go to its maintenence and upkeep.
i am a recycling freak. i re-use anything and everything at home. some call it cheap, i call it saving the planet!
protecting planet - We will be having an eco-friendly wedding. Using china instead of disposable, having ceremony and reception at same venue, donating all centerpieces and flowers to nearby hospitals and nursing homes, using recycled mason jars as centerpiece vases, printed invites on recycled and FSC certified paper with post consumer waste content, etc
I would love to have these products from a company with such great values
Sign me up. I heart the body shop.
I activate self esteem by helping helping the girls in my brownie troop (I am an assistant girl scout leader, love it!) by realizing their full potential and helping them grow up to to be the best they can be!
We use energy star appliances and we commute using mass transit, also we use GE energy saving light bulbs. We recycle regularly and do what we can can to help the planet. For our wedding day we are using local businesses and as much green as we can. =o)
We recycle like crazy, printed our invitations on recycled paper products, and just installed very eco-friendly cork floors and recycled paper countertops in our kitchen!
I’m part of a CSA (community supported agriculture) for a local organic farm. It’s organically grown produce with minimum travel, ensuring that small local family farms will have a way to sell their product without the need of a wholesaler agent or shipping to a distributer.
We minimized excess by cutting out guest list (protect the planet) and used local vendors (support community trade). We are also planning to plant trees in honor of the wedding instead of favors.
I work for the public transit department in my city. I spend my days promoting public transit as a way to reduce air pollution, noise pollution, and congestion.
As for our wedding, we have customized our menu to serve our guests locally gown/produced food that is in season. As well, our favors are edible; our beer is from a local micro brewery, our wine from a local winery.
To save paper, we will not be including reply cards with our initiations. They will simply say “Regrets only to (Phone #) by (date)”. Not only does this save paper, it saves the emissions that are produced by the various forms of transportation being used to deliver the RSVP’s.
Our wedding will include no real flowers. All bouquet will be silk and the centerpieces are reusable.
i have recycled all my wedding magazines and i love shopping our local market where they use local farms for their produce!
We’re supporting community trade by having locally brewed beers, and using a caterer that uses only locally-sourced foods.
I love the Body Shop and what they do
I work in non-profit, we focus on environmental work and policy. We are using local vendors and working to minimize our impact before, during and after the wedding. We are taking an eco-tourism honeymoon!
We are trying to keep our wedding green by using a caterer that uses only local famers markets for the food.
We’re also cutting down on the guest list to friends and family who live within 50 miles of the city.
And I’ve been using lots of recycled items from friends weddings (see, there are perks for being the last to be married amongst friends!) for our own wedding.
As a middle school teacher at an all girls school, activating self-esteem is one of the most important things I try to do everyday. Teaching young women that they are valuable members of society, that they are worthy of respect and admiration, that they are beautiful inside and out no matter what others tell them is much more important than teaching them the presidents in order and I make it my primary goal day to day.
Also I focus a lot of my teaching on instilling in my students a deep respect for the environment that nurtures them. We spent a lot of time studying human rights abuses, writing to world leaders about past and current abuses and trying to make a difference by having our voices heard. I also spend a good deal of time teaching my students about the history of labor (including slavery, labor unions, sweatshops, etc) and get them thinking about how all of the things they use every day came to be. I want them to understand that they’re a part of a much larger system of production and consumption so that they can start working to mend that system.
I don’t use products tested on animals. I’ve also been a vegetarian for 15 years. I’m doing a little bit to protect the planet by developing new battery technology to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
We plan on doing, a la Mrs. Lovebug, charity tokens instead of favors! We are picking two charities that each represent our maternal grandfathers that are no longer with us.
I don’t own a car, and do the vast majority of my transportation by foot or mass transit.
I protect the planet by walking instead of driving and shopping organic and loca.
We designed our invites around the most eco-friendly paper & envelopes we could find, and are still making them “without a fold” We are limiting cut flowers & signed up through the I Do Foundation to support Heifer Project, where I interned in college. I plan a camp for middle school girls to encourage their self-esteem, especially in going into science, tech., engineering, and math. We are investigating some eco-friendly limos or we may just use my hybrid, and I could go on…
We recycle and carpool, wish we did more.
We’re trying to be as environmentally conscious as possible throughout the planning process. We belong to a farmer’s market co-op and try to buy local when possible.
To save our planet…I use re-usable grocery bags, recycle, car pool as often as I can.
I recycle, use my own canvas totes for grocery items, use energy saving light bulbs and walk instead of drive whenever I can.
To protect the planet, I try to be environmentally conscious–I take public transportation to work, recycle everything, and look for products that are made environmentally responsible. I even bought my bridesmaids reusable enviroxas tote bags for shopping.
Self-Esteem…I teach my fourth graders, both boys and girls, what it means to have self-confidence, and it helps with bullying situations, as well as other parts of the school day
To save the planet at our wedding we are only using local food at the wedding!
I stopped drinking bottled water, started reading my papers online, only run a full dishwasher/washing machine, gave up taxis for the subway exclusively (when i can’t walk).
I have stopped drinking bottled water, gotten an aluminum water bottle, and try to use as little plastic bags as possible!
To support community trade we choose local vendors for our wedding. The cake was fabulous and made from a culinary school by students trying to gain experience. Besides our wedding day we are huge supporters of recycling, carpooling and consuming less to help out the planet
To protect our planet, my fiance and I have started carpooling as often as we can, we hit up the local farmer’s market on Saturday mornings, we use re-usable grocery bags, we recycle and we try to continuously educate ourselves on new ways to be green!!
To support community trade, we plan to pay local chefs and use all local ingredients (we are lucky to have a nearby farmer’s market and live near many fabulous farming communities) for our meals, as well as our entire wedding ensemble (including a local seamstress for my dress, local rental agencies for the venue and dinnerware, and local student photography).
To save the planet, I started using reusable bags at the grocery. I don’t drink out of water bottles…I use a SIGG bottle now too!
To support community trade, we walk to the farmer’s market every week and buy produce there. And to protect our planet, we always recycle, i work very close to where i live, and we donate usable things that we no longer need instead of throwing them away.
I always make sure to recycle, even if there isn’t a convenient bin. If I’m out and about and can’t find a bin, I’ll just take home and recycle it there
Against animal testing - I do not use ANY products (or products containing ingredients) that are tested on animals, and I will of course perpetuate this on my wedding day, along with my BMs.
To protect the planet I create new things out of old things. Prime example: last night I finished crafting a new tote bag by adding vintage felt (that I got for free from my mom) to a bag from a trade show. Green AND free!
i buy cruelty free products and recycle
To protect the planet I started using reusable grocery bags and walking to the grocery store!
I am a teacher and my school recently gave every member of the school community 3 reusable grocery bags.
I have continuous discussions with my third graders about environmental concerns, the benefits of using the bags, modeling for my students (bring my lunch/ supplies to school in the bags), and encouraging them to use their bags, too!
I don’t buy products tested on animals, nor do I eat meat. In everyday life, and for our wedding, we are buying locally whenever possible; our centerpieces will be local edible gourds that folks can take home and compostable carved local pumpkins!
To protect the planet, we are having the ceremony and reception in the same place, giving our guests as much information as possible about public transit while they are visiting, and I am making all the candles for the wedding out of organic soy wax in reclaimed (literally pulled from friends’ recycling piles) containers.
I also got my students on a paper recycling kick, and let me tell you, they didn’t let a single scrap of paper go to waste! So cute!:)
It’s great that so many people support and enjoy a cause worthy store like The Body Shop. I have been trying to “protect the planet” by using reusable grocery bags like many others above. It’s a small action, but if everyone stopped using plastic bags, we would make out planet a LOT greener!
I love the body shop. My first experience was over 15 years ago when I went to Finland as a foreign exchange student. My host sister raved about it and took me in. I immediatly searched them out when got was state side again. Unfortunatly, there wer no stores in my rural area. I was so happy to find them agian in the malls!
I work at the greenest museum in the world and learn everyday about being sustainable and helping to save our planet: http://www.calacademy.org
I know I can be doing more.. but I’ve been using resuable bags when shopping at all stores. If I ever forget to bring them, then I don’t use plastic bags and rather carry out the supplies myself… there’s tons more that I can be doing.. but this is just the beginning.
I’m crazy about saving energy and not wasting water. Pretty much all of our household products are energy star. I recycle as well.
Community Trade - Although this isnt necessarily on a global level, I buy almost all of my groceries from our local farmers market. I have personally come to know some of the farmers in our area, mostly from smaller towns who really rely on selling their produce and products at the market for survival. They sustain me and I help sustain them. Its a great feeling!
Just today, I supported our community and the earth by shopping at the weekly farmer’s market! I love the fresh, organic produce, fragrant herbs, and the colorful people who work at the stalls. Paked into my canvas bag and ready for vegetarian cooking, it’s a tribute to mother nature, sustainable living, and the classic motto, “think globally, act locally.” Cheers!!
I protect the environment and human rights by breastfeeding my daughter. I am also trying to plan an eco-friendly wedding!
love the body shop!
We buy organic / local / recycled whenever we can. We recycle everything we can and are urging our communities to recycle more. We are both avid Habitat for Humanity volunteers and our favors at the wedding will be donation cards for Lets Eat Cake! which benefits St. Jude’s hospital.
To protect the planet, I recycle and try to carpool.
For our wedding, we followed our normal, everyday practices - which focus on supporting privately owned (and whenever possible, local) businesses. Sure, I may have been able to save several hundred dollars (or more) by buying my dress on the internet rather than from our local (non-chain) bridal salon, ordering my flowers through Costco, buying mass-produced invitations, and getting a cake from Safeway. But our vendors, with their little, local shops, are our friends and neighbors. I don’t mind paying more to help to prevent the *Walmart-ization* of my hometown - and I would always rather give my money to a person than to a big company.
Aside from that, our other big decision (as much for the convenience and pocketbooks of our guests as for the planet) was to have our wedding locally, to try to minimize the travel required. We toyed with the idea of a (Pacific Northwest) destination location, but in the end we couldn’t see making absolutely everyone travel, even if it was only a 6 - 8 hour drive each way. Maybe our decision not to make our local guests travel will balance the carbon debt associated with the fairly large number of friends scattered throughout the country who did travel to be with us.
This year i started my first garden, and we have been shopping at local markets, farmer’s markets and even picking our own fruit and berries. Living and eating locally is one way to help the planet and support your community.
I teach ethics, so hopefully I inspire students to live more conscientious lives. Personally, I recycle and don’t own a car and try not to waste resources. Peace!
We are recyling the bottles of beer and wine at our reception. We are also giving our energy saving light bulbs as favors!
I protect human rights through my job. I work to provide equitable healthcare to all children. My current research revolves around elimnating disparities in provider-patient communication.
Great! I just try to do my part for recycling
I work in Urban Planning as a means to fight the inherent discrimination in zoning and provide equal treatment for individuals of every race and socio-economic status. I consider dignity a basic human right.
On a more basic level, we are incorporating green elements in our wedding with recycled products and reusable grocery bags for our out-of-towners. In lieu of favors we have donated to two of our favorite charities. Oh, and I drive a Prius. =)
Protect the Planet - I recycle, buy organic and fair trade, and use bento boxes and coffee mugs instead of disposable products.
Most tangibly, I’ve been a big earth saver/recycler since I was a kid. Oh, and I bawled throughout “An Inconvenient Truth” and told everyone I knew to watch it.
I don’t buy anything that has been testes on animals.
I am a recycling queen and re-use anything possible and buy vintage (of course)!
To “protect the planet” and “support community trade” in one, our out out-of-town bags are reusable grocery bags from our local co-op!
I’ve always been against animal testing - I try to only buy products that have not been tested on animals.
i recycle?
I’m a recycleaholic, and I always buy free trade coffee! I was also the co-founder of a campus group which educates people about human rights issues in the Middle East, and I’ve just finished my second summer working with disabled adults (who definitely need advocates in the human rights area).
recycle cans, bottle, paper, and take totes to the market, shopping, EVERYWHERE!
I have begun to go green by no longer using plastic or paper bags at the grocery store, in addition to recycling all paper, plastic, metal, and glass when I am finished with it. I have also begun to purchase locally grown foods, to suuport local farmers. In relation to animals, I pledge to continue rescuing dogs, and will not support puppy mills or the like, by purchasing dogs.
I am entering yay!
I am a diligent recycler to protect the planet!! My FH gets annoyed with it, but I always remind him that we only have one planet and we don’t want to junk it up!
To protect the planet, we have actually bought one of the “old timey” lawn mowers. No gas or oil used and no fumes in the air. We are cutting down on plastic bags use and have started recycling all of our plastic, paper and metals.
To support community trade, we try to buy all of our fruits and veggies from local growers.
To activate self esteem, we take good care of ourselves. We eat right (most of the time anyway) and work out regularly.
Support local trade- We buy most of our vegetables and fruit from local farmer’s markets. We also try and buy most of our meats from local meat lockers. We buy eggs and milk from farmers as well.
To Protect the Planet I run the a Green Initiative at work. I have turned that place upside down with recycling, reusing, and conservation!
For our wedding, we also incorporated as many Green elements as we could. This meant “going green” with the outfits, venue, and everywhere we could!
Our dinner menu - easily the biggest monetary outlay of the wedding - helps to both encourage community trade and protect the planet. Our menu is made of locally-sourced foods: Ohio pork, family-caught walleye, homegrown pumpkins, local carrots … besides just tasting better, our food travels fewer miles and is raised by farmers within 100 miles of the wedding.
I never use products that test on animals (which is why I love Body Shop products!). I also do not eat animals and avoid animal products (dairy, leather) as much as possible. I try to buy local, organic food and other products; I walk, carpool, and use public transit where possible; I support candidates who support human rights and similar ideals; I recycle; I limit my use of throw-away products and generally avoid wastefulness. For our wedding, we are using recycled paper for the invites and probably will forgo mailing paper copies of information sheets and RSVP cards in favor of electronic communication! I also intend to use local, in-season floral, food, and favors.
I am a recycling freak, and I don’t use cosmetics tested on animals.
To help protect the planet, my fiance and I are doing our part every day with little things - bringing bags to the grocery store, buying the most energy efficient TV, recycling, keeping the AC high or turning it off most of the time, and we try to read on the latest trends for going green to do everything possible in order to decrease our carbon footprints. Good Luck everyone!
to proteect the planet i only buy recycled paper products and recycle everything possible. I dont buy any products that test on animals if i can help it. I buy only local produce at our farmers market.
Against Animal Testing
In my purse, I keep a list of companies who do not test their products on animals that I downloaded from PETA. We feed our pets (two dogs & two cats) food that’s not only natural and good for them, but also made by a company that does not participate in animal testing even though it’s WAY more expensive.
Recycle everything I can, reusable grocery bags, energy saving light bulbs!
I only buy cosmetics from companies that do not test on animals. I did a research paper on animal testing and I was beyond horrified by what I found. That really changed my mind on how cosmetics get from the factory to shelf. I went on PETA’s website to double check what companies truly do not test on animals.
To protect the planet, I recycle! I drink a million bottles of water a day (as do my bf and my family, who refrain from throwing their bottles away to give to me) but my apt does not have recycling bins so every time my “collection” reaches like 5 ginormous bags I load all the bags into my car (it’s quite a struggle) and drive down to the nearest recycling center and recycle the bottles one by one. It’s painstaking at times but it’s my little contribution to the world.
!!!! I loooooove the body shop!
I’m in school to be a teacher–I’m doing my student teaching this fall. I plan on activating self esteem by taking that extra time to help students with their social life and other teenage drama. And, of course, some good makeup always helps a woman feel their best!
As a writer of young adult fiction, it is my goal to write books that will touch teens the way that some of my favourite books did when I was younger. I want to write books that activate the self esteem of the younger generations who seem so lost and caught up in sexual preoccupations.
I also don’t own a car and use a backpack and tote bags for shopping. Our recycling bin goes out every two weeks on Friday, too. The bicycle is the greatest invention, and i’m sure that if more of us used one, we’d help protect the planet in a big way!
For my wedding, our reception is just under a mile away and we’ve contracted with a bicycle renting company (sorry, they don’t have a website) to rent out bike’s for our guests to ride over to it! My finance and I are going to be riding a two-person bike! In full wedding garb!
To defending human rights, I have concentrated my career on working with adults with developmental disabilities and mental retardation. I have worked my way up the administrative ladder over the past 10 year, and teach others how to appropriately advocate for and enhance the lives of individuals who cannot provide such representation for themselves.
For protecting the planet - I bring my own grocery bags to the market
recycle and reuse!!
Protect the Planet: I personally recycle at home, but also started a recycling program at work (everyone else was shocked at how much we threw away, since we provide free cokes and water to the students in our training center; our bins will be full in a day).
Support Community Trade: Since our non-city recycling center is at the local farmer’s market, we shop there weekly and look for local foods.
Against Animal Testing: Anything that we can find that has no animal testing, we get over other brands (Body Shop is a nice store, since we don’t have to study the back of every product).
Defend Human Rights: Perhaps I’m not as active as I can be, but I believe that all people are people and, therefore, deserve to be treated with dignity. I also participate in the LGBT community in the ATL, though I’m more of an honorary member (if best friends and parents are my qualifications.)
Activate Self Esteem: I’m an active Girl Scout volunteer, mentoring low-self-esteem nerdy girls (I know where they’re coming from, gaining much of my self-esteem from these programs, myself.)
im doing everything in one place to save gas and travelling
I am a teacher and I try hard to activate self-esteem in my students. I also grow my own vegetables, drive little, eat local, organic food and buy sustainable, handmade products whenever possible!
Protect the planet: I have replaced all of my light bulbs with low energy bulbs, moved very close to my job so that I don’t drive as much and for the wedding, we are having the ceremony and reception at the same location.
To protect the planet, we recycle, buy locally grown food and plan our drives to be as efficient as possible.
i think i’ve been doing all of those things in little ways but the one i’m most dedicated to is human rights. i started working a student organizer for Amnesty International in high school and i haven’t stopped since! it has influenced my entire life…the friends i’ve made, the degree i chose (international relations/peace and conflict resolution) and i’ve just taken a job working as a community service coordinator at a local community college, with the focus of my work being service projects dedicated to bringing people out of poverty. my involvement in organizing and fundraising for human rights has shaped who i am today - for the better!
p.s. they just closed the body shop nearest to my house! the horror!
Recycled paper for the invites for us! They don’t do community recycling here in Nola, so we pay someone to come get ours here, too.
I support community trade by buying locally. I purchase produce at our farmers market and buy other goods at local non chain businesses. I try and avoid big box stores.
i activate self-esteem by teaching in inner-city philadelphia. the children i teach are told every day that they are not worth fuding, that they are not good enough, and that they will not succeed. i show up to work every day to refute these claims and put hope in their lives.
protect the planet - by carrying my groceries in hand or using recycled bags so i don’t send another plastic bag into eternity
Protect the planet– I use reuseable bags or non at all when buying things. I use a reuseable nalgene bottle, and try to reinvent old items in my home to have a new purpose. I also try to support local businesses rather than using the chains and frequent our local food-coop and farmers market
FI and I have been making a conscious effort to recycle and “go green”.
I am a committed vegetarian, and so is my FI. We are having a completely vegetarian reception dinner to keep with our commitment and to lessen our impact on our environment.
Use recycled paper!
I try to mainly buy local produce from farmers markets, and stay away from exotic foods shipped from far away.
To Support Community Trade I buy locally and don’t shop at big business stores like Walmart, etc. We’re both strict lacto-vegetarians and choose products that have adopted strict policies on no animal testing.
I always buy locally, support the local Farmer’s market, was Vice President to the local S.P.C.A, we recylce on a daily basis, and we have instilled in our kids(second marriage) the value of respect…of everything! Enviroment, animals, of others, and not to waste!
I love the idea Body Shop supports these things!!
I take public transportation to work, use reusable grocery bags, recycle, reuse things whenever possible.
Protect the Planet - I became an environmental engineer to help cleanup the planet we have and put processes in place to keep it clean for future generations.
Reusable grocery bags and public transportation ftw!
We’ve tried to do several things in our wedding to reflect our life at home. We use our own shopping bags, we recycle/compost everything we can, and we volunteer for two different animal shelters. We make sure everything we buy is not animal tested. We have our own organic garden and also make the food for our cats & dogs (pricier, but healthier & less waste with the cans, bags, etc.) I carpool 4 days a week to work.
We are using no “disposables” for our “eclectic” outdoor wedding - napkins, linens, glassware, silverware, plates, etc. Everything was rounded up from family members and yard sale/thrift shops. I had the attitude that everything regarding this wedding needed to be reused/recycled/resold after the wedding. Minimal impact. Our outfits are even to be reused as we do Renaissance Faires.
We’re using live plants, some of which we grew ourselves and soy candles for our favors and decor.
We used postcards for the invites with phone numbers & website info for the RSVPs. We had to explain this to some of the older generation, but most of them seem to have come around or at least pretended to understand.
I refused to have a “new” diamond ring so my fiance reused/recycled diamonds from my grandmother & great-grandmothers rings to create a new family heirloom.
I applaud and try to support companies that are looking out for the future of our planet and those of us living on it.
Sorry for the long post, but this is a topic that excites me!
To protect the planet, I gave my bridesmaids reusable monogrammed grocery bags for a gift.
To support the planet we ordered our invites from Bellafigura which uses cotton paper and donates 1% of their proceeds to environmental charities
To Protect the Planet - we use reusable grocery bags, drive a hybrid vehicle, buy local products whenever possible, use energy saving light bulbs, conduct marine conservation research, educate the public on conservation
Support Community Trade - we buy local products whenever we can
Against Animal Testing -we buy products that are not tested on animals
Defend Human Rights- we write letters for Amnesty International
Activate Self Esteem- we encourage our students to push their boundaries, to try anything and everything and that they can achieve anything they dedicate themselves too!
To support community trade, we are sourcing all of our reception food from within our family’s small farming community!
I’m against animal testing, I make sure that I never buy anything tested on animals or leather/fur. To support the planet I use recycled bags for grocery shopping and buy energy saving lightbulbs.
This is a stretch, but I guess by allowing my BMs to pick their own style of dresses, I’m “activating self-esteem!” I know I wouldn’t feel good in a dress that wasn’t me!
My hunny and I volunteer with a local group similar to Habitat for Humanity. It’s called “Good Works”. It has made us both realize how much we have compared to many others in our community so we cut back on the things that really aren’t important and focus on love of family and friends every day. We’ve tried to apply that to our wedding planning and spending as well and chose to make a donation rather than spend money on favors.
Protect our Planet! I use (cute!) reuseable shopping bags, recycle, changed all my light bulbs to eco friendly one, un-plug all appliances while not in use, use public transit (NYC!) and try to support companies that are eco-friendly! I will definitely drive a Hybrid car if I have need to have a car!
To support community trade, we are using flowers from local orchid growers and choosing our menu with the local flora and fauna in mind. We are also planning to give reusable tote bags to hold our OOT gifts.
At home, FI and I bike commute, use compact fluorescents, reusable bags, and buy cruelty-free products.
In general, I try my best to protect the planet, animals, and my fellow humans. My man and I are both vegetarians and the wedding will reflect that.
I am totally against waste, so I recycle everything I can from cans and bottles to old clothing. We are going to have a (mostly) paperless wedding which means no paper napkins and no paper invites. We will also use recycled wine bottles as flower vases.
Human rights are very important to both of us, so we will have a limited registry and encourage guests to donate to Doctors Without Borders.
Every little bit helps, and I don’t want to be part of the problem in my day-to-day life or on my big day.
@Miss Sea Breeze: I try to do the same thing!
In general I try to do my best to cut down on the amount of everything I use - electricity, paper, grocery bags and so on.
For our wedding FH and I our going to give Trader Joes’s re-usable shopping bag to out OOT guest amoung other things.
started a recycling program at work 
I recycle & always conserve electricity and water whenever possible.
I don’t buy any products tested on animals.
Protect the Planet. I started using canvas shopping bags, changed all our light bulbs to energy savers and also started to upgrade our appliances to enegery star ones. And I always receclye.
I’m a teacher, and my number one goal in the classroom is to instill all different types of respect into my students: self-respect, respect for all other living creatures, respect for the environment, etc. We take every opportunity we can to celebrate people, animals, and the amazing planet on which we live. I think it’s fantastic that “The Body Shop” takes responsibility as a company to send the message that the earth and its inhabitants are their number one concern. Keep up the good work!
for our oot bags and bags for the bm and gm gifts, we are using re-usable shopping bags. this way they can cut back on plastic bags!
I teach 8th grade and really feel like this is a turning point in their lives. As difficult as they can be sometimes, you have to remember that you are dealing with parents’ most precious possessions. I really try to keep their self-esteem in mind in whatever we do. Boys and girls alike!
Protect the Planet/Support Community Trade - We use resuable bags at the grocery store, recycle and after reading Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal Vegetable Miracle. we tore out most of our yard to put in an enormous garden to both produce food for us nearly year-round (through preserving and freezing) and to help the bees from dying out. We also support our local Community Supported Agriculture by buying a share of weekly veggies and try our best to buy only things that are in season (tough in Utah!) We get all of our dairy products from a local dairy.
Against Animal Testing/Defend Human Rights - For our wedding we gave guests the opportunity to donate to the Humane Society or the ACLU of Utah in addition to our regular registry.
Self-Esteem - Hmmmm…I refused to diet to fit into my dress.
Protect the Planet - I drive a very economical car!
Besides using recycled paper goods and nondisposable goods and using locally grown, in season food and beverages, we are forgoing favors and using that money to protect the female massacre in the Congo. We are asking our guests to forgo wedding gifts and use the money they would spend on us to protect these women from rape and other forms of abuse.
I volunteer with REI and the local Audubon chapter for trail restoration and I’m going for a MS in ecology to study human impact on ecosystems.
I won’t buy anything that has been tested on animals. If it doesn’t say anything on the product, I won’t take a chance. I only buy it if it states that it doesn’t. I’ve also gone vegetarian and my daughter is vegan.
I recycle cans and papers, carpools, and uses energy saving light bulbs.
I take my own bags to the grocery store.
To protect the planet, we recycle, take public transportation, and turn off lights when not in use.
they’re great! it’ll come in handy!
I love Body Shop!! I can’t get out of the mall or airport without a stop there. I’ve been active in helping my company’s entire office park set up a recycling program. That and I’ve taken my company up on their teleworking policy (which also selfishly helps me avoid Atlanta rushhour!)
I don’t eat meat and I use products that are not tested on animals. We also compost, grow our own vegetables, recycle or reuse everything!
We recycle and don’t use/purchase products tested on animals.
In efforts to protect the planet we recycle at home, and I’m on an all volunteer team to help my industrial type company reuse/reduce/recycle both in how we do business and how we help our customers do the same. Currently I’m know as the PC police reminding people to power down their PC’s at night and over the weekend.
buy local food at farmers markets to support local trade
To protect the planet, we: go on a litter/dog walk every morning to collect plastic bags, cardboard and cast-off recyclable beverage containers, shop exclusively used for non-consumables, dumpster dive, buy organic produce, take public transportation whenever possible, watch cast-off VHS tapes instead of television or DVDs (we figure they may as well enjoy another run before being trashed) and dress appropriately for the weather to minimize our use of heaters and air conditioners. For the wedding, I’m wearing some bridezilla’s unused NWT cast-off second dress, we are getting much of our decor from thrift stores, our flowers will include bamboo and garden flowers, and we’re asking our attendants to forgo tux rental or purchasing outfits that they won’t wear again.
To support community trade, we use Craigslist and Ebay whenever we can. We also try to purchase things like dog food or Dr. Bronner’s through small local businesses.
We don’t purchase products tested on animals, unless they are products that are meant for animals (my dog’s dog food should taste good to a panel of discriminating doggie judges).
To defend human rights, we are not buying any new gold or diamonds. Two years ago, I found my engagement ring and his wedding band sitting on the sidewalk near my old apartment. We put signs and no one ever claimed them. It seemed meant to be. We are planning to use an heirloom or family piece for my wedding band.
To protect the self-esteem of our wedding guests, we will ask the DJ not to play the chicken dance song and we will not make a video that will capture the especially drunken moments.
To protect the planet all of our table centerpieces will be living plants so that they can be reused!
To support community trade, defend human rights, and protect the planet, we decided that I (the bride) am only going to have a single ring for engagement/marriage — made from renewed gold (avoiding the HUGE processing waste from new gold) with “ethically sourced” (fair wages, worker-friendly environment) sapphires. I bought his “mangagement” ring while spending the summer in Cambodia, purchasing it at a community market.
The cool thing about deciding on these rings is that they, in the values they are symbolic of — global care, ethical love, simplicity — have reminded us of priorities throughout the wedding process: using recycled paper for invites/programs, and involving our community of friends, for example.
I heart the Body Shop, particularly for its community involvment/fair trade practices!
We regularly recycle and buy from local businesses and farmers.
My future husband and I try not to put anything in or on our bodies that harms animals, humans, or the planet. We are fair-trade loving, organic eating, vegetarians. The Body Shop has it right, being ethical feels, smells, and tastes good! Our wedding day won’t be any different, and we are excited about sharing our lifestyle with our friends and families.
What a great contest idea that provokes some thoughtfulness in how we brides-to-be plan. Here’s my philanthropic contribution:
1. Protecting the Planet: We printed our programs and thank-you cards on seeded paper, which blooms after planted and its base fiber is cotton or 100% post-consumer waste. (http://www.botanicalpaperworks.com/) Additionally, we followed the key principals of consumption-cutting in order as much as we could: reducing (no take-homes as well as online rsvps for folks who we know are web-savvy). reusing: as an artist, I have all of these projects that I’ve created for various purposes to use as centerpieces on tables. recycling: of course, all of our glass bottles and aluminum cans were be recycled!
2. Support Community Trade: We supported local, small businesses as much as we could — our rehearsal dinner and reception was catered by a great little local small Thai restaurant (also helping out immigrants trying to make it), we also held our reception at a nearby community arts center that holds fantastic programs for underprivileged neighborhood youth (of which there are far too many!) Also, I love supporting artists, so both my fiancee and I purchased our bridal party gifts from etsy.com, a website where artists and handmade crafters can sell their amazing works of love.
3. Against Animal Testing: So this is kind of cool. I’ve been using MAC cosmetics forever and, I did a bit of research and found out that they actually don’t test on animals ! I don’t wear perfume, so no need to research that! I guess I’m in the clear about that one, although, I suppose that means I ought to urge that my bridesmaids clear the hurdle on that one too…
4. Defend Human Rights: Well, we decided waaaay early on that we were both not supportive of the diamond industry (even going conflict-free supports the idea of diamonds and adds fuel and demand for those who would seek to procure diamonds through violent means), so we went with local, artisan crafted gold bands. I’m interested to hear how others have creatively included this element in their wedding planning.
5. Activate Self Esteem: For one thing, the bridesmaids had free reign on their gowns and just had to get somewhere in the range of green. It was my hope that each person chose a style that flatters their own set of curves in the best way they see fit (especially because my gals ranged the whole gamut!). I guess another thing would go back to our reception venue since it offers artisan programs for youth who have had art cut out of their school curriculum long ago. Some of these kids probably had no idea how amazing they are at expressing their intelligence in ways that can’t be measured by rote exams!
Thanks for this opportunity to spend some time and think about how was more thoughtful with this amazing time in my life than I realized! I guess it doesn’t have to be all about me, but it can be all about US :o)
Oh yeah — one more thing. I purchased a dress that was handmade (fair trade) and am now reselling it!
We recycle everythig!!
To help do my part in protecting our planet, we recycle and compost both at home and at work. We use canvas totes when we grocery shop and we also support the local farmer’s market that sets up around the corner of our house every Wednesday.
Defend human rights- I’m going to be working for Amnesty International in a couple of weeks!
Protect the Planet, Support Community Trade, Against Animal Testing, Defend Human Rights, and Activate Self Esteem
Protect the planet? We are avoiding disposables (dishes, bottled water) in our reception, and sourcing flowers and food ocaly to minimize the carbon impact of our reception.
Community Trade? We are sourcing our flowers locally to benefit local farmers (and cut shipping pollution), we are working directly with an artist to create custom stainless steel rings (no blood diamonds or over-mined metals!),
Against Animal Testing? I’ve been avoiding animal-tested products for over 18 years, and in our wedding, we are offering vegans lots of food options, and even a special vegan cupcake option for desert.
Defend Human Rights? No diamonds (blood or otherwise), and our first wedding gift was a gift to our justgive.org registry with Doctors Without Borders!
Activate Self Esteem? One of our other charity registries will benefit the Heifer Project, which will enable families in need all over the world to feed themselves and then give back to their communities. I’ll e very proud if my wedding brings a family out of poverty and into self-sustenance.
To support community trade, I go to the farmer’s market!
At our wedding, we are supporting community trade by purchasing all of our food and flowers from local vendors. We live on Maui, and the carbon footprint for shipping everything in (most lobster is NOT from Hawaii!!) is staggering. So we are having locally farmed meats, locally grown produce, and locally produced cheeses. Which is also against animal testing - we are having our reception at a farm that produces some fab goat cheese, and they just received certification as Certified Humane Farmers and Handlers! I hope our guests will enjoy seeing this positive example of a small family farm thriving in today’s economy.
Well, as a triathlete, I’m dedicated to cycle commuting. Quicker, cheaper, and exercise at the same time? I’m sold.
But being a triathelte has also helped with my self esteem. I’m type 1 diabetic, and most people think that equals a life spent sitting on your behind, worrying about your blood sugar. Heck no! I’ve done a marathon, a half ironman, and I’m aiming for a full ironman sometime soon. But one of my favourte memories is floating in the lake before a race, chatting to a random racer…and then I mentioned that I was type 1 diabetic, and she said that her daughter was as well. And then he looked at me and said, “I really hope she sees you racing today, it will do her good, she’s at a hard place with her treatment”. That made my day.
So what I’ve learned is that sports for the sake of MENTAL, PHYSICAL and SPIRITUAL health is important, especially for young women !
We always use reusable shopping bags, and we’re using bags made from recycled materials for our OOT bags (all 30 of them!). The OOT bags are pretty durable and definitely reusable, so we hope the guests will use them throughout their stay and beyond.
We cutting back on paper by using a wedding website to limit the number of enclosures in our invitations.
We’ve ensured that the hotels, church, rehearsal dinner location, and reception location we’re using are all within a 5 to 10 mile radius of one another to limit travel.
Our criteria for making decisions in what to use and include is that if it can’t be reused, repurposed, or donated for someone else to enjoy, we don’t want it.
I think it’s important that a wedding reflect your personalities and values, and for us, that certainly means eliminating waste as much as possible. Great topic, by the way I love hearing about how others find ways to express these values in their lives and it’s definitely inspiring me to step up my do-good game.
To protect the planet we use LED bulbs and we recycle.
We use LED bulbs and we recycle.
We try to protect the planet by recycling, using energy saver bulbs and when shopping we try to carpool and use cloth bags. I support community trade by shopping locally at independent stores, restaurants, and the open-air market. I try to buy organic products not tested on animals. I have helped defend human rights by spending more than 3 years working for Legal Aid organizations. I am a member of the League of Women Voters and as a student was very involved in the our International Law Society. I currently work at Curves, a gym for women, and encourage our clients to have good self-esteem everyday.
I support Protect the Planet! I use reusable shopping bags when buying groceries, and my family and I love recycling!
Protect the planet - we bought reusable canvas bags and take them everywhere. It is extremely rare that we wind up with a plastic bag, but when we do, we keep it and make sure to reuse it at least one more time before throwing it out.
Defend Human Rights — my husband and I both work for non-profit organizations… him for the UN and me for the JCC.
Helping others and the planet is such an important part of who we are and how we strive to live our lives.
To help support community trade I am getting alot of my little details from the handmade site Etsy. I bought handmade soap for part of my girls gifts, had my ring pillow custom made, and had some custom steak brands made for the fathers. I love this site because everything is hand made and supports those clever crafty people who aren’t necessarily able to be a big business. There are so many unique things on that site I could be on it all day!
I take public transit whenever I can, instead of driving.
I also give to and support Amnesty International, Heifer International, HRC, NARAL, PPAF, and UNICEF.
I bring my own grocery bags every time I go shopping!
I don’t drive (take the subway and public transit, or ride my bike), and I’m a vegetarian!
I always recycle. Even if there’s not a bin around I always save it until I can recycle it.
I sent a long e-mail to the CEO and higher-ups of our company making suggestions on how to make our company more green.
We’ve been sort of green for a while, and though I don’t take credit for starting it, I do take credit for keeping it up. We became vegetarians about 7 years ago. It was after we read a book called “Animal Liberation”. And in defense of Human Rights, we vote, which is of the utmost importance in any situation. And we volunteer at a food bank.
First I will learn to contribute to the planet by help volunteer to plant trees and conserve and recycle. That means take a bag to the grocery store and buy organic products. Also I will volunteer at animal shelters and not use products that test on animals. For Human Rights I will speak up for my rights by taking part in the election and also my own community.
Oh BodyShop, how we’ve grown together. I remember buying my first cruelty free shampoos and cosmetics from you at the mall.
Nowadays, I teach 1st year environmental geography courses at the university, in an effort to inspire confident future earth crusaders, and shop at my local farmer’s market, while proudly sporting my socially conscious environmentally friendly recycled and conflict free engagement ring.
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