A greener wedding – Post 1: Eco-friendly wedding stationery

On January 20, 2012 · 1 Comment

Planning a wedding should be a fun experience but in these days of mass consumption some people feel the pressure to do things bigger and better which unfortunately, often means tackier. A wedding doesn’t have to make a big impact on the environment or a big hole in your pocket. Adding a few green touches to your wedding or having a full-on green celebration can be less expensive for you and the planet. My “A greener wedding” series of blog posts will help you choose the eco-friendly way to getting married. An eco-chic wedding is a more simple way to get married and is often a more intimate and personal experience for the bride & groom and their guests. So if you want a beautiful, romantic day where the emphasis is on the happy couple and not how much the cake cost, read on…

Eco-friendly wedding stationery is becoming increasingly popular and doesn’t mean a compromise on quality either.

Why use recycled paper?

There are three main reasons to use recycled fibre:

Reduced resource use: Paper manufacture is very resource-intensive. Why use paper only once, when it can can easily be reused?
Less landfill: Recycling reduces the amount of waste paper going to landfill.
Save our forests: Using 100% recycled paper means you know that your product has not caused more trees to be chopped down.

If you’re concerned about the colour of recycled paper materials, you’ll be pleased to hear that things have greatly improved and gone are the days of dirty yellow recycled stocks.

Why use vegetable-based printing inks?

Vegetable-based inks use vegetable oil instead of petroleum and have much lower rates of VOC (volatile organic compounds) than petroleum-based inks. VOCs are a major source of ozone pollution and are a potential a health hazard to those working with them. By buying products using vegetable-based inks you help to reduce air pollution by minimizing toxic emissions . Also, in contrast to petroleum based inks, vegetable oils are derived from renewable resources and the inks made from them are more easily removed from waste paper during de-inking.

Buy or make your own

Stationery Stall create and design bespoke wedding and event stationery. Their eco-friendly range is printed on 100% 9lives offset stock, which is manufactured from 100% recycled fibre, and uses vegetable-based inks.
The English Cottage Garden specialise in handmade and plantable seed paper. So your guests not only receive an invite but also a little gift because when planted the invitation turns into a beautiful wild flower display. You can order paper and make your own invitations for that extra personal touch or let the company create them for you.
In the Treehouse offer a range which can be personalised for you or you can use their bespoke design service. All products are available using 100% recycled card and paper.
Alice Palace is an illustrator of wedding stationery and greeting cards who uses quality uncoated recycled post-consumer FSC board, FSC recycled envelopes and biodegradable bags.