* fashioned from recycled or reclaimed materials (like gold, silver, and gemstones)

* made either by artisans in the U.S. or Fair Trade jewelers abroad.

The socially responsible jewelers listed below have mastered the art and design of environmentally friendly creations for your personal adornment.

Brilliant Earth. Crafts high quality jewelry using recycled precious metals (gold and platinum), conflict-free Canadian diamonds, and fair trade colored gemstones. Brilliant Earth offers loose diamonds, engagement and wedding rings, earrings, and pendants. (18K White Gold Open Leaf Pendant with Diamond Accents pictured left).

KYLER by Joy O. Made 100% in the US, KYLER by Joy O creates elegant, intricately designed jewelry. The pieces are primarily made from steel, the most recycled material on the planet, and accented with partially recycled glass. All other chains are made from heirloom-quality, hypoallergenic nickel-free 14k gold fill and sterling silver. All artisans work in fair trade conditions AND even their packaging products are made from reusable and recyclable recycled paper!

Ruff & Cut. Manufactures beautiful bracelet, earrings, necklaces, pendants, rings, engagement rings, and men’s jewelry. All jewelry is made from recycled metals such as certified recycled gold and sterling silver, and conflict-free diamonds. Ruff & Cut purchases all raw materials from socially responsible sources, and actively re-invests 10 percent of each sale as well as portions of company profits into non-profit organizations working to improve the conditions for those working and living in mining communities around the world.

Laughing Girl Arts. Handcrafted jewelry made from renewable and reclaimed materials. Some of the more exotic pieces feature bamboo pendants with images inspired from 18th Century Japan and earrings and necklaces made from pure silver reclaimed from photographic processing.

Sweet Organics and Naturals. This site provides a generous assortment of handcrafted, sustainable jewelry. All pieces are crafted in the US and made from recycled or fair trade silver, recycled glass or untreated fair trade beads and semi-precious gemstones. (DRUNK Leaf Necklace made from recycled wine bottles pictured right).

Urbanecologie. Offers a wide variety of eccentric and inexpensive eco jewelry.

Bambootique. Works directly with artisan cooperatives in Honduras, Guatemala, Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal and South Africa to ensure fair trade working conditions and practices. Offers striking and colorful handcrafted bracelets, earrings, necklaces and brooches. All earrings are made using materials that promise not to cause allergic reactions..

The post A Glimpse Inside Mother Nature’s Jewelry Box appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Whether you’ve just celebrated your own wedding day or your daughter’s, you may be left with one souvenir you don’t need to hold on to: the dress. Here’s how to recycle, re-use, or donate your wedding dress, which is a much greener option than keeping it in a bag in the back of your closet for the next 20 years and hoping someone, someday will wear it again.

How to Recycle, Re-Use or Donate Your Wedding Dress

First, start with the dress you buy.

bridesIf you’re in the market for a wedding dress, think “new to you,” as opposed to “brand new,” and you’ll not only get a dress that’s more eco-friendly. You’ll probably get a bargain, too. The dress pictured to the left? Over $3,100 new; just $1,900 gently worn at StillWhite.com .

Some of the re-sellers listed below charge a small fee to list your dress, then pay you when the dress sells. Others simply sell on consignment, which means they’ll only pay you when they sell your dress.

Recycled Bride. This free marketplace recycles everything from designer wedding gowns to table decorations. The site works just as well for buyers as it does for sellers.

Encore Bridal. An online consignment and resale bridal boutique, this company also uses recycled paper for stationary, recycled and biodegradable shipping packages, and fuel-efficient transportation.

Once Wed. This site offers brides everything from wedding ideas and photos for inspiration to once-worn wedding gowns. You can list your wedding dress on the site for free. Bonus? A portion of the revenue brought into the site goes to International Justice Mission which supports justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation, and violent oppression.

Pre-Owned Wedding Dresses and WoreItOnce. Both online companies connect buyers and sellers of new, sample and used wedding dresses.
Donate Your Dress. Several charities not only re-sell wedding dresses at a lower cost, but also donate some of the proceeds to organizations that help those in need.

Brides Against Breast Cancer. This non-profit organization holds several wedding dress selling events in many locations. These events make wedding gowns more affordable to brides and the proceeds go toward granting a wish to a woman with breast cancer. Your donation is tax-deductible.

I Do Foundation. This group will re-sell your dress  through one of its partners. Twenty percent of the proceeds go to the charity of your choice, and the rest is used by the foundation to continue with its efforts.

The Bridal Garden. Donating your dress to this organization supports the Sheltering Arms Children’s Service, which helps New York City children in the areas of the education, foster care, and adoption.

Get Creative. If you’re the crafty type and can’t bear to part with your dress, recycle it at home. Use the fabric to create christening gowns, or cut the dress into a new, less formal design. There should be enough fabric there to fashion into a cocktail dress and short jacket. Or keep it simple, and use the fabric to decorate a purse, pillow or piece of furniture.

Don’t miss GreatGreenWedding.com for more suggestions on ways to keep your big day on an environmentally-friendly footing.

And for wedding rings made from recycled gold and other gems, check here.

NOTE: This post contains sponsored links to companies we think will help you live the greener life you want. All editorial opinions remain our own.

The post How to Recycle, Re-Use, or Donate Your Wedding Dress appeared first on Big Green Purse.