If you are planning a wedding, there are lots of great ways to make your day as eco-friendly as possible without sacrificing on glamor and magic. Sustainable wedding dresses are just one of the greener trends that are turning the wedding industry upside-down, and these beautiful pieces can easily be styled for any type of wedding. Read on to learn about sustainable and ethical wedding dresses and how you can do good while looking stunning!

Why the Conventional Dress Just Doesn’t Cut It Anymore

Wedding dresses — by definition — are not sustainable. An intricate work of art that takes upwards of 20 feet of fabric and at least two weeks to make, a typical wedding dress will only be worn once before sitting at the back of a closet and ultimately heading to the landfill. Add to this the fact that most wedding dresses are made of pesticide-heavy silk and/or synthetic fabrics like polyester that don’t break down easily, and you have an environmental conundrum on your hands!

In recent years, values-based wedding planning is leading more and more couples to avoid fast fashion and choose eco-friendly options for their weddings — from recycled card invitations and plastic-free table settings to intentionally mismatched bridal parties and sustainable wedding dresses.

Ready to discover your perfect, eco-dress? Here are our top suggestions:

Embrace the Charm of Vintage Styles

Styles come and go, but fortunately, time can transform passé into vintage! Your mother’s or grandmother’s highly-prized bridal gown could soon become the perfect ethical wedding dress style when it makes a grand re-entrance on your special day. If the original owner is happy for you to make some changes, you can easily transform the dress with a few small adjustments to make it your own.

If dear granny’s dress isn’t your style, hit the thrift stores and e-stores to browse sustainable wedding dresses in an endless array of silhouettes. For something a little more modern, you could also buy a second-hand dress from a friend or online. Don’t shy away from low-back styles while you’re shopping, either. You can always add a bra directly to your dress so you don’t have to worry about straps showing.

Set the Pace with a Trendy Rental Gown

Another easy and budget-friendly approach to sustainable wedding dresses is to rent a gown and tux for the day itself. The ultimate closed-loop approach, rental gowns reduce your footprint to a fraction of the (environmental) cost and eliminate the question of what to do with the dress after you’re wed.

Make Your Dress from Recycled Fabrics

For the more crafty among us, making your own wedding dress gives you free rein on the design and can save you a lot of money in the process. If you have the time and are so inclined, consider making your dress sustainable by sourcing recycled fabrics that don’t cost the earth. Some excellent fabric sources for ethical wedding dresses include:

• Factory offcuts
• Used wedding dresses that are beyond repair
• White cotton bedsheets and lace curtains from friends or a thrift store
• Excess fabric offered through Freecycle or Craigslist

Depending on what you find, you can create an eye-catching piece that is either all one color (bedsheets!) or multi-tonal. Either way, some basic patterns for sustainable wedding dresses and a few days at the sewing machine could result in a one-of-a-kind dress that you’ll be proud to wear down the aisle.

Go for a Versatile Two-Piece

Another option for sustainable wedding dresses that won’t go to the landfill is a two-piece top and skirt combo that you can wear in the future. Buy a pre-matched set or shop around until you find a combination that works and top it off with a cream-colored shrug or fitted jacket (hello, future job interview outfit!)

Apart from saving on precious resources, investing in a set that you can wear again-and-again lets you keep this special part of your life forever and relive those precious memories time-and-time again.

Invest in a Dress that Does No Harm

A final alternative which we personally love is to shop for sustainable wedding dresses that are made to do good. The perfect solution for a traditional wedding gown that does good for your style and the earth, ethical wedding dresses minimize pollution and are sewn by workers who are paid fairly for their work.

These flowing dress styles available in bamboo and Tencel™ are the ideal replacement for conventional silk and feel wonderfully soft on your skin. Dresses made from organic cotton and linen are the best choice if you want a little more shape and stiffness to your outfit and can be woven to include stunning embellishments such as embroidered details and beading.

Brands Matter

When shopping for sustainable wedding dresses, be sure to do your homework and find the brand that best suits your values. The best brand will be one that has a transparent supply chain, economizes on energy, and uses materials that are pesticide-free and fully biodegradable. You can even keep the good vibes going by donating your dress to a charity you cherish.

Shopping for the Honeymoon and Beyond

Once you’ve thought about how to shop sustainable wedding dresses, don’t forget to prepare for the honeymoon! Eco-chic, ethical lingerie, and comfortable organic sleepwear are essentials for enjoying your first moments as a married couple, and remember a few flattering organic dresses and jackets, too, for strolling around your destination!

Choosing to shop ethical wedding dresses and clothing for your wedding and beyond will not only inspire your guests but will get your family off to a great start with values you can live out in your home. Explore our collection of eco-friendly formal dresses to find your perfect fit, and say “yes” to the dress today!

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2020 is finally over, and here’s hoping that 2021 will be a better year overall! At Faerie’s Dance, we love to start the year with a clean, fresh home so we feel relaxed and refreshed after a hard day’s work selling organic clothing. Of course, since we’re focused on green living, the harsh chemicals and synthetic fragrances of commercial cleaners definitely aren’t our thing.

Natural Citric Acid to the Rescue

It’s not just the composition of commercial cleaners that poses a health or environmental problem. According to current recycling data, we’ve dumped more and more plastic waste into the environment over the years. This is quite a dire situation considering that plastic waste materials are non-biodegradable, dangerous to wildlife, cause waterways to clog, and are just an eyesore. Plastics can come from anywhere, and that includes containers for our household cleaners.

But what if we told you there’s actually a way to reduce or even eliminate using commercially sold household cleaners? That means there are fewer containers that will go to the waste disposal facility, at least from your household. But then, imagine if all homes follow suit. Now that’s doing the environment a favor! Not to mention the money that you’ll be saving.

Making your own safe, eco-friendly, and affordable household cleaner is easy. You only need to use citric acid. Now, before running to the drugstore or some laboratory supply store, you might check your cupboard, fruit basket, or refrigerator first. That’s because you can find citric acid in fruits like lemons, oranges, and limes. It’s what gives these fruits their tart, sour taste.

How to Create and Use Your Very Own Homemade Cleaner

Get rid of your commercially bought cleaner—which contains harsh chemicals—and create your own citrus-scented all-purpose cleaner. Here’s how:

1. In a 1-quart measuring jar, mix a quart of leftover peels from citrus fruits. Rinds from lemons, oranges, grapefruit, or lime are perfect. Fill the jar with white vinegar.
2. Close tightly and place in a sunny place. Leave the jar for around two weeks to complete the infusion process.
3. Strain the liquid into a clean, sealed jar. Don’t throw the peels; you can use them as compost.
4. To use, pour half a cup of this infused vinegar to a spray bottle. Add 2 cups of clean tepid water, 20 drops of lemon essential oil, and a generous squeeze of citrus fruit. Close and shake well.

Here’s another recipe in making an all-purpose homemade citric acid cleaner

1. Combine vinegar, baking soda, and hot water in a bucket.
2. Add the juice of half a lemon, orange, or any citrus fruit. You can also drip the rinds in.
3. Stir well until everything is well mixed and the baking soda is dissolved. Allow to cool.
4. Transfer your homemade cleaner to a spray bottle or squeeze bottle.

Use your effective, nice-smelling, eco-friendly cleaner the way you use your commercial cleaner. Spray onto the surface to be cleaned and wipe with a clean damp cloth. The citric acid eats away stubborn dirt and stains while leaving a citrusy scent.

Your homemade cleaner may also smell like vinegar, especially if the brand of vinegar you used is quite strong. Don’t worry though because the vinegar scent rapidly dissipates. What remains is a fresh citrus scent.

WARNING: avoid using this citric acid cleaner on tiles, countertops, and other surfaces made of natural stone. The citric acid can dissolve the calcium carbonate in the substrate. Frequently using this cleaner on natural stone surfaces may cause pitting and holes.

Other Home Uses of Natural Citric Acid

Your homemade citric acid all-purpose cleaner is just one of the hundreds of ways you can use citrus fruits for household purposes. Here are a few more ideas:

• Cutting boards are havens for parasites found in meat, fruits, vegetables, and other foodstuff. Fortunately, you can easily sanitize and deodorize smelly cutting boards the eco-friendly way. Cut a lemon in half and rub it all over the cutting board, squeezing as you go. The juice cleans and disinfects the board naturally, and you don’t have to worry about dangerous chemicals contaminating your board.

• Cutting boards are havens for parasites found in meat, fruits, vegetables, and other foodstuff. Fortunately, you can easily sanitize and deodorize smelly cutting boards the eco-friendly way. Cut a lemon in half and rub it all over the cutting board, squeezing as you go. The juice cleans and disinfects the board naturally, and you don’t have to worry about dangerous chemicals contaminating your board.

• Cutting boards are havens for parasites found in meat, fruits, vegetables, and other foodstuff. Fortunately, you can easily sanitize and deodorize smelly cutting boards the eco-friendly way. Cut a lemon in half and rub it all over the cutting board, squeezing as you go. The juice cleans and disinfects the board naturally, and you don’t have to worry about dangerous chemicals contaminating your board.

• Cutting boards are havens for parasites found in meat, fruits, vegetables, and other foodstuff. Fortunately, you can easily sanitize and deodorize smelly cutting boards the eco-friendly way. Cut a lemon in half and rub it all over the cutting board, squeezing as you go. The juice cleans and disinfects the board naturally, and you don’t have to worry about dangerous chemicals contaminating your board.

• Slice a couple of lemons, limes, and oranges. Put them in a small bowl filled with water. Add in a teaspoon or two of white vinegar. Put the bowl in your microwave and cook for five minutes. Open the microwave, let it sit for a minute, and wipe any spills. Now your microwave smells fresh and clean!

• Removing stains and soap scum from your bathroom is easy. Simply sprinkle some salt on the area. Rub the salt using half a lemon, squeezing as you scrub the salt. For tougher stains, use a bathroom scrub after squeezing lemon juice on the stain. Let dry and wash away with plain water.

• The tarnish from your heirloom copper pots, cups, and ornaments can easily be removed. Squeeze the juice of a single lemon into a bowl. Add a teaspoon of lemon and stir until the salt is dissolved. Dip a piece of cloth and rub the tarnish off the copper. Use gentle pressure to avoid scratching the copper.

Conclusion

Using natural citric acid is an awesome way to recycle or repurpose your extra citrus fruits. They are all-natural and biodegradable. Clean, sanitize, disinfect, and freshen up your home the safe and eco-friendly way.

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Faerie’s Dance published this article with assistance from Lillian Connors, Senior Content Developer at ACT-ENVIRO. Here’s a little about her.

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Many people considering the relationship between fashion and sustainability for the first time will be immediately discouraged by the higher price tag of an organic tee or eco-friendly winter coat. But what is behind the cost of the clothes you wear and is there really such a thing as cheap sustainable clothing?

Read on to discover the factors behind garment pricing and discover the best way to shop for eco-friendly and ethical women’s and men’s clothing you can feel good about!

The Value of A Garment: Can Sustainable Clothing Be Cheap?

You walk into a boutique retail store at the mall and see the skinny jeans, leggings, and blouses hanging in neatly arranged rows, each with a brand-name tag and detailed wash instructions. Prices range from $50 to $100 with a few items on sale for $25. A few stores down, the discount fashion store also has racks of colorful clothes, but the garments are offered for dirt-cheap prices starting from a mere $5.

If you’re looking for cheap sustainable clothing, you might be wondering if it’s better to choose the first store just because the prices are higher. However, a higher price doesn’t necessarily mean better quality or that the garments are more sustainable. Here are just some of the factors that influence garment pricing in fashion and sustainability.

Fiber Production

Every garment begins with the soil. Whether it’s wool that comes from a grass-loving sheep, cotton that comes from the thirsty Gossypium shrub, linen that comes from the flax plant, or fabrics from bamboo and wood pulp cellulose, they all begin with the ground.

If you’re looking for sustainable clothing, it’s important to keep in mind that organic cotton will cost more to produce because of the costs of organic certification and the higher price of organic fertilizers and non-toxic pesticides. Likewise, organic wool from a free-range sheep that feed on fresh grass and high-quality hay will cost more than conventional wool that may be a product of cruel and unhealthy factory farming.

Spinning and Dyeing

The spinning process for all fabrics is pretty similar. However, the dyeing process has a big effect on the price of the final piece. The cheapest dyes used in fast fashion clothing are made from petrochemicals and can poison local waterways as well as irritate your skin. Sustainable clothing that isn’t as cheap typically uses non-toxic setting treatments and vegetable dyes that cost more to produce but are gentler on your skin and the environment.

Cutting and Sewing

The next stage in the garment manufacture process is cutting and sewing — which is the point at which we find the “sweatshops” so often mentioned in articles about fast fashion. Workers in these garment factories (often located in China, India, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Bangladesh) may be paid less than minimum wage, and the lack of appropriate safety standards means that the lives of the garment workers can be put at risk — even when manufacturing cheap “sustainable” clothing from organic materials. So pairing ethical production or Fair Trade standards with your sustainable materials is imperative.

Retail Salaries

Once garments reach their destination country, their price will be affected by the salaries of retail workers as well as the profit margin of the fashion label. An organic cotton T-shirt may cost $10 to buy wholesale but may be sold for anything from $20 to $50 depending on the profit margin of the company. Where does this profit go? Some of it goes towards the brand’s marketing budget, but the rest is often pocketed by the CEO.

So, when you find a piece of cheap “sustainable” clothing for sale online, the company may have found ways to keep their costs low through sticking to online sales and a low-profit margin. Then again, the brand might be making a profit while keeping those benefits from being passed downstream to the garment workers and cotton farmers who produced the clothes. Prioritizing your budget on smaller fashion brands that focus on sustainability in addition to profit usually results in the best overall value.

Making Fashion and Sustainability More Budget-Friendly

Even though many of us would like to choose eco-fashion for everything from bamboo socks to sustainable jackets, the cost of fairness (and quality) can still be a little out of reach. Here are a few tips to save money on fashion while avoiding the pitfalls of cheap “sustainable” clothing brands that aren’t giving you the full story.

Shop Pieces That You Can Mix and Match

An organic tee by itself is great, but a tee and a pair of organic women’s pants that go with all of your T-shirts are even better. Shopping sustainable clothing on a budget means being smart about style and going for classic cuts in basic colors that you can build into a minimalist capsule wardrobe  and mix-and-match to your heart’s content.

Calculate the Cost by Cost-Per-Wear Rather than the Up-Front Cost

A $10 tee or $2 cami looks great on the rack, but how many wears will it likely last? Even if it has been made under fair conditions, cheap “sustainable” clothing of low quality will end up costing you more if it only lasts for a few months before you have to replace it. In contrast, a $50 garment might look more expensive at the outset but could end up costing you only a few cents per wear if its strength and quality last for years.

Help Your Clothes Last Longer with Proper Garment Care

Our next tip for combining fashion and sustainability is one that we’ve learned the hard way: Follow the care and wash instructions! Fast fashion has got us used to throwing everything in the washing machine and hoping it comes out ok.

After spending a larger amount of cash upfront on authentic (not cheap) sustainable clothing, you’ll want to make sure that you keep your eco-friendly clothes in the best condition for as long as possible. This means respecting directions to wash-by-hand, to wash in cold water only, and to drip dry or dry flat rather than throwing everything into the dryer. Things like woolen coats that are quite expensive at the beginning can last a lot longer if you wash them by hand only when truly necessary.

Shop Genuine Sustainable Clothing for Less at Faerie’s Dance

Our final tip for enjoying cheap sustainable clothing? Shop the most responsible eco-fashion brands when their garments go on sale (like in our great clearance section!) If you know someone who would love some organic and sustainable clothing but might struggle to afford it, you might also consider giving them a Faerie’s Dance gift card that covers everything on our entire site.

Want to know more? Browse the rest of the articles on the Eco-Fashion Philosopher blog and shop our curated fashion and sustainability brands.

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After two decades of throw-away “fast fashion” and wardrobes stuffed with pieces that are never worn, the concept of the “minimalist wardrobe” is coming back into vogue. This means fewer clothes, higher quality, and an increased focus on endless combinations. Here at Faerie’s Dance, we have tips to develop a minimalist capsule wardrobe that is great for the planet and looks fantastic!

So What Do You Need For a Minimalist Capsule Wardrobe? 

Basics Can Be Beautiful

The first step to going minimalist with your wardrobe is choosing pieces in classic cuts that always look good and never go out of fashion. Here are our top picks for basics that you can wear through every season!

Leggings

Soft, stretchy, and comfortable, leggings are a mainstay of any minimalist wardrobe. Wear them under an organic tunic for work, with a sustainable dress and boots in winter, or switch it up with capri-length leggings for added confidence under a summer dress or short-length organic cotton skirt.

Black is the most popular shade for leggings due to its unparalleled versatility, but you can also fill your minimalist capsule wardrobe with leggings in basic tones like blue, burgundy, navy, or coffee-brown.

Camis

Next up we have the classic camisole. A trendy take on the singlets our mothers made us wear as children under basic tees, these minimalist wardrobe staples transition easily through the seasons — providing an added layer of warmth in winter, modesty under V-neck tops in spring and fall, and functioning as a standalone piece for hot summer days.

Day-to-Night Wear

Now that you’ve got the underlayer covered, it’s time to add the “defining pieces” to your minimalist capsule wardrobe. These are the garments that make your outfit and set the tone for your entire look. If you’ve gone for neutral tones with your leggings and camis, your “defining piece” can be the colorful or bold patterned piece that matches all the other items in your wardrobe and transitions easily from day-to-night.

A dozen tunics, shirts, blouses, and short- and long-sleeve tops in different weights should see you through the seasons in style. For daytime wear, combine your top with some subtle jewelry and a pair of work-ready flats; dress things up for an evening out with boots in winter, stilettos in summer, and an extra-shiny layer of stylish eco-friendly jewelry!

The Warmth Factor

No minimalist wardrobe would be complete without a select few jackets and coats to keep you warm. Organic cotton cardigans and wraps are fantastic for day-to-night wear. Drape over a blouse or organic cotton tank for long days in the office, or pull over a little black sustainable dress for date night.

Ethical winter coats are essential for the cooler seasons and can be styled in several ways. For jackets, we recommend classic styles that fit well into a minimalist capsule wardrobe and won’t go out of fashion with the season.

Accessories

This is where you can bring in the greatest diversity to spice up a minimalist capsule wardrobe. Even if you recombine the same few tops, pants/skirts, and jackets, a change of accessories can make it feel like a whole new outfit!

We suggest three complete sets of contrasting jewelry, inspired by the following categories:

• Small and dainty
• Colorful and pretty
• Large and statement
• Whimsical and fancy-free

The exact jewelry you choose will be influenced by the color scheme of your clothes and should ideally cover two or three different tones. That way, you have something for every mood while still keeping your wardrobe minimalist!

Seasonal Variations

Some modern eco-conscious women prefer to put together a minimalist capsule wardrobe for every season, while others cycle through the same clothes all year long. Whichever approach you prefer, you can easily add some seasonal variation with a couple of feature pieces for the four main seasons.

Spring

Bright colors, florals, polka dots, and stripes all give a spring feel to your minimalist wardrobe. For a spring-time look in three easy pieces, try a colorful organic skirt with a basic organic tee and complete the look with sandals and some colorful jewelry.

Summer

The warmer months give us the perfect excuse to feel pretty and feminine in a flowing, fair-trade summer dress. You can create a one-and-done minimalist capsule wardrobe with a different dress for each day of the week or dress up your spring skirts with a colored cami and contrasting summer poncho for variety!

Fall

Your minimalist wardrobe for fall is all about the color. Browns, yellows, oranges, and reds are our go-to’s for fall that transition easily into winter with dark boots and a jacket. You can also carry over a few of your summer dresses for fall weather with the addition of boots, some cozy leggings, and those cardigans we mentioned above!

Winter

A minimalist capsule wardrobe for winter can actually be easier to put together than a minimalist wardrobe for summer. Why? Because people rarely catch a glimpse of the inner layers! A few warm long-sleeve tops and leggings or a dark-wash pair of pants can form the core of your winter closet, with easy variations added with sweaters, jewelry, and an elegant knee-length jacket for good measure.

Holidays

Feeling festive? We’ve got you covered! Holiday organic socks, hand warmers and knitted hemp sweaters in green and red keep you holiday-ready with a few easy garments you can pull out at multiple events.

Complete Your Minimalist Wardrobe Today

At Faerie’s Dance, you can find almost everything you need for your minimalist capsule wardrobe. The best thing? It’s all made ethically from environmentally-friendly fabrics and low-impact dyes. Browse our eco-friendly women’s clothing today and enjoy the long-term savings of a minimalist wardrobe that you can combine and recombine to your heart’s content!

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Summer is finally here — with sunny days, homemade lemonade, and lazy days in the sun. Along with the change in weather comes the chance to wear some beautiful organic, fair-trade dresses! Check out our top picks here at Faerie’s Dance for ethical dress brands that will have you enjoying summer, even if you’re staycationing this year.

The Black Fair-Trade Shoreline Dress

Effortless and elegant, this Shoreline Dress from Indigenous Designs is perfect for everything from lounging around the house to stunning at weddings. This sensual pick from among our fair-trade dresses is made from 100% organic cotton and has been expertly crafted at an artist cooperative in Peru.

Enjoy a casual look for picnics and walks along the beach by pairing this magnificent dress with a pair of sandals and a broad-brimmed hat — and don’t forget a pair of fair-trade earrings!

Lemon Love Sundress

For working at the office or enjoying summer picnics in the countryside, we’re crushing hard on this Lemon Love Sundress. Colorful and fruity, what could be better than lemons to make you smile all day long? Like many of our fair-trade dresses, this flowing number is an original from the ethical dress brand, Mata Traders — a Chicago-based brand that sells handmade clothing made by artisans in India and Nepal.

This bright and happy design features hidden pockets (who doesn’t love that?) and the perfect combination of fit-and-flare for a flattering silhouette that is delightfully twirly. It is made from organic cotton jersey with a touch of spandex for comfort and a fit that won’t lose its shape. Style in seconds with a long fair-trade necklace and sandals or transition this dress to evenings with a lightweight organic cotton cardigan.

Melissa Tie Dress

Pretty as a poem, the Melissa Tie Dress proves that every woman can look fabulous this summer, regardless of body type. This hot little number is perfect for plus sized women who want to look good, feel fabulous and support ethical trade. The tie on the side flatters the curves. This was is made by Synergy Organic another staple on our list of ethical dress brands.

The ideal addition to your collection of fair-trade dresses, we are loving this summer dress with some long, bold jewelry pieces and a nice pair of ballet flats. It’s a morning-to-night anywhere dress that will see you through the summer and beyond!

First Impressions Dress

For that job interview or all-important client meeting, put your best foot forward with this fitted First Impressions Dress. Bright and cheery with 95% organic cotton jersey and 5% spandex, this GOTS-certified, fair-trade dress is shaped and folded exactly where you need it for a sophisticated look that’s just right for summer.

No matter where you take this dress, you can’t go wrong with a pair of heels and a bold statement necklace. Evening a little chilly? Top off this dress with an office-ready fitted (and sustainable!) jacket — the perfect finish to a polished summer look.

Sunny Day Dress

On a beautiful sunny summer day, this Sunny Day Dress is everything you want — lightweight, breathable, and oh-so-soft. Featured in a bright blue the color of the summer sky, our fifth pick for the top fair-trade dresses is 100% organic cotton jersey and is made in Peru using Peruvian-grown organic cotton.

Perfect with flats, sandals, and your flashiest stilettos, we love this design from our ethical dress brand, Indigenous Designs, for everyday comfort throughout the warm season that you can easily transition into fall with organic cotton leggings and a pair of boots.

Reversible Tank Dress

One of our customer’s favorites, this Reversible Tank Dress takes the cake. Given a 5-star rating by our happy buyers, this is an ideal style from our list of fair-trade dresses for parties or stunning on the job. Wear with a luxury jacket on cooler evenings and finish the look with your best pair of heels. Summer sophistication is made easy with this flawless fair-trade reversible dress!

An original concept from Indigenous Designs, the reversible tank two-way dress can be worn with either the black side or the wine side on the outside and features small gathers at the hips for a flattering silhouette. As with all of this dress brand’s ethical pieces, this reversible tank dress has been made by artisans in Peru — providing dignified livelihoods and strengthening impoverished communities.

Bandeau Dress

For the final pick on our list of fair-trade dresses, we have this elegantly whimsical Bandeau Dress with a versatile handkerchief tie neck and raw asymmetrical hem. Perfect for parties, this flowy dress from the ethical dress brand, Jonäno, is the dancing companion that every girl dreams about — simply slip it on, tie the fabric bands behind your neck, and spin around to your heart’s content!

Jonäno specializes in creating cashmere-like garments from silky-soft bamboo and organic cotton that are friendly to animals and have a luxurious finish. The hint of spandex in this lightweight dress keeps the shape intact so you don’t have to worry about it stretching. For those who try to stick to a minimalist wardrobe, this dress provides a two-in-one solution: You can wear it as a skirt by simply tying the bands of fabric around your waist!

Indulge In a Little Eco-Love by Shopping Fair-trade Dresses This Summer

Whether you’re giving your wardrobe an eco-friendly makeover or trying out a new look, Faerie’s Dance is here for you. In addition to our featured styles, we have dozens of other fair-trade dresses and eco-friendly women’s clothing for sale from ethical dress brands that are doing amazing things in communities around the world!

Learn more about ethical fashion by reading our blog, and buy your new favorite summer dress today — yours with free U.S. ground shipping when you spend $99 or more.

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Since 1970, April 22 has marked the celebration of Earth Day. Set to coincide with Arbor Day — a day dedicated to planting trees — Earth Day was initiated as a way to bring together the various groups that were working on environmental issues and create a day focused on putting sustainable living ideas into action. 

Whether you’re reading this article ahead of Earth Day or simply want to do your bit to help the planet, here are our top seven sustainable living tips for celebrating Earth Day, every day.!

Sustainable Living Tip #1: Get Out in Nature

Sustainable living ideas start with a love for nature and a desire to protect it. But you can’t love nature if you spend all of your time indoors. As the Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu said, “Love the world as your own self; then you can truly care for all things.”

The single best thing you can do to help this earth flourish is to go outside and take a walk, visit a national park, adopt an area as your own, and really get to know it. As the seasons pass and the landscape changes, you will become much more attuned to the cycles of nature and find that you start caring more about the local environment as well.

Sustainable Living Tip #2: Watch Wildlife

The second tip on our list of sustainable living ideas is an easy way to derive even more benefit from your time in nature. Whether you choose a kind of animal to watch (birds, insects, etc.) or simply wait and see what crosses your path, spend some of your time in nature simply staying still and watching. 

When you go outside, take a bird-identification book with you or make a sketch to look up when you get home. As you learn to recognize several species, you could even keep a log of the wildlife that you see on your wanderings. These logs provide valuable information about the wildlife in your area and how the numbers change over time. If you would like to promote sustainable living ideas in your community, you could volunteer with a conservation group that documents wildlife sightings for the purpose of advocacy and planning.

Sustainable Living Tip #3: Pick Up Trash

Ultimately, spending time in nature will open your eyes to the impact that humans have on the environment. For some, sustainable living ideas might mean taking a bag and pair of gloves to pick up trash in your local area. For others, it could mean taking shorter showers, turning off the lights at home, and only printing things out when you really need to. 

Every action counts, and not just because of the cumulative effect that enacting many sustainable living tips can have over months and years. Each action you take is also serving as a reminder to live lightly and thoughtfully — and that has benefits for your own well-being as well as your relationships with others!

Sustainable Living Tip #4: Plant a Tree

Seeing as Earth Day falls on the same date as Arbor Day, what better excuse to plant a tree? Trees provide oxygen, shade, soil stability, habitat, and can transform a barren area into a lush retreat. Whether you have a yard of your own or only a small balcony, adding trees of any size to your space will improve the air quality and can even lower the ambient temperature. It can also provide important nourishment for local insects, including bee populations and other important pollinator species.

Make sure to see these sustainable living ideas through by caring for your trees until they are well established. Planting a tree is one thing, but you will also need to water, mulch, prune, and fertilize each tree at the right time to help them grow healthy and strong.

Sustainable Living Tip #5: Grow a Garden

Food transportation accounts for around 11% of our carbon footprint, and the actual production of that food accounts for 83%. If you’re looking for sustainable living ideas to help the planet, growing a garden is a fantastic thing to do. By growing some of your own produce, you are cutting your food miles to essentially zero, and you will be eating pesticide-free, seasonal produce. Besides, who doesn’t love the taste of a homegrown tomato? Yum!

Sustainable Living Tip #6: Green Your Diet

Those of us who don’t have a balcony or the time to care for a home garden can make a difference with sustainable living ideas like shopping organic, seasonal produce and reducing the amount of red meat that we include in our diets.

According to experts, high-meat diets produce 3.3 tons of CO₂ emissions per year compared to 2.5 tons for an average diet, 1.9 for white meat only, 1.7 for vegetarians, and 1.5 for vegans. By switching from red meat to free-range chicken and fish, you can lower your food emissions by nearly a third overnight. By going from meat-loving to vegetarian, your food-print is slashed almost in half!

Sustainable Living Tip #7: Choose Conscious Consumption

Everyone needs to buy things in order to live, and there are very few people who don’t love a bit of retail therapy! Enjoy the fun without the harm by implementing sustainable living ideas into your shopping habits. Here are a few sustainable living tips for the conscious shopper:

• Choose FSC-certified and recycled paper and wood products.
• Look for the fair trade symbol when buying coffee and chocolate.
• Buy reusable bottles and containers for packaging take-out food.
• Use washable diapers and sanitary products instead of disposables that end up in landfills.
• Opt for eco-friendly women’s and men’s clothing.
• Wear recycled jewelry to avoid strip mining practices.
• Purchase eco-friendly gifts for friends and family.

Be Inspired at Faerie’s Dance

Whether you’re looking for sustainable living ideas or wanting to browse cute, eco-friendly clothing, you can find endless inspiration at Faerie’s Dance. We go to great lengths to source the most socially and environmentally responsible clothing, ethical lingerie, jewelry, and eco-friendly accessories and offer each item to our customers at less than the recommended retail price.

Browse our collections this Earth Day and enjoy knowing that by following these sustainable living tips and purchasing ethical, eco-friendly items, you’ll be doing something great for the planet we all share!

The days are growing warmer, and we can’t be more excited because that means we’re getting close to skirt season! If you’re looking for affordable organic women’s clothing to complete your spring capsule wardrobe, check out Faerie Dance’s selection of seven of the most gorgeous fair-trade,  organic skirts for enjoying the warmer seasons sustainably and in style!

Our Favorite Organic Skirts for Spring

EcoSkin Barrington Skirt

Flowing and elegant, this asymmetrical high-low organic skirt is perfect for a versatile look that you can dress up and down with ease. Made in the USA from 93% Tencel™ and 7% spandex, the Barrington skirt hangs beautifully with soft ruffles and a wide waistband that you can fold over to the length of your choice.

To style your affordable organic clothing for a casual day out, wear this gorgeous skirt with an organic tee on top. Dress things up for dinners and dates by twisting the longer part of the skirt to the back for a flirty look that pairs perfectly with a halter top and large statement earrings.

Les Lunes Long Lace Skirt

There’s something about springtime that conjures up images of sweet-and-delicate lace-inspired ensembles. The mid-calf organic skirt features a wide, stretch waistband that can be worn high on the waist for a vintage look or low on the hips for a more modern style. Accented with a wide, carefully-crafted lace hem that differs between the two colors (black features a diamond pattern, while green features a floral design) this skirt is the perfect work-to-weekend piece!

Plus, with two different lace designs for each color, there’s just enough difference between the two skirts to justify getting both — what could be a better versatile, sustainable clothing piece?

Sunshine Skirt from Indigenous Designs

When it comes to affordable organic clothing, it can help to keep in mind that the pieces you love and wear all the time can end up being much more economical than a fast-fashion item you buy and have to quickly throw out. This stylish sun-ray skirt in a deep plum hue is one of those skirts that you can combine easily for a variety of outfits. Pair with an elegant black, organic tunic top to make an instant go-to outfit for formal dinners, weddings, and other special occasions.

Made in Peru from Peruvian-grown organic cotton jersey and low-impact dyes, this elegant organic skirt from Indigenous Designs is as ethical as it is soft. A fair-trade certified product, you can be confident that every worker was treated with dignity and that your purchase is helping to provide hardworking families and communities with a decent livelihood.

Double Layer Skirt From Indigenous Designs

Another piece of beautiful, affordable organic clothing from Indigenous Designs, we love this Double Layer skirt for its distinctively bohemian look and rich, striking colors. Available in black, gray, and faded denim blue, this fair-trade slip-style skirt drapes elegantly below a tank or flowing blouse and looks just as stunning with flats (or even bare feet!) as it does with heels.

Similar to the shorter Sunshine Skirt featured above, this gorgeous organic skirt was Fair Trade made in Peru from Peruvian-grown organic cotton with low-impact dyes and is 100% free of latex.

Button Up Skirt from Blue Canoe

If you need something a little more formal for work, the Button Up Skirt from Blue Canoe is just the thing. It’s a fun piece made right here in the USA from a blend of organic cotton and organically grown bamboo. The smooth, covered elastic waistband sits perfectly below a solid-color eco-friendly shirt. After work simply slip into some flats, grab a casual tank top, and you’ll be ready for a lovely spring evening.

Earth Creations Rocket Skort

Short and sweet, this affordable organic clothing basic will keep you covered while still being wonderfully flirty and cute. The petal-shaped crossover design with layered fabric makes this an ideal skirt for active days on-the-go, and even has a hidden pocket in the waistband to keep your phone or keys secure while you enjoy getting active!

Made from 100% organic cotton jersey with a 90% organic cotton/10% lycra waistband, this skort from Earth Creations has stretch where you need it and is another great piece made in USA.

Ruffle Skirt

Our final pick for affordable organic clothing to have you ready for spring is this elegant ruffle skirt from Goddess Gear. Awarded a five-star rating from our customers, this slightly flared hemp and Tencel™ A-line skirt has the right amount of sophistication for a day at the office while maintaining a subtle touch of whimsy that works well at weddings and other special occasions. Pair this organic skirt with the matching Ruffle Blouse in black, moonlight, or sand tones for a complete outfit that is sure to attract compliments wherever you go!
 

Spring-Ready Clothing You’ll Love to Wear at Faerie’s Dance

Feeling inspired? We certainly are! There really is something for everyone when it comes to affordable organic clothing for spring. As we move into warmer weather, we invite you to browse our complete range of sustainable and organic skirts, shorts, and sustainable dresses for a spring capsule wardrobe you’ll want to wear again and again!
 

As the end of another year approaches, toy factories and shopping malls are working overtime to prepare for the onslaught of anxious shoppers. With 28% of gifts returned after the big day and 25% more waste thrown into landfills between Thanksgiving and New Year, it’s a good time to be thinking about ways to be eco-friendly over the holiday season for a happier (and healthier!) planet. At Faerie’s Dance, we’re here to help redefine how people think about eco-friendly shopping. Here are our top 5 ideas to consider for making your holidays more eco-friendly!

1. Ditch the Tinsel and Disposable Knives and Forks

Tradition and convenience are attractive go-to’s when the family is coming over and there’s way too much to do. Fortunately, there are several ways to be eco-friendly and prevent the huge amounts of plastic that are purchased and disposed of around holiday time each year.

Instead of plastic tinsel and baubles, consider opting for the more nature-friendly pine cones and rose hips, decorating your home with pieces of brightly colored organic cotton and homemade bunting. For ways to be eco-friendly with your holiday meal, think about switching your single-use plastic cutlery for compostable bamboo disposables or preferably make a fun activity out of washing dishes by turning up the holiday music and laying out the leftovers for helpers to help pack up. With the treats off the table and the party in the kitchen, you’ll soon have a team of eager volunteers!

2. Purchase Gifts that Give Twice

With so many birthdays and holidays in a lifetime, finding the perfect gift for each person can be a challenge. Make your presents meaningful as well as sustainable by shopping local and giving preference to eco-friendly gifts for the holidays.

Organic cotton children’s toys are free from flame-retardants and other chemicals making them a safer, softer option for bringing a smile to the kids’ faces. Organic women’s clothing or sustainable men’s styles are other ideas for ways to be eco-friendly when buying gifts for the whole family. The styles available in organic and sustainable fabrics means you won’t have to sacrifice on fashionability, and your purchase will help small family businesses make a decent living in countries around the world.

3. Wrap Your Gifts Without Killing Trees

According to a study from Sundale Research, Americans spend a whopping $7 billion on wrapping paper every year. Keep gifts a surprise without damaging our forests by looking for alternatives to brand-new “virgin” wrapping paper. As an item that is used once (or at most twice) and then thrown away, this holiday tradition can easily be replaced with gorgeous tree-free gift bags that can be folded back up and used again. The red cloth stocking hanging from the mantelpiece is a similar idea and brings back the nostalgia of centuries past.

If you must wrap with paper, there are ways to be eco-friendly while still giving the kids the fun of ripping each package apart. Create a rustic feel by wrapping gifts with newspaper and securing it with twine or colored cloth rather than plastic-coated sticky tape. When you’re done unwrapping, compost your newspaper wrapping paper to return the goodness to the earth. For those who like a sea of color in their living room, swap the newspaper for some colorful pages from used magazines. While this option isn’t as great for your compost pile, it can still be recycled for more eco-friendly holidays!

4. Gift Experiences Rather than Toys

Creative gifts can be a way to be eco-friendly and counter the excess of consumption that pollutes our homes and our hearts. Whet the appetite of curious kids with a science clinic or cake-making workshop and give the older ones the thrill of a lifetime with a voucher for a tandem skydive or white-water rafting. Is there a couple on your list who could do with a romantic getaway? For ways to be eco-friendly at the same time as showing some sacrificial generosity, consider gifting a hotel, restaurant, or movie voucher and offering to watch the kids!

5. Give Them a Choice

Having someone guess the exact gift we want is a rare pleasure that is usually preceded by 12 months of hint-dropping. Avoid the problem of gift-return and reduce waste by giving your loved ones a gift card printed on recycled paper or charity-based “gift” that plants trees or “adopts” an endangered animal.

Looking for ways to be eco-friendly with a sustainable holiday budget that won’t put you in the red? Time vouchers are a creative idea for eco-friendly holidays that only cost you an hour (or two or three) and leave the details up to the recipient. You could make these vouchers fun and attractive by including a few suggestions and decorating the page by hand. A time-voucher for your teenage son could offer activities such as:

• An afternoon of go-karting
• Putting together an engine for his future car
• Going on a camping trip together to the local state park
• Helping him practice his basketball shots
• Spending time together during something he enjoys

While this gift could seem like more effort than checking out an iPhone and calling it good, it will create unforgettable memories that last for a lifetime.

6. Change Your Mindset to Transform the World

Although looking for ways to be eco-friendly with our celebrations can make an enormous difference, changing the way we think has benefits that extend far beyond the holidays. Take a moment to step away from the hustle, bustle, lights, and music, and ask yourself these important questions:

• What am I trying to achieve with this year’s festivities?
• Which gifts have I received from others that really changed and enriched my life?
• What will I do this holiday season to build relationships with the people in my life?
• What can I let go of this holiday season?

When you step back and look at the big picture, you might realize that the most important thing is spending time with family, making memories, taking time to rest, and filling your home with joy. Ready to make your holiday more eco-friendly? Explore the best eco-friendly gifts in our collection.

Happy Holidays from Faerie’s Dance! We wish you a healthy, prosperous and, most of all, joyous New Year!

In 2009 we started The Eco-Fashion Philosopher with this very question. By 2019 the terminology has gotten more complex rather than less. Is “eco-fashion” the same as “sustainable fashion”? What about “Ethical Fashion” or “Slow Fashion”? Ten years on, and the need to clarify is more prevalent today than when we started. Let’s take a look at these terms and what they all mean.

“Eco-Fashion” Explained

Eco-fashion describes clothing produced with minimal environmental impact.

When people talk about “eco-fashion”, they are generally referring to the ecological impact that fashion has in the world. At Faerie’s Dance, we look at four factors when determining if a garment meets the “eco-fashion” label:

1. How was the input material grown or made?
2. Are toxic chemicals required for the transformation of the input material into fabric?
3. How much production waste is generated?
4. Which dyes or finishing agents are used in the final garment?

Just to be clear, though, conventional fashion is a dirty business. Exactly how dirty is hard to quantify because fashion touches so many different things such as water chemical pollution, ocean plastic pollution, soil pollution, carbon emissions, petroleum usage, desertification, and on and on. Entire movies have been made about fashion industry pollution. Check out this documentary preview on river pollution for a quick look into some of the main issues with the fashion industry.

RiverBlue – Official Trailer from RiverBlue on Vimeo.

“Ethical Fashion” Unpacked

Ethical Fashion ensures the well-being of the farmers and factory workers.

The creation of fashion is extremely labor intensive. Sewing machines are about as high-tech as things get in the fashion industry, and there are actual people who operate them. The USA once had a booming clothing manufacturing industry. In 1960, 95% of clothing sold in the U.S. was manufactured in New York’s Garment Center. With rising wages in the USA, companies started outsourcing clothing manufacturing.

Initially China was the place to go for cheap labor and minimal regulations. Sweatshop working conditions and child labor became the norm with profit margins skyrocketing for western companies that could still charge a premium. As the world became focused on the plight of the Chinese garment worker, conditions slowly improved and wages started to rise. In some ways, the problem became worse. In the never-ending “race to the bottom” western companies started leaving China to set up garment manufacturing in even poorer areas, with even fewer regulations. Fashion industry workers were increasingly being paid less and less for working longer and longer hours.

In 2013, the Rana Plaza garment building in Bangladesh collapsed killing 1134 people who were making clothing for western companies. The building was not zoned for manufacturing. The upper floors had been built without permits. Worst of all, the workers had been threatened with job lose and pay withholding if they did not come to work even after cracks were spotted in the building. This disaster really shone a spot-light on the plight of the garment workers around the world. The Fashion Revolution was started to counteract this type of worker abuse.

Today, the hashtag #WhoMadeMyClothes is used as a call to action to ensure people in the fashion manufacturing chain are treated with dignity, while Fair Trade standards and certifications ensure they are paid fairly and receive living wages.

“Slow Fashion” Sorted

Slow Fashion emphasizes quality over quantity and lasting appeal over trendiness.

Once fashion production was moved to places with cheap labor, the industry realized that more money could be made by offering lower quality goods, thus reducing prices even further. Moreover, if prices were cheap enough, producers could sell significantly more. The pace of fashion trends picked up significantly in the 1980s and 1990s. Instead of collections coming out seasonally, suddenly new items were being introduced monthly, and then weekly. The strategy was to get fashion from the catwalk to the consumer as fast as possible.

Planned obsolescence became the standard for fashion rather than quality. A shirt no longer had to last season after season. Wearing an item 2-3 times and then tossing it became the norm. The term “fast fashion” was born to describe this new model of production. And the pileup of fashion waste increased exponentially.

After a few decades of rampant “fast fashion” the toll on the environment, the buildup of landfill, and the emotional weight on people owning all this “stuff” became too much. Books like Marie Kondos “The Life Changing Magic of Tyding Up” became international best-sellers as people have become bogged down in a sea of over-consumption. An entire industry of decluttering grew out of the mess. Frustrated consumers and fashion designers are fostering a new movement towards “slow fashion,” in an attempt to find a path back to quality, timelessness and sanity in fashion.

So What is Sustainable Fashion Then?

Sustainable Fashion is the all-encompassing term for fashion that is ecologically sound, ethically produced, and high quality. In other words, both environmentally and socially sustainable as well as well-made and stylish.

We’ve learned a lot since we opened our little online fashion boutique in 2005 with just 70 or so styles. We continue to educate ourselves about fashion, style, ethics and sustainability. Our research into new garments and manufacturers is extensive, and our verification methods have become increasingly sophisticated. Today FaeriesDance.com offers more than 1200 items, each one curated to be sustainable from every point of view.

When we started blogging way back in 2009, we did a series of short “Quick Fact” posts about different textile inputs in the eco-fashion landscape. Looking over those quick facts 10 years later, and a lot of the information has changed and many of the resources linked are no longer available. So here’s a round up of some of those old posts, just as interesting, but now also up-to-date.

Organic Cotton Statistics

For years Turkey held the record for growing the largest amount of certified organic cotton in the world.  But in 2008 alone, India increased its production of organically grown cotton by 292% to become the number one grower.  Since then, India has continued to expand their production of organically grown cotton acreage and according to the Organic Cotton Market Report of 2017, India grows 56% of all organic cotton worldwide. China is second with 14%, and Turkey now represents only 7% of worldwide organic cotton production. The good news is, that’s not because Turkey is growing less cotton organically, but that the rest of the world has massively increased organic production.

Fun Facts:

• 18 countries grow some organic cotton.
• The top 7 countries (India, China, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Tajikistan, US and Tanzania) grow 97% of all organic cotton. 
• The USA grows just 4% of the world’s organic cotton.
• The demand for organic cotton in the USA far exceeds production, forcing most fashion producers to import organic cotton.
• It takes 3 years to convert conventional farmland to certified organic.

Hemp Status in the USA

Hemp has had a rocky past in the USA. In 1619 at Jamestown Colony in Virginia it was mandatory for farmers to grow hemp because there was such a shortage. But the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 made the cultivation of industrial hemp impractical, though not strictly illegal. That’s because hemp was categorized as a drug along with it’s cousin marijuana even though industrial hemp contains less than 1 percent of  tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the chemical in marijuana which produces psychoactive effects.

However, the 2018 Farm Bill removed the restrictions on growing hemp, and industrial hemp is no longer classified as a Schedule 1 controlled substance. It’s too early to say exactly how much hemp growth will expand in the USA, but the West Virginia Department of Agriculture alone reports
there is 15 fold increase in hemp cultivation in 2019 over 2018.

Fun Facts:

• The first USA flag was made from hemp.
• Both President George Washington and President Thomas Jefferson were cultivators of hemp.
• In addition to apparel and textiles, hemp can be found in food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
• Hemp “milk” can now be found in your grocery store.
• Hemp may well be the single most eco-friendly fabric.

Latex and Spandex Allergies

Natural rubber latex is derived from the rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis.  There is a specific protein in latex that acts as a sensitizer and causes allergies.  Many individuals are not initially allergic to latex, but can develop sensitivity to it after prolonged exposure.

Latex allergies are particularly tricky because latex can sometimes be found in elastic, but not always.  Manufacturers are not required to specify if a product contains a small amount of elastic as trim.  Even when they do note that elastic is present, the underlying source of the elastic is almost never listed.  So it is rare to find a garment hang tag that will say with any certainty whether latex is present.

One of the biggest misconceptions about latex allergies is that spandex (also lycra or elastane) is the same as latex and can cause the same allergic reaction. Spandex is actually a man-made, petroleum-based fabric made from polymer polyurethane and does not contain the rubber tree protein that causes latex sensitivities. While some people do have allergic reactions to spandex, it is much less common than latex allergies.

Unfortunately, since spandex allergies are less common, it’s even harder to find apparel that is spandex free than finding apparel that’s latex free. Even the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) allows for a small amount of spandex to be added to an organic textile and still be certifiable. In general, though the presence of spandex in a garment is usually easier to determine since it’s often in the fabric itself, not just the elastic trim.

Resources:

• The American Latex Allergy Association posts relevant information for allergy sufferers.
• Cottonique brand clothing is completely free of both spandex and latex.
• Indigenous Designs uses no spandex in their main fabrics, and covers all their elastics so they don’t touch the skin at any point.
• Green Tree Organic, our in-house brand, uses guaranteed latex free elastics in all of the panties except the printed ones. (Note that there is 5% spandex in our fabric.)
• At FaeriesDance.com, check the “Details” section for the phrase “latex free.” If that isn’t listed, we can’t confirm if the elastics contain latex. Also check the “Fabric & Care” tab for the fabric contents and the presence of spandex.

Need Other “Quick Facts”?

Take a look around our blog for other eco-fashion facts and tips. Here are some of our most popular posts from the last 10 years. If you still have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

• What are “Natural” Fabrics?
• Which Fabrics Are the Most Eco-Friendly?
• Modal is touted as the new eco-fabric; does it live up to the hype?
• All About Dyes