Alex and Aleja’s plastic free and eco wedding attire to celebrate their love and union.
Micro plastics are defined as “less than 5 millimeters at length” and a multitude of studies have been done about its ever presence in our oceans. Richard Thompson, a marine biologist from University of Plymouth found “micro-plastic particles in around one third of the 500 fish examined in the English Channel“. Alex and Aleja are Silviyana eco couples that really wanted to have a plastic-free wedding. Their union was celebrated amidst a world Pandemic on April of this year. The simplicity and elegance of their attire showed us how beautiful being green can truly be.
Coconut beads and rosewood next to one another.
As a result of this, we are promising that new collections will only be done in natural beading. Synthetic seed beads, glitter and sequins are prominent in the wedding industry, and it is something that we use in the design process to make it distinguishably ‘bridal’. We are providing our Silviyana eco brides with more options to still shine beautifully as a bride, but without negatively compromising other living animals that we share this planet with. I will explain where each bead is from below and how we use these beads in the creative process to create your unique Option 3 fully customizable wedding gown. Don’t worry though, we will be releasing new eco gowns with natural beading this summer, too 🙂
Wood Beads
Biodegradable, natural and with a variety of different shades to fit your custom gown. Wood beads are a great alternative to seed beads as it comes in smaller 2-3 mm sizes. We use coconut beads that are about 2 mm for delicate detailing. For Aleja’s gown we used 2-3 pieces of coconut beads in the pistil of the flower to accentuate the smaller delicate details. Coconut beads are sourced from the Philippines. The beads are from the shell of the coconut. Another byproduct use, as coconuts are harvested for the milk and pulp for food production or cosmetics.
Rosewood is another variety that we use. This is a darker wood beading used in meditation prayer, as they promote healing and improve circulation. Beauty for the eyes and soul. Wood beads are sustainable and vegan-friendly.
Mother of Pearl
Using pearl in clothing and jewelry is a growing debate among many environmentalists. Here is our take on this beautiful and naturally occurring gem. According to PETA, pearls are made by by oysters releasing nacre after much stress. Nacre is the natural reaction of the oyster against stress and in time, enough nacre is produced to create a pearl. A Mother of Pearl on the other hand, is the outside shinny film on the shell, this is crushed and laminated to create the beads that we use today. The source of these shells typically come from the pearl farming process themselves. It is definitely not vegan, but this beauty is natural and biodegradable. It produces the most elegant shine and truly nature’s gift. Mother of Pearl is the lesser of the two evils. We have a variety of options from oval, round and tear-dropped. Faceted pearls provide more shine as it is shaped more to allow more light to bounce off it instead of the typically smooth finishing of a pearl.
Nuts
Have you heard of ‘sago’? Sago is the product of a buri tree, and is a very common ingredient in most South East Asian dessert recipes. A nut from this buri tree can be made into beads. Introducing buri nut beads are a great alternative. Some call this bead ‘Bodhi Root’, signifying rebirth, as the buri tree is used for furniture, food, jewelry etc. This buri nut seed is from the Philippines.
We love these nut beads to create depth. We used them to provide some depth in our newest rice grain collection (to be released this summer). Buri nuts are sustainable, vegan, biodegradable and natural.
Semi-precious gems
I grew up in Hong Kong and rose quartz are a symbol of ‘love’. It is believed that when you wear rose quartz, love will find you in not just romantic relationship but also in harmonious relationship with friends and family. What better way to wear rose quartz than on your wedding dress?
This is a faceted rose quartz bead that is 3 mm in length and is a perfect detailing bead to add to your embroidery to give you that extra glam. Rose quartz are naturally occurring, if the pressure is too great, hot magma is is released into hot pockets of stone. As the magma cools and comes into contact with other elements on Earth, it creates semi-precious gems. Titanium mixed with magma is what create rose quartz.
There is a lot to unpack in terms of the environmental impact of semi-precious gems. Diamond are extracted on a large-scale level, which creates open-pit mining that really disrupts the environment. Political and social impact of ‘blood diamond’ mining are issues to consider when purchasing gems. Unfortunately, there aren’t much information the mining of this semi-precious gem. All in all, these rose quartz are naturally occurring, biodegradable and vegan. We will continue to do more research on its environmental impact, but see it as a great alternative to synthetic plastic beads and sequins.
Happy custom designing, beautiful brides! You are truly beautiful inside and out for considering the environment and your impact!
Keep shinning bright,
