Conflict free diamonds and dirty gold

Thanks to the movie Blood Diamond, people are aware of the ecological and human cost of diamond mining. More people are also becoming aware of the same problems with gold mining.

Brilliantearth says:

"Many of the world’s diamonds are harvested using practices that exploit and degrade children, communities, the labor force, and the local environment. Workers are subject to brutality, degrading working conditions, low pay and sometimes death. Consider the facts: over 1 million diamond diggers in Africa are paid less than $1 a day, living in poverty and working in dangerous conditions. Many of the diamond workers in Africa are children under the age of 16, accounting for between 30-50% of the workforce in countries like the Congo, Angola, and Sierra Leone. Local communities in Angola are being tortured by local diamond companies in an effort to force them off the diamond rich land, while the government turns a blind eye".

There is some controversy that the ethical diamond trade is being used as a cover for more exploitation.

There is a wikipedia article, which at least has some citations) about conflict diamonds which discusses the Kimberley certification process flaws, and the Canadian policies. There are also issues about indigenous treaties and mining.

A new form of offset is "conflict neutral", similar to carbon neutral, you can offset the cost. The same Wiki says:

"Sales of rough diamonds are controlled by the Kimberley Process. This is under the approval of the UN and its purpose is to regulate the trade in Blood diamonds. Unfortunately it is not yet totally successful with Global Witness estimating that between 0.5% and 20% of all diamonds sold as certified conflict-free under the Kimberley Process are still blood diamonds. The value of these diamonds is very high but it is the human cost which is most significant. Blood Diamonds are so called because they are sold to fund wars. However, it is not only the people in conflicts who suffer. Many diamond mines operate in terrible conditions with no running water and a large amount of child labour. Conflict Neutral can never compensate for the millions of lives lost but it can help to provide healthcare and education to return dignity to the lives of people affected". Conflict-free sapphires are also now available.

See also:
Canadian First Nations and diamond mining
The Keilburgers on the diamond trade
Wiki on Blood Diamonds
NoDirtyGold
Fairjewelery a useful blog by a fair trade jewelry designer

Short List of ethical ring suppliers:

Agreenbride.com, ethical rings

Carbon offsets for your wedding

Many couples are either calculating their own carbon offsets for their wedding, or informing guests how to offset their carbon footprint for plane or car travel. Some couples suggest buying carbon offsets as a wedding gift.

You can use the wedding calculator at terrapass.org to calculate and offset your wedding costs.

Their wedding calculator takes into account four different sources of emissions:

Airline emissions from guest travel. For most weddings, this is by far the most important category of emissions. Planes burn a lot of fuel, and these days most weddings bring together people from all over the country and the world.

Automobile emissions from guest travel.
Cars aren't likely to be a huge source of greenhouse gas emissions for your wedding, but if you have a lot of local guests, they will collectively burn a modest amount of gasoline getting to the event.

Energy use in hotel rooms. Hot showers, lighting, and air conditioning all require electricity. For large weddings, this energy use can add up.

Energy use for the wedding itself. The DJ, the caterer, temperature control, lighting – whether you have your wedding on the beach or in a banquet hall, the event itself requires some energy. Truth be told, the amount of emissions from the event itself is small – about one ton of CO2 or less – so we just add a little to the total to cover it."

Here are some other Carbon Offset sites:
Native Energy,
Carbonoffsets and
MyClimate in the US,
planetair in Canada, (good international info and calculators at The David Suzuki Foundation) and
Climate Care in Europe.
The Carbon Neutral Company
GreentagUSA Wedding offset calculator

Also see our list of Ethical Gift Registries, which include carbon offsets.

UPDATE from the United Nations:
U.N. to tighten rules on earning carbon offsets
LONDON (Reuters) - The U.N.'s climate change agency on Wednesday proposed to make it more difficult for speculators to earn carbon offsets from emissions-cutting projects which were already profitable. Under the U.N.-run Kyoto Protocol, industrialized nations can meet limits on their output of planet-warming gases such as carbon dioxide by funding emissions cuts in the developing world in a scheme called the Clean Development Mechanism

The scheme is meant to cut the world's overall output of greenhouse gases, but has drawn criticism for counting emissions cuts from projects, for example in wind and hydro power, which were already profitable and likely to go ahead regardless of the U.N. scheme. Such criticism has threatened to impact demand in the $13 billion market, for example in the European Union where policy officials have expressed concern about the quality of projects.

Projects in future would have to show that emissions cuts were a direct result of the U.N. scheme, Any new rules would initially apply to new biomass plants using waste to generate power, but could be widened to other projects, the panel suggested in proposals found

Should you have a religious or a civil ceremony?

Should you have a religious or a civil ceremony? It will depend upon your own philosophy and spiritual beliefs, what kind of ceremony you have.

You may have a strictly civil ceremony, either at City Hall, or by a civil (non-religious) marriage officiant at a location of your choice, such as your home, a hotel, a park or garden or restaurant, or a 'non-denominational' chapel or hall that permits both religious and non-religious weddings of any tradition.

You may also have TWO ceremonies, a civil one and then a religious one (like Prince Charles and Camilla, who were married at the Registry Office in London, and then had a wedding blessing at Westminster).

Or you may have a completely religious ceremony, if your officiant is registered with the municipality where you got your marriage license, so they can sign your license.

OR, you can ask a civil marriage officiant to perform the ceremony and sign the license, and ask a religious person to co-officiate, and bless the marriage in a religious tradition. We have sometimes been asked to do this, where the ceremony is split between the civil officiant, and a religious person such as a rabbi or imam or deacon, who may offer a religious blessing during the marriage service.

Of course we did not always have these choices.

It's important to understand the difference between a religious and a spiritual wedding ceremony. The reason a Judge, or Justice of the Peace or a Mayor can marry people in many communities is that Martin Luther and other Renaissance reformists changed marriage into a civil institution instead of just a religious one. Although a priest could still bless the marriage, the civil law superceded church (canon) law, regarding who could marry, and who could divorce, and for what reasons. This gave women more rights. The wedding ceremony itself was now in English or German, not Latin, so that the parties could understand their commitment.

The form of the modern civil marriage ceremony that we all know, and the vows of

"In the presence of these witnesses, I, [Name],
take you, [Name], to be my wife/husband,
to have and to hold from this day forward,
for better or worse, for richer or poorer,
in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish,
until we are parted by death.
And thereto I plight thee my troth".

are basically the Protestant marriage ceremony from the prayer book of Edward VI (Henry VIII's son) printed in English in 1549.

"I [N.] take thee [N.] to my wedde wife, to have and to holde from this day forwarde, for better, for wurse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, and in health, to loue and to cherishe, til death us departe: according to Goddes holy ordinuance: And thereto I plight thee my troth... With thys ring I thee wed: Thys golde and silver I thee give: with my body I thee wurship: and withal my worldly goodes I thee endow".

[note: "withal" doesn't mean "with all", it means "thusly"]. The mention of God's Holy Law adds the weight of an oath. The ceremony means that the couple states that they will live together and support each other and share their worldly goods and their mutual lives.

There's a short article in Wikipedia explaining some of this.

Different rules in Different Countries

In current practice in the US and Canada, "the legal civil marriage ceremony may take place during the religious marriage ceremony, although they are theoretically distinct. In most American states, the marriage may be officiated by a priest, minister, rabbi or other religious authority, and in such a case the religious authority acts simultaneously as an agent of the state. In some countries, such as France, Spain, Germany, Turkey, Argentina, Japan and Russia, it is necessary to be married by the state separate from (usually before) any religious ceremony, with the state ceremony being the legally binding one. Some states also allow civil marriages in circumstances which are not allowed by many religions, such as same-sex marriages or civil unions".

Who can marry you?

Not all religious persons may officiate at legal weddings. Be sure to check that the person performing the ceremony is duly registered and recognized under the law of that jurisdiction. In New York City, for instance, a marriage officiant must be a certified member of an official organization, and not an 'internet minister', to legally marry couples.

Ethical and Humanist Officiants

An ethical wedding ceremony is a non-religious civil ceremony performed by a civil Ethical officiant, such as a member of the Ethical Society, or the Humanist Society. You can read more about Humanism on our website. Many Unitarian churches also perform non-religious ethical ceremonies. Some Jewish officiants perform non-religious ethical services. You may read examples of Humanist Ceremonies on our website. In many ways, Humanist modern civil ceremonies echo the ceremonies from the Protestant Reformation, but with more emphasis on the shared responsibility of marriage. The Humanist Society states that "A Humanist ceremony is one that shows respect for both the bride and groom. The vows are personal, often specially written just for the couple. The ceremony reflects the equality of the couple, compassion, mutual trust and respect."

A marriage ceremony, whether civil or religious, is a contract, duly witnessed. The vows that you choose to say to each other (your promises) are your personal statement that you understand the commitment you are making. The role of the legal officiant is to say that the State recognizes the legal status of the commitment you have made, and the role of the religious officiant is to offer a spiritual blessing for your contract.

At its basic, a marriage ceremony is a public, legal, recognition that a couple have stated they will live together and support each other and share their worldly goods and their mutual lives as a family unit, and that they should be recognized as such. The flowers and the music and poetry are all the joyful part of society's recognition that you are making a happy, brave, public choice to entrust your lives to each other's keeping.

Vegetarian Wedding Menu

If you're vegan, veggie, raw or just light on the planet (or if ONE of you is veggie, like many couples) you'll need to talk about the wedding menu. My Minnesota relatives are very kind, but they think vegetarian means tuna casserole. A full Indian vegetarian wedding would be yummy and wonderful and colorful and aromatic - and give most of them heartburn. And vegan wedding cakes are a challenge - no eggs, butter, or milk or refined sugar.
That's why most vegan wedding cakes I've found are variations of Carrot Cake (or zucchini chocolate cake) with oil and flaxseed instead of eggs. But of course you want them to be PRETTY, too. And organic. And fair trade. And YUMMY. Here is a really nice vegetarian wedding menu, with an awfully pretty cake. And the menu is inspired. Don't settle for boring pasta, bruschetta and mock meatballs - plan a seasonal menu or buffet that's unique. We'll add to our link list of real wedding menus as we find them.

Here's an interesting vegetarian wedding menu from Travelling Gourmet, in Vancouver, BC --

Truffled-mushroom duxelle pizza
Eggplant caviar topped with cumin crème fraîche served on warm naan bread
Stationary Gado Gado vegetable crudite platter with spicy peanut sauce
Assorted breads including roasted garlic and goat's cheese toast, rustic olive, multigrain and mini croissants
Cucumber, tomato, red onion and feta salad with fresh oregano and olive oil
Spinach salad with hard-boiled egg, emmental, almond and mushrooms tossed with a white wine-dijon dressing
Curried chickpea and red onion salad
Grilled asparagus with lemon aioli
Roasted cauliflower tossed with peccorino romano and sea salt
Egg noodles with sun-dried olives and tomato-vodka sauce
Rosemary scented potato salad
Crêpes with sautéed red onion, spinach, basil, gouda and parmesan with tomato cream sauce
Wild mushroom lasagne with portobello, crimini, enoki, chanterelle, fresh basil and parmesan-mornay sauce

Here's a nice vegan menu from Clements,UK

Canapés
Asparagus Barquettes
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Tartlets
Spinach and vegan cheese Filo Rolls
Falafels with a soya yogurt dip
Starter
Mushroom Pate
With Ciabatta Bread
Main Course
Mixed Pepper & Almond Nut Roast en croute with tomato & basil sauce
New Potatoes
Avocado and Insalata Salad(Lettuce, baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, avocado, mushrooms, croutons served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar)
Dessert
Chocolate and Orange Tofu Cheesecake

Alternative Gift Registry

There are many ideas for an "alternative" gift registry - from giving gifts directly to global NGOs, such as Heifer.org, or organic gift services, or ways to ask people to donate to causes you support.

Here is a new suggestion: www.newdream.org

"It's the thought that counts, right? Well....when gifts are based on something other than your tastes and values, they can be downright hilarious—and wasteful. Take control of your participation in holidays and special occasions and promote more meaningful, environmentally-responsible exchange with the Alternative Gift Registry.

You can give and receive gifts that complement your value system: the registry makes it easy to choose immaterial, homemade, second-hand, and environmentally-friendly gifts."

You might also suggest guests offer small gifts (as little as $25) to Kiva.org, a micro-lending program. You can track the progress of your supported project, and you can also buy gift certificates in honor of the couple.

You can also check out the more mainstream Idofoundation.org, which provides placecards and party favors indicating ethical donations, and a gift registry with a percentages donated to the charity of your choice. You can choose your own charity, including any of the ones we've listed.

Be sure to check out your charity on Guidestar.com,(free registration) where you can verify a charity and check their financials, in addition to lots of other useful information. Also use Charity Navigator. You can encourage online donations at Networkforgood, which will also issue tax receipts.

Here is our own Ethical donation list of charities and ngos we support.
Here is our list of alternative gift registries on agreenbride. Send us your suggestions.
Here is a list of fair trade and green companies for a traditional gift registry.

Organic, Natural Wedding Dresses

Of course the best eco-move would be to use your mom's wedding dress (and pay someone to alter it, thus aiding a small business). Or get a funky dress from Goodwill or Value Village and have it altered. Fun stuff. You can also buy a recycled or industry-donated gown from BridesAgainstBreastCancer. But if you want to support the organic wedding dress industry, here are some leads from Treehugger.com and some of our own findings.

[Note: the expanded list now lives on agreenbride.com.

wholly-jo: Wholly Jo’s is an ethical wedding gown designer and dressmaker based in Uxbridge, West London. "We make our gowns from organic, fair trade and cruelty-free products. We use Peace Silks (vegetarian), and organic cotton and hemp fabrics".
Olivia Luca Olivia Luca in Portland, Oregon. "On our web site you can use our fun interactive tool to design your own dress and choose the fabric - for organic cotton, hemp/silk, and 100% silk wedding dresses". All locally sewn.
Rawganique : "Finest hemp linen fabric especially woven for the occasion. Made in Europe: no sweatshop, child labor, or underwaged labor. Designer styling: Fully & voluptuously lined all through with wild raw silk. Simple. Elegant. Utterly beautiful. Completely sustainable". note: Hemp Clothing & Organic Cotton Products created from clean energy on Mac core duo's using solar panels & wind generator, Denman Island, BC. Vegan owners.
"Conscious Clothing of Santa Fe has been making environmentally and ecologically-conscious hemp, hemp/silk and hemp/tencel bridal garments or wedding gowns for environmentally-aware people".
taralynnstudio.com Since 1999 Tara Lynn has been designing custom hemp wedding gowns of 100% hemp or hemp and silk blends that look and feel luxurious". Vermont.
Threadheadcreations Threadhead Creations is proud to produce a high-quality line of eco-friendly wedding dresses. All of our green wedding dresses are made by hand in east Tennessee by the designer. Our dresses are crafted exclusively of natural fibers including hemp, organic cotton, peace silk and bamboo.

Green wedding ceremony locations

Prospect Park, Vale of Kasmir, Brooklyn NY

Green Wedding Ceremony Locations

For a green and ethical wedding location, try the obvious first: community gardens, botanical gardens, organic farms, national parks, waterfront, your backyard, nature conservancies and other protected land. Winter weddings are lovely outside, even on the beach - watch for blowing sand, though, it's bad for skin and eyes.

For indoor ceremonies, try socially conscious businesses with meeting areas. Look into the meeting rooms of your local charities, social service agencies and environmental groups. Many have board rooms or meeting rooms with nice views - and they’ve never thought of holding a wedding in their board room! Check into supportive housing agencies (especially in New York and Chicago) who have renovated industrial warehouses and hotels which have nice common areas. Don’t opt for unspoiled nature reserves - you don’t want your guests tramping across the tundra or the wetlands - but find reclaimed lands that are more user friendly, near farms and with road access.

Ask your friends and family if they know anyone with a bit of land - but think about auxiliary services (parking, lights, emergencies) and weather. What if it rains? You don't want to crush or compact wet sod or plantings. We were very sad at an outdoor wedding in a historic farm where the women wore high heels that sank into the ground. Transportation? It might be more ecologically correct to take public transit to a city park, than drive everyone out to the acreage. Consider carbon footprint, gas mileage, sunburn, wildlife, bugs, and mud.

You can now apply for a special permit for wedding in some national parks and national monuments. Some groups are limited by size in delicate areas (20 people in Carlsbad Caverns, and on some islands).

As an alternative, take engagement pictures in a wildlife or nature area, with only a few people. Set the pictures up on a slide loop at your wedding so other people can enjoy the site without trampling the setting.