Eco-Friendly Wedding Favors

Find wedding favors to suit your environmentally-friendly wedding

By Cynthia Myers

Photo by iStockphoto.com

Send your wedding guests home with favors that are good for the environment. Instead of a mass-produced trinket that might end up in the trash, choose favors that reflect your values and lifestyle. Opt for eco-friendly wedding favors that encourage recycling and green living, support local craftspeople or conserve natural resources.

Plants

Give your wedding guests small potted herbs or flowers to transplant into their gardens or grow on their kitchen window sills. Or give the gift of a tree your guests can plant in their yards. Local nurseries and organizations, such as the Arbor Day Foundation, will help you find trees that grow well in your area. Distribute them along with planting instructions and customized cards for a gift that will keep giving to the earth for years to come.

Shopping Bags

Have colorful cotton bags printed with your wedding information. Guests can use these attractive totes as grocery bags, for storage around the house, to tote craft projects or while traveling.

Flower Seeds

Attach cards made of recycled paper to small packets of wildflower or herb seeds. Or purchase special bookmarks or cards made of recycled paper and seeds. At home, your guests can plant the entire bookmark or card and be rewarded with a lovely plant.

Free-Trade Chocolate

Organic fair trade chocolates are kind to the earth and support small businesses in developing countries. Wrap chocolate bars in pretty paper in your wedding colors and attach a custom label.

Shade-Grown Coffee

Shade-grown coffee preserves habitats for songbirds. Give your guests small bags of ground coffee or coffee beans with custom labels.

Edibles

Homemade cookies, local jams or honeys, and other edibles don't end up in the trash and help support local businesses. Choose recyclable paper or cardboard containers for these gifts and choose organic ingredients when possible.