Green Wedding Invitations
I have been a long time admirer of Twig and Fig, a letterpress designer in the Bay Area. Their work is so organic and lovely, the quality is truly impeccable. So, when Suzie approached me about writing an article for Style Me Pretty, I jumped at the chance!
I have talked about planning an eco-friendly wedding in the past, but feel like it’s important to keep discussing new and chic ways to make green choices during a time in your life when it’s just so easy. Suzie has been sweet enough to share with us Twig and Fig’s own green ideas when it comes to invitation design and is giving us some tips on purchasing eco-chic paper goods.
From Suzie at Twig and Fig….
Inviting Green
To Green or not to Green with your invites? Feeling reticent about making aesthetic sacrifices? Fret not lovely brides who treasure luxury and opulence. Supporting a sustainable earth doesn’t mean restricting your stationery choices to hemp products, recycled cardboard and stringy fibers; often the very image one conjures when thinking Eco. Just like many aspects of a wedding, your invitations can be made beautiful in the many shades of Green.
line
Being green here at Twig & Fig is not only part our essence, but an easy direction for us; as the most beautiful papers we’ve fallen in love with happen to be in keeping with sound enviro-practices. Being based in the renowned environmental nexus of Berkeley, California, we are cradled by a community acutely attuned to how sensitive our earth is, and innovating ways to treat her well. Understanding the elements of the invitation creation process can help choose where you can contribute to creating less waste in your own experience. Here’s a breakdown of the design, paper, printing and packaging aspects of keeping things earth friendly.
line
–Our design starts with a paper-free process; all of our proofs produced via electronic delivery (PDFs). This allows clients to exchange files for sharing with family and decision makers freely while keeping print-outs to the necessary minimum. Always recommend a pdf proof, instead of a paper proof.
line
-The papers onto which we print are all made from yummy cotton; never wood pulp. Even better, our boutique cotton papers are made from re-purposed cast-offs from the textile industry, thus salvaging them from becoming refuse. Cotton naturally works best with letterpress printing, as its loft is so cushy, it receives the best, deepest impressions from the raised printing plates. Go cotton when you can!
line
-As for printing, the hand-fed letterpress method itself is inherently eco-friendly. Starting with the press itself, we have revitalized a beautiful cast-iron machine from 1890s. The photopolymer printing plates we employ do not require harsh chemicals and require minimal processing unlike metal plates. Our hand-fed press uses less than a teaspoon of ink for the average invitation suite and we’ve found a way to use merely drops of cleanup liquid. (Rubber-based inks are of the lowest impact possible for printing; rated even lower than Soy). Hand-feeding (as opposed to automatic paper-feed) and an efficient press-operator greatly diminish paper waste; typically just 2 to 5% of the order. This is remarkable compared to the offset process. So, if your budget allows…opt for handfed letterpress.
line
-As a final step, we package our finished pieces in re-useable, unfinished wooden boxes reducing the need for excess packing materials. These boxes are made just beautifully enough to encourage an extended life of re-use for storing, re-gifting, etc rather than to be tossed. Always ask your designer (or have the store ask) to please package your invitations as minimally as possibly, while still keeping them safe and protected. Re-use any excess packaging materials.
line
-Of course, sourcing a designer locally is always a good way to go. There are wonderfully eco-minded creative invitation designers and printers who are closer than you think. Check out the referrals available via websites such as Greenopia (www.greenopia.com) where we were recently recognized as a Green provider of services.
line
Your choices can happily and beautifully exist within a Green process, as we do at Twig & Fig—with only the greatest of benefits and results from mindfully-placed selections.
