Think the Earth

Your wedding is a ceremony you will likely remember for the rest of your life. That is why you may want to have a ceremony that is good for you, as well as for the society. Japanese couples spend on average, 3.438 million yen on their wedding (as of 2012), but increasingly, there are more people who would rather spend that money to give back to society.

For example, you can choose a "conflict-free" (gemstones that have not been sold to finance armed conflict) and ethical engagement or wedding rings, and fair trade dresses, shoes, candles, flowers, and paper crafts, organic and fair trade catering and gifts, etc. In recent years, there are more eco-conscious fair trade products such as the Wedding Collection produced by the fair trade brand, People Tree, and restaurants so it has gotten much easier to throw an ethical wedding.

Having said that, the bridal market in Japan is mainly driven by venue selection, so even wedding production companies that provide comprehensive services did not offer an ethical wedding package. Ethically conscious couples could look for ethical venues or products on their own, because this requires a lot of time and energy, they end up choosing a normal wedding package, and simply opt to incorporate some ethical products as a part of their wedding, such as using ethical products as gifts for their guests.

But this June an ethical wedding production company, "Walk in Beauty," opened for business. The company was founded by Ms. Hanako Kato, who was the key sales person for People Tree for approximately 9 years. The words, "Walk in Beauty," is taken from a Native American Navajo Tribe prayer, and it means to live in harmony with all living beings, things, and the environment. Ms. Kato, who has always cherished these words, says, "A wedding ceremony should be beautiful to the couple, but at the same time, for the world around them. I hope weddings will help create a beautiful world not only on that special day, but for years to come." Currently she is working on an ethical wedding to be held in October, but she is already getting many inquiries.

The ethical wedding movement is gradually growing. The wedding information magazine, Zexy Premier, and the ethical jewelry brand, HASUNA, is planning to launch a joint monitoring project this fall, which will last through to next spring. So if you are planning to get married, why not have an ethical wedding ceremony?