ORANGE, Conn. — The Association of Wedding Gown Specialists (AWGS), an international organization of drycleaners specializing in gown cleaning, restoration and preservation, announced it has partnered with Carbonfund.org to offer a new standard for gown preservation.
All emissions generated in the gown-preservation process — from the bride's visit to a member cleaner to the cleaning procedures to the wedding chest's manufacture — will now be offset by member donations to Carbonfund.org. Labels reading "ZeroCarbon," a Carbonfund.org trademark, will appear on AWGS preservations, and donations will fund reforestation projects worldwide.
AWGS has been offering carbon-neutral preservations as an option for about a year, and expanded the policy to cover all preservations at its annual meeting in Las Vegas.
"Research shows that more brides than ever are concerned about their carbon footprints," says Kermit Engh, AWGS president. "We were the first in the industry to offer brides this option, and it has been a popular choice. However, at our recent annual meeting, members voted to expand our investment in the planet's future and make carbon offsets an integral part of our premium preservation procedures."
"We are very pleased the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists has decided to increase their commitment to the environment," says Eric Carlson, Carbonfund.org president. Their decision helps continue to spread the message that global warming affects all of us, and we can all be part of the solution by reducing and offsetting our carbon footprint."
Carbonfund.org supports global reforestation, renewable-energy and energy-efficiency projects that reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The not-for-profit has more than 400,000 individual supporters and more than 1,000 corporate partners including companies such as Volkswagen, JetBlue, Motorola and Hyundai. Brides interested in calculating an entire wedding's carbon footprint can find a carbon calculator at www.carbonfund.org/weddings or at www.weddingwire.com, a wedding website that has integrated its carbon calculator.
AWGS members of the association also engage in ecofriendly initiatives such as recycling, energy conservation and more. Visit www.weddinggownspecialists.com for more information.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Dave Davis at [email protected].