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7 Green Wedding Favors Your Guests Will Love

by MariZssppgvc Posted on April 12, 2018

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By Marissa Hermanson

Weddings are beautiful events, but they aren’t always environmentally friendly — just think about all those little details from paper invitations to gas-guzzling transportation. However, by planning ahead, you and your beau can help ensure that your nuptial celebration is eco-friendly.

The type of wedding favor you give guests might seem a minor issue — but the wrong choice could result in significant waste. In lieu of wrapped trinkets, show friends and family your gratitude with an environmentally friendly gift. Here are a few ideas for wedding favors that reflect your commitment to sustainability, from fragrant potted herbs to jars of local honey.

1. Potted Plants

A gift that lasts beyond the honeymoon, potted plants are a thoughtful and environmentally friendly favor for your wedding guests. Head to your local garden store and buy plants in bulk that you can pot at home. If you want to give a low-maintenance plant, succulents are a great option. Or consider fragrant herbs that your guests can use for cooking and garnishing. You might want to dress up the plants by decorating the pot with your names and wedding date.

Low-maintenance succulents make attractive wedding favors.

2. Seed Packets or Bulbs

For out-of-town guests, opt for seed packets or flower bulbs that friends and family can easily transport home. If you’re a dahlia enthusiast and the flower is making an appearance at your wedding, order a variety of dahlia bulbs. Alternately, packets of wildflower seeds are a fun gift for guests who have property where they can sprinkle the seeds. Just be sure not to distribute an invasive species. (Also, keep in mind that international guests may not be able to transport seeds or bulbs through customs.)

3. Charity Donation + Seed Paper

For the activist couple, donate money to your favorite local nonprofit or environmental cause on behalf of each guest. To make the gift more personal, write a brief note that explains why you selected the organization(s) for your charitable donation. Print the note (with plant-based ink, if possible) on environmentally friendly seed papers that guests can take home and plant later.

4. Edible Treats

Fill Mason jars or recyclable packages with yummy treats for guests to take home. Bake a batch of cookies, harvest local honey or buy fair-trade coffee from your favorite coffee shop. Your guests can savor these treats at home while they remember your special day.

5. Floral Centerpieces

Floral centerpieces can double as favors. For long tables, consider arranging tall, dramatic orchids down the center; for round tables, cluster potted perennials, greenery or lucky bamboo cuttings. Rather than purchasing new vases or pots, buy them used from local thrift stores. Make sure each table has enough plants for each guest to take one home at the end of your celebration.

6. Double-Duty Glassware

Consider using items at your reception that guests can take home. For instance, budget-friendly Mason jars printed with your wedding date can be used to serve drinks (and eliminate disposable cups). Guests can keep their jars as favors and reuse them at home.

7. No Favors

More and more couples are shying away from wedding favors because they’re costly and can have a negative impact on the environment. If you’re providing food, drink and entertainment, there’s no need to feel guilty about forgoing favors for guests to take home.

When it comes to planning a green wedding, favors are an easy place to start. Your eco-friendly approach to choosing wedding favors may help inspire other decisions you make throughout your planning process, resulting in a celebration that’s as beautiful as it is sustainable.

Did you have a green wedding? What favors did you give your guests? Let us know in the comments.

Marissa Hermanson is a wedding expert who has been published on The Knot, Southern Living, Cosmopolitan and more. She currently writes for Larson Jewelers, where you can find a wide selection of rings like titanium wedding bands.

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7 Green Wedding Favors Your Guests Will Love

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The Jeb Bush Adviser Who Should Scare You

by MariZssppgvc Posted on May 13, 2015

Mother Jones

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Last week, Jeb Bush, the all-but-announced GOP presidential candidate, stirred up a fuss when he privately told a group of Manhattan financiers that his top adviser on US-Israeli policy is George W. Bush. Given that Jeb has tried mightily to distance himself from his brother, whose administration used false assertions to launch the still highly unpopular Iraq War, this touting of W.—even at a behind-closed-doors session of Republican donors—seemed odd. But perhaps more noteworthy is that Jeb Bush has embraced much of his brother’s White House foreign policy team. In February, the Jeb Bush campaign released a list of 21 foreign policy advisers; 17 of them served in the George W. Bush administration. And one name stood out: Paul Wolfowitz, a top policy architect of the Iraq war—for the prospect of Wolfowitz whispering into Jeb’s ear ought to scare the bejeezus out of anyone who yearns for a rational national security policy.

Wolfowitz, who was deputy defense secretary under George W. Bush, was a prominent neocon cheerleader for the invasion of Iraq. He was also the top conspiracy theorist in the Bush-Cheney crowd. As Michael Isikoff and I reported in our our 2006 book, Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War, Wolfowitz, prior to the Iraq War, was a champion of a bizarre theory promoted by an eccentric academic named Laurie Mylroie: Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, not Islamic extremists such as Al Qaeda, was responsible for most of the world’s anti-United States terrorism.

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The Jeb Bush Adviser Who Should Scare You

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President Obama to Appear on “The Colbert Report”

by MariZssppgvc Posted on December 5, 2014

Mother Jones

President Obama will have the distinct honor of appearing on one of the handful of episodes that remain before the nation must bid a sorrowful adieu to the institution that is “The Colbert Report.”

Host Stephen Colbert, who is replacing David Letterman over at the “Late Show,” announced the booking last night, summing it up as a great privilege to “be sitting down with the man who sat down with Bill O’Reilly.”

The episode will air Monday, December 8th and be broadcasted from George Washington University for a special D.C. edition. So pumped, we are.

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President Obama to Appear on “The Colbert Report”

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Look How Much Bigger Thanksgiving Turkeys Are Today Than in the 1930s

by MariZssppgvc Posted on November 24, 2014

Mother Jones

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Illustration by Chris Philpot

Thanksgiving turkeys are one of America’s oldest holiday traditions. But with their giant size, stooped frame, and limited mobility, today’s birds bear little resemblance to their early counterparts. So how did we end up with these modern megabirds? According to Suzanne McMillan, senior director of the farm animal welfare campaign of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, it wasn’t by accident.

Up until the the 1950s, turkeys found on Thanksgiving tables were essentially the same as their wild counterparts. But then, says McMillan, American poultry operations began to expand to meet Americans’ growing demand for meat. Turkey farmers began to selectively breed birds for both size and speed of growth—especially in the breast, the most popular cut among American diners. The birds grew so fast that their frames could not support their weight, and as a result, many turkeys were bowlegged and could no longer stand upright. The male turkeys, or toms, got so big—as heavy as 50 pounds—that they could no longer manage to transfer semen to hens. Today, reproduction happens almost exclusively through artificial insemination.

At around the same time, producers also began moving their operations indoors, where they could fit more birds and ensure that they developed uniformly, so turkeys’ feeding and care did not have to be individualized. In these close quarters, birds began to develop infections, like sores on their breasts and foot pads. To prevent these problems, and also to encourage growth, producers added low doses of antibiotics to the birds’ feed. Also because of space limitations, birds became aggressive and often resorted to cannibalism. In response, hatcheries began trimming birds’ beaks—known as debeaking—when they were a few days old.

If all of this makes turkey sound unappetizing, consider the latest development: As of October 20, turkey slaughter facilities were allowed to speed up their lines from 51 to 55 birds per minute—while also reducing the number of federal inspectors, as my colleague Tom Philpott has reported.

Consumer demand for cheap turkey has fueled these trends. The National Turkey Federation reports that turkey consumption has doubled over the last 30 years—today, the average American eats 16 pounds of turkey per year. Meanwhile, turkey prices haven’t increased much; in fact, this year turkey is cheaper than last year. Reuters reported that some grocery chains “use turkeys as ‘loss leaders’ to entice shoppers to buy other popular Thanksgiving foods.”

No wonder, then, that we end up trashing a lot of turkey:

By Jaeah Lee

If you don’t want to support turkey factory farms, McMillan says, look for birds that are certified through animal welfare programs. Grist has a good guide to picking a turkey with real humane bona fides here. A word of caution, though: This year, turkey giant Butterball says it has gone humane, but as Philpott reports, it so far hasn’t ditched many of the most cruel practices.

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Look How Much Bigger Thanksgiving Turkeys Are Today Than in the 1930s

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