This month’s Featured Member is Amanda from The Green Aisle. The Green Aisle is a family run business offering pre-loved and ex sample wedding, bridesmaid and prom dresses and bridal accessories. Amanda and her family have over 10 years retail management experience and are on hand to help you say “Yes to the dress”.
The idea was born after owner, Amanda, was supporting her future daughter in law to find dresses for her upcoming wedding and Amanda discovered the cost of buying dresses and the impact on the environment of manufacturing dresses. With the cost of living crisis and environmental damage, Amanda decided to help people save money on wedding and prom wear and also help the environment in the process.
What their customers say …
“An amazing wonderland of beautiful dresses and accessories! The business owner couldn’t have been kinder and more helpful! Wish I was getting married everyday just to shop here!!!”
“Lovely place to look for the perfect dress, good range of dresses, really good prices.. Excellent, helpful service, felt comfortable from start to finish with Amanda.”
Sustainable Wedding Alliance Accreditation
Amanda is the first bridalwear shop in the whole of the UK to gain the Sustainable Wedding Alliance Accreditation.
“Saving the planet and your pocket, one dress at a time!”
The Green Aisle Ltd was established to reduce textile waste, provide a place for pre-loved dresses to be purchased to allow them to be worn again to make another person’s wedding or prom as special as the last person.
The Green Aisles’ main aim is to reduce their carbon footprint, with over 95% of the shop’s fixtures, fittings, stock and advertising materials being purchased sustainably.
Winner of Sustainable Start-Up Awards
At the first ever Sustainable Wedding Awards held earlier this year, The Green Aisle was awarded with the Sustainable Start-Up Award.
This award was given to a business formed after 2021 that has made considerable progress in growing and developing with sustainability at their heart, balancing people, profit and planet and Amanda has most certainly done that.
HEART
The Green Aisle has HEART at the forefront of their vision and values. What does HEART stand for?
- H is Honest in their communication and objectives
- E is Embracing change and continually adapting to meet new challenges
- A is Acting with integrity and ensuring values are upheld
- R is Respecting all living things on Earth
- T is Training, educating and inspiring customers and suppliers on sustainability
Amanda wants to reduce the environmental impact of wedding dresses on the planet by reducing the number of dresses that end up in landfill. The Green Aisle has therefore pledged to purchase and sell pre-loved and ex-sample wedding, bridesmaid, prom dresses and accessories from local sources which will further reduce the impact from travel emissions.
What other action is Amanda taking?
- Educating others on sustainability by using her social media and website to promote sustainability along with speaking to customers on how they can reduce or offset their carbon footprint.
- Working with local suppliers which have sustainable ways of working and promoting to them the idea of developing a sustainability policy.
- Looking at national suppliers such as electricity suppliers and checking to see if they have a sustainability policy.
- Working with the Landlord of the premises to discuss switching to renewable energy suppliers for gas.
- Reducing paper waste through providing e-receipts and invoices for all sales.
