From The Straits Times    |

Wedding favours don’t just take up a portion of your budget, they can contribute to unnecessary waste, too. Of course, there’s always the option of doing away with wedding favours entirely. 

But if you really do want to gift your guests with a little something, here are some ideas that won’t end up filling the trash can. (Here are 9 eco- and socially-conscious ways to have a wedding that gives back)

 

Make a donation, buy an acre of land or plant a tree

Photo: World Land Trust

Making a donation on behalf of your guests and help contribute in a meaningful way. Aside from donating to a charity of your choice, you can support the World Land Trust (WLT), for example, by donating £25. This plants five native trees in  Kenya, Ecuador and Brazil or help restore native forests.

It does more than just – you’ll also be supporting the local communities. Some projects, like the restoration of Atlantic Forest in Brazil, provide educational opportunities for schoolchildren, many planting their own trees, while others, such as the Mount Kenya project, collaborate with local farmers.

 

Yummy edible wedding favours

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

They look like butterflies

A post shared by CUPPLETS (@cupplets) on

You can always count on edible wedding favours when it comes to favours that won’t be discarded, especially when they’re as pretty as these flower-adorned bites. But they can be anything, really. Think homemade spreads, cookies, cupcakes or chocolates. Here are more ideas to get you inspired.

Also read: 8 WAYS TO SAVE MONEY ON YOUR WEDDING FAVOURS

 

Reusable straws and utensils

Photo: ReduceWasteSG

Cut the usage of single-use plastics by encouraging your guests to ditch plastic straws and utensils and adopt zero-waste practices when eating out. Eco-friendly straw options include bamboo, glass, metal and silicon. 

Where to get them: ReduceWasteSG, Bamboo Straw Girl, Seastainable Co., UnPackt

 

Reusable shopping and snack bags

Photo: Salty Seas and Baggu

Another way to cut down on plastic – use reusable shopping and snack bags instead. And these ones with fun quirky prints look so chic, we’d want to tote them out any day, too!

Get them from: Baggu, Salty Seas (coming soon), Naiise, Trove of Gaia

 

Your favourite tea blend

Photo: Bamboo Straw Girl.

Tasty and practical, you can be sure tea favours won’t go to waste. You can also have a DIY wedding favour station where your guests can concoct their very own blend. Have a stash of these reusable tea bags (below) for your friends and family to fill them up and take home.

Get reusable tea bags at: Bamboo Straw Girl, Trove of Gaia

 

Air plants and potted herbs

Photo: Jeff Sheldon for Unsplash

There are the ever-popular succulents but you can also consider air plants or Tillandsia, which are pretty and don’t require much maintenance, as well as small potted herbs.

 

Seed paper and plantables

Photo: Seastainable.Co

Alternatively, your guests can try their hand at growing plants from seeds! From seed cards to these plantable paper coasters, they make for fun gift ideas, too. 

Get them from: Seastainable.Co, Etsy

Also read: 21 SINGAPORE WEDDING VENUES THAT’LL MAKE YOUR WEDDING MORE MEANINGFUL