Published

8 months ago

July 18, 2025

Alice Rush

Bottlenose dolphins living off the coast of South Korea’s Jeju Island are threatened by boats, discarded fishing gear, construction noise, pollution and runoff from fish farms. But a group of the country’s environmentalists and experts are campaigning for the dolphins to be given “legal personhood” status to better protect them.

It is the first attempt by Korea to give an animal the status, and is part of an expanding movement to recognize the legal rights of nonhuman species.

“Since 2023, Jeju island’s government has been working to introduce Korea’s first-ever ‘eco legal personhood’ system to protect Jeju’s environmental and ecological values and ‘set a new standard’ for domestic ecological and environmental policies. In order to introduce the environmental personhood system, Jeju has been operating a working group composed of academics, lawyers, and experts to come up with a proposal,” a press release from Eco Jurisprudence Monitor said.

The proposed amendment to an existing law would recognize the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin as “eco-legal entities, granting them certain rights and legal protections to ensure long-term ecological sustainability.”

The amendment would also require the formation of a committee to advocate for and protect the dolphins’ rights, as well as establish funding mechanisms to support the protections.

An estimated 120 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins make their home in the waters off Jeju Island, according to a press release from Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Many of them have visible scars from being entangled in fishing gear or from being struck by boats and jet skis that speed through the waters surrounding the island.

“Because the dolphins cannot cut the fishing lines themselves, we decided to cut them for them,” said Jeongjoon Lee, a Korean director known as “Dolphin Man,” as The Guardian reported. Lee is known for his work helping and documenting Jeju’s bottlenose dolphin population.

“In one case, we had to cut wire from two different places, one was going in through the dolphin’s face to its body, and another from around its tail where it had become tangled,” Lee said.

^{Jeongjoon Lee, known as “Dolphin Man.” Young Nam Kim / Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation}

Miyeon Kim, who works with local NGO Marine Animal Research and Conservation (MARC), said the purpose of giving the dolphins legal personhood status is for advocates to be able to take action on their behalf if a company or individual threatens their livelihood.

“The endangered Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, which has lived harmoniously with the haenyeo (female sea divers) in Jeju waters, is an important species that requires protection,” said Governor of Jeju Oh Young-hoon in the press release from the ministry. “With supporters, the Jeju government will do its best to pass a revision to the Special Act on the Establishment of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and the Development of the Free International City to designate Korea’s first eco-legal person.”

Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins are listed as “near threatened” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List of Threatened Species, reported The Guardian. However, IUCN said lack of data on the species makes it hard to determine if the status is accurate.

Kim said one of the strategies MARC uses to protect the dolphins is to personalize them, so that local people can better relate to them. The group produced a booklet displaying a photograph of each dolphin’s dorsal fin with their name.

“It’s important for us to be able to identify individual dolphins to be able to record scientific facts but it’s also important for the islanders. People have to understand and really relate to endangered species in order for these [kinds] of things [establishing legal personhood] to work,” Kim said, as The Guardian reported.

In April, a marine protected area was designated on the west side of Jeju island to safeguard the dolphins.

Kim said current rules governing the area, like preventing arbitrary development, need to be strengthened.

“The law bans more than two recreation boats coming within a 100-metre radius of the dolphins but there are a lot of different boats in that area including fishing boats, and at the moment we can’t do anything about those,” Kim explained.

Lee has spent a lot of time with the dolphins, swimming alongside them, providing help when needed and filming them. He said additional conservation measures couldn’t come fast enough.

“Sometimes I see so many boats surrounding the dolphins all watching them and chasing them around,” Lee said. “It is good that we now have a small space to begin to protect them more, but really we need to designate that whole side of the island as a protected area in order to keep them safe for the future.”

The post South Korea Could Grant Bottlenose Dolphins off Jeju Island ‘Legal Personhood’ Status to Better Protect Them appeared first on EcoWatch.

https://www.ecowatch.com/bottlenose-dolphins-south-korea-legal-personhood-protection.html

Green Living

Earth911 Inspiration: Time Is but the Stream

Published

2 days ago

February 27, 2026

Alice Rush

Thoreau wrote in Walden that “Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in,” which reminds us that life is short and nature fills it beautifully. What are you looking for that can’t be found during an afternoon in nature?

Earth911 inspirations. Post them, share your desire to help people think of the planet first, every day. Click the poster to get a larger image.

The post Earth911 Inspiration: Time Is but the Stream appeared first on Earth911.

https://earth911.com/inspire/earth911-inspiration-time-is-but-the-stream/

Green Living

Classic Sustainability In Your Ear: The Ocean River Institute’s Natural Lawn Challenge for Climate Action

Published

4 days ago

February 25, 2026

Alice Rush

Turn back the clock with this classic interview that will get you ready for Spring yard care planning. A lawn may be beautiful but it can take a heavy toll on the environment, accounting for between 30% and 60% of residential water use in the United States. Rob Moir, Ph.D., is president and executive director of the Ocean River Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ORI works with residential lawn owners to heal damaged ecosystems by restoring coastal areas to lessen the destructive impacts of climate change. The benefits of a natural lawn reach far beyond reduced local water pollution, eliminating chemicals that can contribute to cancers, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and other cellular diseases. Natural lawns are also better for local pollinators and store much more carbon than heavily fertilized lawns. If you considered removing your lawn to play a part in the battle against climate change, this interview may change your mind — a healthy lawn is a powerful carbon sink.

Rob Moir, Ph.D., president and executive director of the Ocean River Institute, is our guest on *Sustainability in Your Ear*.

The Ocean River Institute is recruiting Massachusetts communities, town by town, to take a pledge to follow natural lawn practices in the Healthy Soils for Climate Restoration Challenge. You don’t need to live in Massachusetts to participate and learn about the alternatives to the traditional, chemical-intensive lawn practices that use Roundup, a source of glyphosates that kills soil-dwelling fungi and local pollinators, and fast-acting nitrogen fertilizers. You can learn more about the Ocean River Institute at www.oceanriver.org.

Rob has contributed many articles about climate change and the history of environmental change since this interview, including:

Subscribe to Sustainability in Your Ear on iTunes and Apple Podcasts.
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Editor’s Note: This episode originally aired on May 30, 2022.

The post Classic Sustainability In Your Ear: The Ocean River Institute’s Natural Lawn Challenge for Climate Action appeared first on Earth911.

https://earth911.com/podcast/earth911-podcast-the-ocean-river-institutes-natural-lawn-challenge-for-climate-action/

Green Living

7 Best Sustainable Wedding Dresses for Your Special Day

Published

5 days ago

February 23, 2026

Alice Rush

Choosing your perfect gown can be one of the most exciting decisions for your special day, but for the eco fashionista, it can be a challenge to find a dress that fits your values and style — but these brands have exceptional sustainable wedding dresses you’ll swoon over!

Using earth-minded materials like hemp, cruelty-free peace silk, deadstock recycled fabrics and vintage lace, and producing consciously, either in small batches or handcrafting each individual piece made-to-order, the brands below meet high standards for transparency, ecological sustainability, and fair labor.

[For more sustainable wedding dresses, check out this guide to secondhand wedding dress sites!]

Note that the guide contains affiliate links. As always, we only feature brands that meet strict criteria for sustainability we love, that we think you’ll love too!

1. Christy Dawn

sustainable wedding dresses from Christy Dawn

Dreamy dress brand Christy Dawn does not disappoint with their romantic bridal collection! Each piece is more swoon-worthy than the next.

Their three sustainable bridal gowns are made from regenerative silk charmeuse —sourced through BOMBYX, an innovative silk producer using best practices — and colored in a beautiful pearl silk with non-toxic dyes. Each dress is ethically cut and sewn by makers in Los Angeles earning living wages, as with the rest of Christy Dawn’s collections.

The Britta Dress and Fitzgerald Dress are 1920s inspired while the Athena Dress is a more modern (but equally romantic) option. All of these dresses are made-to-order with an estimated timeline of 4 weeks.

Conscious Qualities: Regenerative silk and organic non-toxic dyes, ethically made-to-order in Los Angeles

Price Range: $2,500 – $3,000

Size Range: XS – XL

Check Out Christy Dawn Bridal

2. Pure Magnolia

Classic sustainable wedding dresses from Pure Magnolia

Blending the traditional with the modern, Pure Magnolia designs classic-inspired sustainable wedding dresses with contemporary touches. And each dress is made in their Canadian studio by seamstresses earning fair wages from eco-fabrics, such as organic cotton and hemp silk.

The brand sources recycled fabrics whenever possible as well, and recycles their scrap fabric through FABCYCLE.

Conscious Qualities: Eco-friendly fabrics, locally and fairly made, recycles scrap fabrics

Price Range: $845 – $3,300 CAD

Size Range: 0 – 28

Check Out Pure Magnolia

3. Lost in Paris

Bohemian-inspired gowns ethically made by Lost in Paris

Lost in Paris crafts each of their creatively designed bohemian-inspired gowns ethically in their Sydney, Australia studio. Unconventional yet undeniably striking, Lost in Paris’ dresses are made from vintage lace and cotton.

Investing in a dress from Lost in Paris is seamless — the brand offers at-home sample try-ons, offers train and sleeve adjustments on several styles, ships their dresses worldwide for free, and even accepts returns. Oh, and, if one of their ready-made sizes doesn’t work for you, you can get a dress designed to your measurements.

Conscious Qualities: Made-to-order model, uses vintage lace, locally made

Price Range: $950 – $3900 AUD

Size Range: XXS – XXL + custom sizing options

Check Out Lost in Paris

For More Slow Fashion Content:

4. Wear Your Love

Ethical wedding dresses made with organic cotton from wear your love

Wear Your Love creates feminine, effortless dresses in their Northern California studio that are — in contrast to the majority of wedding dresses on the market — actually comfortable! The brand’s free-spirited designs are made with soft, earth-minded fabrics like organic cotton and each dress is made to order for each bride to their exact measurements.

There are also customizations available for each eco-friendly wedding dress such as train or no train, skirt or sleeve linings, back coverage, skirt style, and more.

Conscious Qualities: Eco-friendly fabrics, made-to-order model, locally and transparently made

Price Range: $680 – $1,700

Size Range: N/A; dresses are made to your measurements

Check Out Wear Your Love

5. Larimeloom

Custom-made ethical wedding dresses from Larimeloom

Based in Reggio Emilia, Italy, Larimeloom crafts exceptional custom-made dresses by hand in their atelier. The brand creates comfortable minimalist dresses from durable natural fabrics and colors them with natural or non-toxic dyes.

Larimeloom has also implemented zero waste design techniques, cutting their patterns strategically in order to minimize fabric waste.

Conscious Qualities: Made-to-order model, zero-waste designs, natural fabrics and dyes

Price Range: 650€ – 2,650€

Size Range: XS – XL

Explore Larimelume

6. Sister Organics

Lace wedding dresses made with earth-friendly natural fabrics from Sister Organics

Sourcing quality earth-friendly natural fabrics like organic hemp and cotton, Sister Organics creates classic, eco-friendly wedding dresses for UK-based brides.

Each dress is made to order in England, so you can select a pre-defined size, customize the length of a size, or get an entirely different dress made for your measurements.

Conscious Qualities: Eco-friendly fabrics, made-to-order model

Price Range: £125 – £390

Size Range: XXS – XXL + custom sizing

Check Out Sister Organics

7. Indiebride London

Vintage-inspired eco wedding dresses from Indiebride London

Indiebride’s vintage-inspired sustainable wedding dresses are delicate and romantic yet free-spirited, offering a unique collection for the bride that wants to skip the conventional wedding gown and choose a piece that fits their individual style.

The brand’s conscious wedding dresses are handmade in London using majority natural fibers and can be altered or customized to your specifications.

Conscious Qualities: Made-to-order model, uses many natural fabrics, locally made

Price Range: £1,200 – £1,700

Size Range: 8 – 16 (UK sizes)

Check Out Indiebride