5 Green Ideas We Lovefor Valentine's Day

It's easy being green on Valentine's Day. Ecofriendly gifts are generally more creative and distinctive than traditional ones--and that little extra touch can be the most romantic gesture of all.

1. Wine and Dine 'Em...Organically
Treat your honey's tastebuds at a restaurant specializing in seasonal, regional cuisine. If you're too late to grab a coveted February 14 reservation, hit your local farmers' market and gather the ingredients for an intimate home-cooked meal or romantic picnic.

2. Rethink the Roses
Celebrate the many facets of your love with a rainbow of organic, biodynamic, or VerifFlora-certified flowers from a farmers' market, CSA, or natural-foods store. If you can't find any locally, try Organic Bouquet, Diamond Organics, California Organic Flowers, or other online purveyors of pesticide-free petals. (Check out "The Hidden Life of Cut Flowers" if you want to know what's wrong with the conventional variety.) Or give your sweetie a lasting reminder of your sentiments: a beautiful house plant. If your relationship's long-term future looks bright, think about growing your own bouquet next year.

3. Say It With (Sustainable) Sweets
With all the delicious organic and fair-trade chocolates out there, why give anything else? (If you want to spread the love to friends and coworkers, Global Exchange's Fair Trade Valentine’s Day Action Kit is a tasty way to get your message across.)

4. Look Behind the Shine
Vintage jewelry is a great choice for romantic souls who don't romanticize the environmental and human-rights problems associated with mining diamonds and gold. For a bold (and not necessarily bank-breaking) statement, consider a distinctive piece made from recycled metal, paper, or other repurposed materials.

5. Double Your Pleasure
Shared experiences bring lovers closer together, and a rustic weekend getaway, cooking or dancing classes, or tickets to a concert or play is a gift for you too.

Comments

[Judith Rubin]

Give a soulful gift that truly lives on!
To express your love, plant a tree in your sweetie's name.

At www.swanschool.net you can order honorary cards for only $5.

[jenn]

These are really useful tips (the last one is my favorite). Here are a few of mine, geared toward the eco-cheapskate crowd!
http://www.newdream.org/living_green/archives/2007/02/be_a_cheap_date.php

[Meredith]

I sent out an email over my student organizations listserv to tell them about fair trade chocolate. I did this because we focus on Africa, and I was hoping that it would bring attention to some of the main crops and exports in sub-Saharan Africa. I got alot of negative feedback from mainly people concerned about the economic viewpoint of fair trade and organic products. For a different perspective, read:

Good food?
Dec 7th 2006
From The Economist print edition

"Real change will require action by governments, in
the form of a global carbon tax; reform of the world trade system; and the
abolition of agricultural tariffs and subsidies, notably Europe's
monstrous common agricultural policy, which coddles rich farmers and
prices those in the poor world out of the European market. Proper free
trade would be by far the best way to help poor farmers. Taxing carbon
would price the cost of emissions into the price of goods, and retailers
would then have an incentive to source locally if it saved energy. But
these changes will come about only through difficult, international,
political deals that the world's governments have so far failed to do.

The best thing about the spread of the ethical-food movement is that it
offers grounds for hope. It sends a signal that there is an enormous
appetite for change and widespread frustration that governments are not
doing enough to preserve the environment, reform world trade or encourage
development. Which suggests that, if politicians put these options on the
political menu, people might support them."

[Bethanie]

Another often-overlooked way to celebrate Valentine's Day AND be eco-friendly...buy handmade and local gifts for your loved ones! Take the handmade pledge at www.buyhandmade.org and learn how buying handmade supports our environment. Also, many sellers on www.etsy.com make items from reclaimed materials and are eco-friendly.

[k]

How about the gift of time spent together? Expressing your love shouldn't have to involve consumption.

[Robert and Ada Booth]

We are fortunate, to grow our own fruit, and look out the windows to check that it's ripe to pick.

Also we live in an area where fresh produce can be bought, if not pickable at home, all year round.

[Dan Ziegler]

My green suggestion: Spend some time free of body adornment or concealment...that's right naked. Do some house work naked, eat a meal naked, even pray naked. Learning to be comfortable just the way we are naturally, without the baggage that Madison Avenue hangs on us as to how we should look, act and feel, will take us a long way toward a peaceful planet. Experience the freedom right now.