I’m a bad daughter, as I haven’t gotten anything for my mother this year for Mother’s Day. The truth is I hate buying gifts, and I don’t have time to make anything. Of course, I have turned the responsibility over to my children to honor grandmother, but I did send her this video, which of course I had to watch first making myself Mother of the Year (on the same evening my daughter told me I was “extremely mean” for asking her to do her homework).
Mother’s Day originally began as a day of peace; it is not a Hallmark holiday. MomsRising, an organization devoted “working to bring together millions of people who share a common concern about the need to build a more family-friendly America”, has created personal videos for Mother’s Day. According to MomsRising, Americans will spend $16 billion this year on Mother’s Day celebrations! That’s a lot of money to show Mom we care, and even though I have sent my mom her special video, I will probably still buy her some Dr. Hauschka.
Are you looking for wonderful green gifts for your eco-mama? Here are some little eco-luxuries that will make great green gifts for the woman on your Mother’s Day list this year.
Green Candlelight
Many women adore candles yet most traditional candles are made with petroleum by products, toxic fragrances and lead laden wicks.
Good news! There are now many eco-candles available so you can feed her candle addiction with candles made from soy wax, beeswax or even vegetable based paraffins, those are all green options. So give your green mama an eco candle this year.
By Kay Sexton •
April 12, 2009
There are three advantages to making your own cosmetics: the cost is often a fraction of the shop price, the ingredients tend to be simpler and you know exactly what they are, and you can tailor the product to meet the needs of your own skin.
Spring Break, Summer Vacation…time to travel, but what do you do if you get motion sickness? Psi Bands offer drug-free relief from nausea with stylish reusable bands.
Psi Bands (pronounced sigh bands) are acupressure bands that can help relieve nausea by putting pressure on the Nei-kuan pressure point on the wrist which will alleviate the symptoms of nausea-without drugs.
By Megan McWilliams •
February 13, 2009
Roses are Red . . .
Are those roses fair trade? How far did they travel? Are they grown organically, sustainably responsibly? If you don’t have a honey to send you flowers (or are unlikely to get them from your own honey), send yourself your favorite flowers!
Buy ‘green’ roses from Colombian Florverde growers (not local, but for a good cause).
Skip the Card . . .
Can we get creative electronically? Or write love poems on our bodies or something? Lots of ways to send the message w/out killing trees. If you don’t have anyone to send a love message to, take some time to imagine you are your own lover and send yourself a wonderful love note and appreciate who you are!
Care2 has some great FREE eCards that also help highlight important causes
Keep it Local . . .
By Wenona Napolitano •
February 12, 2009
Looking for the perfect green gift for Valentine’s Day, a birthday, or perhaps an upcoming anniversary? The eco-goddess in your life may love Shea Terra’s Pomegranate and Chocolate Love Kit. This delightful in the pink love kit contains three bath and body products containing organic shea butter, pomegranate oil, and fair trade African herbs and oils and scented with the sweet fragrance of natural pink guava. To play into every girl’s chocolate cravings the kit also contains a box of fair trade dark chocolate or milk chocolate hearts. Hmmm…yummy. And the whole kit is packaged in a pretty pink handmade sinamay bag that can be reused.
By Wenona Napolitano •
February 9, 2009
The His and Hers Special Edition Passion Candles by Illume have got to be the most sensual candles I have ever lit. They smell amazing. The Passion Candles combine the His and the Hers scents into one candle with a completely erotic aroma. These candles smell good before you even light them. Spices, woods, vanilla and sugar are the heady aromas that will fill your senses-truly sugar and spice and everything nice but not just for the girls…guys will love them too.
By Stancie Wilson •
February 9, 2009
Looking to pass a little love along to your best friend, sister or co-worker this Valentine’s Day? Alima has a perfect plan – send a collection of certified natural Alima Pure samples to a friend (for free)! For the next week when you place your order, just leave a note in the comments box with your friend’s name and address. They’ll send her three free samples of Alima colors chosen just for the occasion, along with a gorgeous card wishing her a Happy Valentine’s Day. If you like, let them know whether she’d prefer their light collection, or deep collection (both are quite wearable, so you can’t go wrong).
By Sonya •
February 7, 2009
If you’re looking for an eco-friendly place for Valentine’s Day gifts, check out Organica Deluxe.
The online eco-boutique offers eco-conscious minded consumers gift options for every occasion: Baby, Wedding & Anniversary, Birthday, Thinking of You, Get-Away, Thank You, House Warming, Holiday and more.
“We created Organica Deluxe because we wanted a beautiful place to buy eco-friendly and organic for ourselves and our friends,” say owners Wendy James and Jane Hunter.
“We recognized that organic companies often miss the gorgeous and ever miss the green when creating packaging.”
One sweet eco-friendly gift from Organica Deluxe is their BABY LOVE gift set. “This delightful assortment of organic goodies is filled with softness and love for baby’s sensitive skin,” says Organica Deluxe.
By Wenona Napolitano •
January 12, 2009
Yes, it’s the twenty first century, I know, but to me waxing seems a bit…barbaric. Going to a complete stranger to expose your private parts, have them apply hot wax to them, then rip off the hot wax and pull out any and all hair that happened to be in that vicinity.
Yes, painful and barbaric. So this eco-gal still manages her intimate hair removal the old fashioned way…with a razor. Now I’ve found a fabulously organic way to get a smooth shave in a much greener way…the Bikini Kitty Shave Kit.
By Low Impact Living •
January 11, 2009
When Flavia Cueva returned to her family home outside petite Copan, Honduras, she was inspired. After having spent most of her life in the American Midwest, Cueva felt compelled to return to restore the decayed farmstead. Overlooking the ruins of an ancient Mayan city, the ideally situated farm seemed the perfect spot to create a small inn.
Seeking to respect the natural world surrounding the farm, Cueva labored to create an eco-friendly inn, one that would be as comfortable and charming as earth-friendly. Hacienda San Lucas is now an eight-room, idyllic inn nestled in the bucolic, emerald green hills of the Honduran countryside. In addition to being 80% solar powered, the inn has been involved in reforestation efforts and recycles and composts. At night, candles light the large rooms and pathways—all of which are constructed of locally-obtained, natural materials.
Evenings are as charm-filled as mornings are mellow. Dinners at the inn are magical (think candlelight, a cricket serenade and twinkling stars). Set on a patio and illuminated by the warm glow of candles, the Mayan-inspired, multi-course meals offer a chance to chat up other guests or to simply savor the balmy night air.
The antithesis of bland chain hotels, San Lucas seems to have popped off the pages of a book by Isabell Allende or Graham Greene. With its wide verandas slung with hammocks, rock-hewn walls and tranquil, otherworldly air, the inn is an ideal spot to get off the grid—literally and figuratively.
