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 Liz Thompson •
February 11, 2009
Roses are abundant this time of year, with many lucky ladies receiving gorgeous bouquets for Valentine’s Day. Roses are loved for their beauty, scent and many can even be eaten. This perfect posy is also a hard working ingredient when used in skin care and beauty products.
Rose hip oil is extracted from the seeds of the rose bush. This vegetable oil contains retinol (Vitamin A) and is high in Vitamin C and omega-3 making it highly effective for diminishing signs of aging, reducing sun damage and softening the skin. It is also used to treat dermatitis, acne and eczema.
Rose oil (rose otto or rose absolute) is the essential oil extracted from the petals of various types of roses and is commonly used in perfumes and other beauty products.
By Julie Finn •
February 10, 2009
Or newspaper. Or sheet music. Or parchment paper. Or wrapping paper. Or napkins. Or old scrapbook paper. Or crinkled aluminum foil. Or pre-colored coloring book pages.
Anything that you can cut a heart out of or paint a heart on, you can make into a Valentine.
Make your Valentine out of yarn. Or twine. Or twigs. Or hair. Or selvage. Or dried beans. Or dirt. Or ribbon. Or chain.
By Jessica Gottlieb •
February 10, 2009
Dear Husband,
I know it’s difficult being married to me. I won’t eat fast food, partially hydrogenated anything, red dye or any other Frankenfood. A box of chocolates will just send me into orbit because of the high fructose corn syrup and cut flowers leaves me cold.
I did make a few itsy, bitsy requests of you last week. But really, Valentine’s Day is like my Superbowl, and I’m getting all excited about it.
Darlin’ I want a dog. Yeah, I know, no dogs because puppies keep you up all night, pee all over the carpet and gnaw at the kids’ toys.
Guess what? I can totally fix that. I want Jimmy! Jimmy is potty trained and little (doesn’t eat much), he’ll occupy the right side of my lap (I’ve got one for the left), he doesn’t shed AND I doubt he has many teeth left.
By Lucille Chi •
February 10, 2009
Planning a romantic day this Valentines? Yes? No? Well, just in case, here is our lovely green Valentine guide for the upcoming holiday:
- Love Notes: Give your sweets a personalized note that you craft yourself or share the love with virtual notes like WWF E-cards and Nature Conservancy Valentine E-cards.
- Blooms: Organic Bouquet has wonderful ways to give fresh flowers and help charity at the same time, and Local Harvest is another favorite flower source of ours that always brings the freshness of the flower-farm into your home.
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 Robin Elton •
February 8, 2009
Embarrassingly, our family is still working our way through the piles of chocolate we received for Christmas, and cut flowers? I’m not a fan.
Instead, our family will opt to support wildlife this year for Valentine’s Day by symbolically adopting a wolf couple.
If wolves aren’t your favorites, there are many other ways to protect animals and their habitats- there is certain to be a deserving organization that fits your family and your budget.
By Liz Thompson •
February 6, 2009
Looking forward to a big box of organic chocolate on Valentine’s Day, or maybe a couple of heart shaped cookies? Your sweet tooth may thank you but your skin tells a different tale. That’s right, refined sugar can weaken collagen and put skin at risk for premature aging.
It is not news that refined sugar and the yummy treats we make with it are bad for our bodies and our health. They are empty calories that cause us to gain belly fat and send our blood sugar through the roof. But they can be so very tempting, especially on a special occasion.
By Jessica Gottlieb •
February 1, 2009
Thank you Darling,
The last 13 years have been wonderful. I’ve had necklaces in champagne glasses, a proposal on Wesminster Bridge and gourmet dinners lovingly prepared when we lived on love (because we sure as heck weren’t living on money).
This year Valentine’s Day will be on a Saturday. I think we all know what that means.
This year Valentine’s Day is about all four of us being together. We’ll bake something pink and do a pomegrantine lemonade.
But darlin’ you’ve still got to pony up with some gifts. Here’s what I’m demanding I’d really like.
By Summer Minor •
January 23, 2009
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, if you haven’t thought about what to give your sweetheart yet then it is time to get ready. On top of picking out the perfect gifts to give, you also have to consider just how green your Valentine’s Days gifts are. From chocolates to flowers there are environmentally friendly gift alternatives to help you add a little green to cupid’s arrow. Here are the top 5 green Valentine’s Day gift ideas for you to give.
