simple + green

photo by brynmeillion

Valentine’s Day is just 2 days away. Hopefully, for those who celebrate, you’re all set with your best gifts. For some, we’re in a mad-dash to buy gifts and flowers. Here is a quick list of the 3 components of a Green Valentine’s Day.

Flowers: stay Green and give flowers by finding local and/or organically produced flowers.

Fair Trade flowers are also a great consideration, since they’re grown under socially, environmentally and economically sustainable conditions. However, they are shipped from countries such as Ecuador, Colombia or Kenya.Shipping generates more pollution than those grown closer to home.

If you don’t have access to local organic flowers, check out these sources for Fair Trade and organically-grown flowers:

1. Organic Bouquet is the leading online supplier of organic, biodynamic, Veriflora, and wildcrafted flowers. They currently have an offer of free chocolate with the purchase of any Valentine’s Day Rose Bouquet! Click Here.
2. SamsClub.com and 1-800 Flowers.com are selling Fair Trade certified roses this year.

3. Diamond Organics also delivers organic cut flowers.

Valentine’s Cards: approximately one billion Valentine cards are sent out every year, adding up to a lot of paper waste. Luckily there are options from those for the computer savvy to those who prefer to make by hand:

1. Grow-A-Note cards, by way of Greenfield Paper, are the very coolest Green Valentine’s Cards. In their words, they are “are all about the paper- tree free paper”.

Grow-A-Note cards are made from paper embedded with wildflower seeds. These are cards you can enjoy, and then plant to grow flowers!. They also offer both handmade paper and machine made hemp paper.

2. Send a personalized ecard from SaveATreeCards.com, or even Apple.

3. Do you like your cards home-made? Try paper from TreeCycle and use soy-based ink for the very Greenest (and loveliest!) Valentine’s Day card.

4. Looking for something more traditional but still Green? Check out Conservatree’s listing of greeting card suppliers. Many are post-consumer recycled paper, some offer soy & vegetarian-based ink printing, all are in some way Green.

Chocolate! Organic Chocolate is the easiest answer, but don’t forget about Fair Trade chocolate. Where can I start? This is a separate post on its own. Here are some of very best organic and Fair Trade chocolates I’ve found. Check your local Whole Foods or related health food store for these:
Green & Black’s
Terra Nostra
Newman’s Own Organics
Endangered Species
Dagoba
Divine Chocolates (Fair Trade)

How do you celebrate Valentine’s Day? I have mine almost all set to go. I’d divulge, but my wife may be reading this, so I’ll have to wait!

As a hint, it involves chocolate and music and a home-made theme. OK, that’s all I can say.