Valentine’s day is a month away, and if you are thinking about what to buy your significant other, we are hoping you will consider the environment when doing your shopping. Here are some suggestions of how to green the more traditional gifts given this time of year.

Flowers

A romantic and traditional gift, it is unfortunate that so many flowers are grown on farms where the amount of pesticides sprayed does harm to not only the surrounding plants and animals but to the local water supply and to the workers of the farms. Give your sweetie a guilt free bouquet by opting for organic flowers or ones from a local farm. I would definitley recommend Organic Bouquet because I have used them many times for birthdays, holiday centerpieces and to send to friends and as get well soon gifts. If you live in New York City, give Gardenia Organic a try. They make gorgeous arrangements to order. This picture is of an arrangement they did for my wedding.

Chocolates

Another popular gift for Valentine’s Day, give some fair trade or organic chocolates to show you care about more than just the moment they are on your lips. My favorites are Coco Zen, Life By Chocolate and Travel Chocolate.

Jewelery

Planning a Valentine’s Day Proposal? Make sure to check out the gorgeous settings at Brilliant Earth. They sell conflict free diamonds and sapphires and jewelry made of recycled gold. Other pieces are made from ethically sourced pearls and sterling silver. My engagement ring, wedding ring, and my husband’s wedding ring were purchased from this company.

Thinking of getting a nice bauble but still not sure you want the token of your love to have been taken from a chunk of rock mined from the earth the size of a garage? Lab created gemstones are a popular alternative to ones that took millions of years to form. They are beautiful and durable. I purchased several lab created gemstones this past Christmas, including this pendant from Diamond Nexus Labs,

and these Lab Ruby Earrings and lab sapphire ring from Sylva Rocks.

Coffee/Tea/Hot Chocolate

Does your love enjoy a nice cuppa to start the day? Check out Just Coffee for fair trade coffee, tea and hot chocolate, some of which is grown in the United States. The company is a co-op, that is cooperatively owned by it’s employees.

Wine and Spirits
Visit a nearby winery to find a gift that will be appreciated and will have a small carbon footprint. Most microbreweries will also let you purchase a growler of the local beer. The Sierra Club recently published this list of organic liquor.

Misc

When looking for an ethical gift, I’ve done a lot of shopping at The Rainforest Site. I’ve bought candles, chocolates, hot chocolate, fancy bath soaps and lotions, lots of pearl jewelry and more over the years. The selection is vast and I find I can get lots of gift ideas even if I’m not quite sure what to get the person I’m shopping for.

For a more practical gift, think about ways you could make your significant others life bot easier and greener. Do they need to look sharp every day at work? Consider a gift certificate for an organic dry cleaner.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 14th, 2011 at 6:00 am and is filed under Green Product Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.