8 Eco-Friendly Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

Mother’s Day is less than two weeks away! Do you know what you’re giving to your Mom? The woman who has devoted so much selfless time, energy and love to you all of these years? (Can you tell that I’m a mom?) To help, here’s some eco-friendly Mother’s Day gifts for that wonderful woman in your life:

1. A trip to a day spa that uses organic products. Better yet, book a Mother-Daughter day and you both win! Organic Spa magazine has compiled a list of the Top Ten Natural & Organic Facials. If your city isn’t listed, Google “Organic Day Spas” and your location for a spa near you.

2. No spas in your area? Wrap up some organic beauty products, and your mom can treat herself day after day. I just discovered the Sevani Botanica line, and they’re 100% free of synthetic ingredients and chemical preservatives, vegan, gluten-free, certified cruelty free, chemical free, and a portion of their proceeds are donated to animal welfare. I’ve been using the Hyaluronic Wrinkle Defense for a few weeks, and my skin is smoother and feels more exfoliated without any irritation.

3. Is your Mom an avid gardener? Does she truly love being out in her garden? (If she doesn’t you might want to skip this one. You don’t want her to feel like you’re giving her work to do!) Pick up a beautiful planter at a local nursery or consignment shop and fill it with supplies like Safer Brand insecticidal soap and weed killer, bamboo gardening gloves, and a new set of Made in the USA stainless steel gardening tools.

4 & 5. Is your Mom a techy? Can’t drag her away from her Kindle or IPad? Check out these beautiful and handmade covers available on Etsy.com. The traveling-inspired Kindle cover from The2SistersShoppe is only $36.

#4 Travel inspired Kindle Cover from The2SistersShoppe

This bright pink damask IPad cover from Kimoley Bags is also $36

#5 IPad cover from Kimoley Bags

6. As the mother of a teenage son soon to get his driver’s license, I may need one of these — a worry locket! These beautiful lockets combining sea glass and silver are available from Ghost Ship.

# 6 Worry Locket from Ghost Ship

7. Another beautiful necklace made from recycled sterling silver and personalized with an initial and birthstone charm from Martini Jewels in Portland Maine.

#7 Recycled Sterling Silver Necklace from Martini Jewels

8. Boozy Baubles Glass Arts creates jewelry from recycled wine, beer, and liquor bottles!  These gorgeous blue earrings are from an old gin bottle.

#8 Sapphire Gin Bottle Recycled Earrings

Don’t forget your VZWrap for wrapping those great gifts.  I’m sure we have a fabric for your mom. Try a standard sized  Evelyn, a medium Organic Gingko, or a mini Jasmine for the jewelry.

10 Earth-friendly Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas

We don’t go too crazy over Valentine’s Day in my house. My husband thinks the best gift he could receive would be a free pass to ignore Valentine’s Day! I may just give him that and treat myself to a facial instead. But for those of you exchanging presents, here are ten gift ideas that show you care both for your sweetheart (or your mother or child) and for the earth.

For Women:

Recycled cashmere flower scarf from Blue Root Design

#1. Scarves are a hot accessory right now, and they’re great at keeping us warm in February! These very cool, upcycled cashmere scarves from Blue Root Design on Etsy would be great for your girlfriend, wife or mother and are affordably-priced in the $40 range.

Heart-shaped succulent wreath from The Little Succelent Shop

#2. Instead of flowers which may have travelled from another continent, consider a beautiful heart-shaped succulent wreath from The Little Succulent Shop. It will last MUCH longer than cut flowers and requires minimal care, perfect for those brown-thumbs out there.

#3. I love Yala Designs — home of natural fabrics and responsible manufacturing. Their bamboo sleepwear is the softest, most comfortable clothing I’ve ever worn — too bad I can’t wear it all day! (There have probably been a few days when I did.) They have styles ranging from lacy lingerie to warm pajamas with prices from around $50 on up. 

For Men:

#4. Is your guy a beer drinker AND an environmentalist? Then he needs a “Save our Planet — It’s the Only One with Beer” t-shirt from Yeungling brewery (local to us Philadelphians). It’s made from 50% organic cotton and 50% poly made from recycled bottles, and it’s a steal at $28.99.

#5. Does your guy drink beer while out in the cold at a football game or other event? Some heart-shaped hand warmers made from reclaimed, upcycled felted wool will help  keep him warm while reminding him how much you care. Available from WormeWoole on Etsy for only $12 with free US shipping.

For Your Sweetheart:

Custom Lyric on Record by Quiet Boy Studio

#6. Do you and your sweetie share a special song? Pick a lyric and have it beautifully painted onto an old LP by Quiet Boy Studio on Etsy.

#7. Pewter love tokens from Uncommongoods.com are a step up from homemade coupons and could be reused and regifted over and over.  A set of 10 includes 2 each of 5 different treats — breakfast in bed, a massage, a hug, etc. Only $16.00 and made in the USA.

For Kids:

Natural Cotton Gorilla from miYim.com

#8. I used to always give my kids stuffed animals on Valentine’s Day since they brought so much candy home from school it rivaled Halloween! Now that they’re teenagers, those stuffed animals are going to the dog —  literally! I don’t know if I would do that with one of these adorable gorillas made from unbleached, untreated, and untouched natural cotton from the Jane Goodall collection on miYim.com. Proceeds from each sale are donated to the Jane Goodall Foundation.  Characters from Disney and Dr. Seuss are available, too.

#9. For budding artists, I love these heart-shaped soy crayons from Earth Grown Crayons on Etsy. A set of 8 is $10.00. There are other shapes, too, making them perfect for birthday party bags.

For Everybody:

#10. I know some people who just would not be happy on Valentine’s Day if they didn’t get chocolate. So make sure it’s Fair Trade and Organic. Sweet Earth Chocolates is both fair trade, organic, and made in the USA. They offer several choices for Valentine’s Day in a range of affordable prices.

Do you need cloth gift bags for wrapping those Valentine’s gifts? Here are a few VZWraps patterns that work for Valentine’s Day gift bags and other times of the year.

Pink Damask wine bottle bag also available in 3 other sizes

Pink Damask has a brown damask pattern on a background of light pink cotton. Available in 4 sizes: mini, wine bottle bag, standard and large.

Love Letters is a beautiful cream and sage cotton with a print of handwritten french words, presumably a love letter. The attached green ribbon is made from 100% post-consumer recycled polyester.

Love Letters 10" x 15" Standard Fabric Gift Bag

And last, but certainly not least, is a new red organic cotton bag with a simple white eco-grosgrain ribbon  made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. Simple, classic and elegant.

Simply Red Organic Cotton gift bag available as wine bottle bag, standard cloth gift bag, and medium gift bag