Valentine's Day gift ideas

Love to celebrate love but don't want to fall into the usual Hallmark-sponsored Valentine's Day trap? Well have we got some ideas for you...

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and even though the colours are generally red and pink, let’s make this Valentine’s every shade of green.

From organic flowers and fair-trade chocolates to romantic local dining and gifts for your amore, we've got a host of ideas for celebrating your love. Sustainably.

Smells like L-O-V-E

Every woman loves fresh flowers and, let’s face it, Valentine’s wouldn’t be Valentine’s without them, but instead of hitting the first flower stall you find, try seeking out an organic florist. They use organic greenhouses and farms that support sustainable, chemical-free growing practices and use minimal packaging in their shops.

Ask your florist about eco-friendly flowers, native potted plants or check out Vancouver-based Amoda Flowers, which only uses flowers that are organic, local, fair trade and Veriflora-certified.

You can also try Margitta’s Flowers and Just Beginnings Flowers, who are making the more than 1,800 Olympic medalists' bouquets as well. Being as these are "the most sustainable Olympics ever," the bouquets for the medalist were planned to include only local flowers; however, given the time of the year, the final version contains green spider chrysanthemums, green hypericum berries and green aspidistra leaves from both local and Ecuadorian greenhouses.

A delicious seduction

If your appetite for incredible food is as big as your love, take your date to a great, sustainably minded restaurant. Some restaurants boast cloth napkins, low-flush toilets and energy-efficient lighting—but even better are their regional, seasonal and sustainable gourmet meals.

Check out the Green Table Network for a list of restaurants taking measurable steps to effectively reduce their operations’ impact on the environment. Such steps include waste and energy reduction as well as providing benefit to the local economy.

Romantic spots in the Green Table Network:

Vancouver has no lack of excellent green, romantic restaurants. (Image: iStock)

Organic, fair-trade chocolate is often much higher quality than standard brands. (Image: Flickr / jytyl)

Indulge in fair-trade, organic chocolate

Many mainstream and health food stores sell eco-friendly bonbons made without preservatives or chemicals. Look for the TransFair Canada logo certifiying the cocoa products are directly traded, fairly priced, environmentally protected and worker friendly.

Saul Brown Gift Co. founder and blogger for Granville's The Goods blog Saul Brown says with many local, artisan and organic chocolate producers, BC is a great place to be for a chocolate lover.

He especially recommends the Cool Mint by Denman Island Chocolate, and the orange-ginger chocolate bar, Squeeze, by Zazubean. But there are other ethical chocholate makers out there to fall in love with, including: Terra Nostra, Cocoa West, Gem Chocolates, Organic Fair, Cocoa Camino, Whistler Chocolate and Sarandipity.

Also, try CocoaNymph's dark chocolate covered cherry cordials, made with local organic cherries preserved in brandy. Yum!
 

Daniel Bernard Roumain will present his hybrid classical/hip-hop/rock violin stylings February 14 as part of the Cultural Olympiad. (Image: Julieta Cervantes)

“If music be the food of love, play on.”

Dinner and a night of cultural indulgence can make for a truly memorable Valentine’s Day—and is a great way to support the city’s poorly funded art scene. And lucky for you, the mother of all arts and culture events, the Cultural Olympiad, has lots to offer, including music, art, video and all intersections thereof.

Here are just a few:

Virtuoso violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain brings classical music together with thrilling rock and hip-hop arrangements with “DBR/VSO: A Voodoo Valentine!” at the Orpheum Theatre.

Culture Shock: Video Interventions at the QET transforms the Queen Elizabeth Theatre with a series of films that explore everything from the poetry of the everyday to the body’s relationship to its surroundings and footage of musical performances.

CUE: Artists' Videos. Wander over to the Vancouver Art Gallery for an outdoor video experience, as the museum presents works by the world’s leading artists on a giant LED screen. Programs run 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily.

See what else is happening on February 14 during the Cultural Olympiad.

Lavish & Lime offer a range of unique locally made and eco-friendly jewellery, including this "natural love" necklace.

Give a gift that lasts

For many, Valentine’s Day offers the opportunity to make big, bold affirmative declarations about the warm, squishy feelings our lovers give us—and sometimes those rhapsodies are accompanied by a gift of something sparkly.

Steer clear of the generic blood diamonds by either choosing an ethical gem or passing on a family heirloom (be it from your own family or not).

Seek out conflict-free Canadian diamonds. Canadian mining standards are higher than most countries. For where to buy in BC, check out the Canadian Diamond Code of Conduct's British Columbia retailer guide.

Explore vintage shops for antique jewellery. Show your love with antique sapphires, emeralds and rubies from vintage and consignment stores—or ask older family members if they are ready to pass on any of their classic treasures.

You can also find a good selection of upcycled jewellery at Lavish and Lime, including the gorgeous “natural love” necklace (pictured).

(Image: Flickr / FaceMePLS)

Naturally, playfully sexy

Nothing could be sexier than rolling around in natural fabrics, right? Dim the lights, put on some slow jams and show off your cotton lace negligee, and let the organic in you go wild.

First, the knickers. Luckily, the market for lingerie doesn't just include nylon, rayon and polyester. Organic, bamboo, hemp-silk blends and recycled lingerie lines make it a little easier to spruce up the middle of winter. And increasingly, local designers are putting out lines of intimates, such as Love Made Me.

Take 'em to the mattress, especially one dressed in eco-bedding. Find sheets, duvets, pillows and more in eco-friendly fabrics made from renewable materials at various specialty shops around Vancouver. Check out our eco-bedding buyer’s guide for details.

Non-toxic sex toys and other ac-SEX-eries. Emily Jubenvill covers the whole gamut on "green sex," from phthalate-free vibrators and vegan condoms to organic cotton lingerie and petroleum-free lube in "Green Up Your Sex Life."

Surprise a much-deserving partner with the gift of total relaxation and pampering. (Image: iStock)

Step into a warm bath o’ love

Give a gift for the two of you. A spa gift certificate, or even an IOU for a DIY spa treatment at home, is a great idea for stressed-out couples needing some pampering.

Vancouver spas offering packages for couples  that use all-natural, organic body care products include Casbah Day Spa and Solarice Wellness Spa.

Or there’s the do-it-yourself route. Imagine your lover walks into the bathroom and discovers it's been transformed into a private spa. A lavender/basil-scented bath has been drawn; wine sits on a tray by the tub. And you are there waiting to give a massage with natural oils. Sound good?

Find eco-friendly bath salts, massage oils, creams and fragrances at Kama Soap, Juliet’s Room and Saje.

   

Eyes wide open: physician-endorsed mascara full of chemicals

When seeking a fab mascara that makes lashes longer without harming health or the environment, don't trust everything you read on the label

 
We’ve all been there. Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, mouth wide open (yeah, you know you do it), wielding a wand of mascara, ready to apply it to your lashes, only to accidentally spear yourself in the eyeball instead.
 
As if the sting of poking yourself in the eye wasn’t bad enough, did you ever stop to consider what, exactly, is in that strange black goop that we all dare to place near our eyes each day?
 
I certainly did. I’m working on “greening” my makeup, and my Great Lash mascara was next on the “retiree” list. While trolling the London Drugs, I found just one seemingly “eco” mascara: Physicians Formula Talc-Free Mineral Mascara.

I asked the cosmetics counter staffer about the product and she extolled its talc-free virtues (perfect for contact lens wearers) and how it’s better than other off-the-shelf mascaras, since it’s made from minerals. Plus, dermatologists give it the thumbs up, according to the packaging.
 
I bit, paid the $13, and have been enjoying the mascara—until today. Why? Well, I’ve run out, for one, and when I decided to write this blog, I started digging deeper into the mascara’s ingredients list. Turns out that my “doctor approved” mascara doesn’t pass muster with Mother Nature. According to the U.S. Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database, this mascara is full of toxins like parabens. And it also contains Retinyl Palmitate. Its use, also noted on the database, “is restricted in Canada cosmetics.”
 
So, once again, I’m on the hunt again for a greener mascara.

As the editor of BC Home and Alberta Home magazines, Janet Gyenes is always searching for the latest trends in home decor. And as assistant editor of Granville magazine, she’s always seeking and sharing tips and information for living more sustainably.

   

No trees were cut down in the making of this paper

Reduce your carbon footprint with this 100 percent recycled, chlorine-free paper from Grays Harbor

Paper, paper, paper—we all use it. But paper consumption has a significant impact on the planet.

Although trees are a renewable resource, processing them into paper products is quite detrimental to the environment. Deforestation releases CO2, as does the transportation of the finished product from the mill to the user (whether by train or truck). Further, chlorine is used to bleach the pulp white.

And when chlorine bonds chemically with carbon-based compounds, such as paper pulp, it produces dioxins and toxic pollutants, which do not break down in water. Dioxin has been linked to cancers as well as endocrine, reproductive, nervous and immune system damage.

Harbor 100: a green, eco-friendly paper available in Vancouver

Grays Harbor 100 is one of the greenest, most eco-friendly paper Vancouver consumers can buy.

Why? First, the mill is only three hours south of Vancouver, making it the closest mill to the city and thereby having an extremely low carbon footprint compared to most papers.

Second, the mill runs on Green-e certified energy; by using a combination of biomass fuels, no fossil fuels are used to manufacture the paper.

Third, the paper itself is made with 100 percent recycled fibres and is processed chlorine free—meaning no trees are cut down to make the paper nor is any dioxin released. This is guaranteed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), whose logo appears on every pack of Grays Harbor 100 paper.

Lastly, the paper works great! BC Hydro has used Grays Harbor in every office across BC for the past 2 years. Additionally many municipalities across the US use it, too.

Where to buy Harbor 100 in Vancouver

Work in an office? Make the switch to Harbor 100 with Frogfile Office Essentials or Costless Express.

Can’t find it? Ask your retailer to include Harbor 100 in their product line.

Want Harbor 100 for personal use? You can purchase it by the ream from Opus Framing at Hastings and Cambie.

Grays Harbor

peoplepaperplanet.com

   

DIY sugar scrub

Beach weather is obviously a ways off, but that doesn't mean we have to stop taking care of our skin.

Here’s a simple recipe for making your own sugar body scrub—a great exfoliator and skin brightener.

Making your own beauty products at home saves money and ensures that you know every single ingredient that goes into your skincare regimen, so you can rest assured you’re using products that are good for your skin, your health and the environment.

Recipe: Skin-sweet sugar body scrub

Adapted from Beauty on a Budget at Feelgood Style

Ingredients

1 cup sugar (brown or white sugar)
1/2 cup olive oil (I have tried this recipe with other oils, and olive oil is by far the best choice)
A few drops of scented essential oil*
1 glass jar

* If you intend to use the scrub in your morning shower, don’t use any phototropic oils, such as bergamot or citrus oil, since these can react to sunlight and cause burning.

How to make

In a glass or porcelain bowl, mix the sugar and olive oil. Don’t use a plastic bowl as your essential oil may penetrate the plastic and give it a permanent odour.

Choose an organic oil to fragrance your blend: lavender is soothing, as is chamomile, while ginger and ylang ylang add tropical notes. If you like woody fragrances try cedar or marjoram. For zingy morning freshness, choose peppermint, and if you have somewhat spotty skin, especially on your back, use tea-tree oil to help counteract oil and to provide an antibacterial treatment. Add a few drops of the fragrance of your choice and mix to distribute evenly.

This scrub works best in the shower: rub it all over dry skin before turning on the water, concentrating on your legs, buttocks and upper arms, and rinse. Dead skin cells are sloughed off and the remaining soft under-layer of skin is gently moisturised and scented.

Because the oil will lift and the sugar will settle after a while, use a fancy chopstick or small wooden spoon that fits inside the jar as a stirrer to re-blend the scrub before each use. Don’t use any scrub more than twice a week, as overuse can have the opposite effect.