Mother's Day Gifts and Outings for an Eco-Friendly Mom

Mother's Day offers a number of great opportunities to show mom how much you appreciate and love her. Unfortunately, many of the more traditional methods of honoring mom aren't the most environmentally friendly. This year you may want to consider having a green Mother's Day, especially to honor an eco-friendly mom. You might be surprised at the variety of ways that you can celebrate a greener Mother's Day.

Most holidays start with a card, and Mother's Day is no exception. According to the Greeting Card Association, Americans purchase approximately 7 billion greeting cards every year. That's a lot of paper being used and eventually being added to the waste stream. The best option for a green greeting is an electronic card. There are a number of web sites that offer electronic greetings that you can send. Or if you're feeling creative, make your own electronic greeting using childhood pictures and other memorable items that will please mom. If you must buy mom a card, look for a card made from recycled paper. Many greeting card companies are adding "green" lines that include cards with nature inspired themes made from recycled paper. The greenest option is a card made from 100% recycled paper from post consumer material.

Forget the flowers. The cut flower industry is a big business. Many flower producers rely heavily on chemical pesticides, fungicides and fertilizers. Instead, send mom a live plant or a basket of smaller houseplants. A live plant will bring mom enjoyment for many years after Mother's Day and plants help remove carbon dioxide from the air. In addition, according to Annie B. Bond, some plants are effective at removing other harmful chemicals from the air. Your Mother's Day gift could help the environment for some time to come.

If mom likes chocolate, shop for chocolate made from shade grown cocoa. Shade grown means that instead of clearing rainforest land to farm cocoa, the cocoa is grown under the natural shade of the existing forest. A lot of shade grown cocoa is also fair trade which means that it was purchased at a fair price so that farmers in poorer countries aren't exploited. The Endangered Species Chocolate Company offers chocolate bars made from shade grown cocoa. In addition, they donate 10% of their profits to helping protect endangered species and their habitats.

There are a number of excellent retailers online that offer environmentally friendly gifts. Do some simple web searches and you'll be able to find composting systems, recycling stations, clothing and other products made from organic, unbleached cotton. Green gifts are becoming more popular so your local shopping mall may even have a shop.

Now that the gift and card is out of the way, let's talk about celebrating the day. Cookouts are a popular Mother's Day activity. You can make a simple cookout a fun environmental activity by planting trees. Have the family gather and plant a tree or two in mom's honor. Then celebrate with a cookout or picnic. You could even get mom a membership in the Arbor Day Foundation. For a $10 donation, they'll send you ten free trees to plant. Be aware, however, the free trees are small bare root stock so they'll take a lot of care. You may want to buy some larger trees to plant. If you or mom doesn't have a yard to plant trees, look for organizations in your area that need volunteers to plant trees. You might start with your local parks department or contact the forest service in your area. You can make a fun family outing while helping combat global warming. Trees are excellent at removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. It's also a great way for children to celebrate Mother's Day while learning about reforestation and combating global warming. And if you live too far away to celebrate in person, you can make a donation in mom's name and have the Arbor Day Foundation plant a tree.

There are a number of environmentally focused volunteer organizations that need help with projects. These organizations allow for a great opportunity to plan a family outing that is educational and can help make a difference to the environment. Search the web or check your local yellow pages for names and contact info for them. Your state's department of natural resources may be able to help you find them as well.

Don't want to make mom work for Mother's Day? Plan a family outing to celebrate mom in nature. If you have hiking trails nearby you can go hiking and have a picnic in the woods. Some zoos have special events for Mother's Day. While at first thought, you might not consider a zoo as an environmental organization but many zoos are heavily involved in protecting the natural habitats of various species.

Celebrating Mother's Day with an eco-friendly mom just requires a little creativity. There are a lot of green options for gift giving and volunteer opportunities can make for fun and educational family functions. Celebrate mom this year and save the environment.

Greeting Card Association, "General Facts", Greeting Card Association

Annie B. Bond, "Top 10 Houseplants for Cleaner Air", Care2