Green Valentine’s Day Delights
CAN YOU SUSHI?
Eden Organic has lots of non-traditional baskets that would make for fun Valentine’s gifts. One of our favorites is the Eden Sushi Basket ($65), a wicker basket filled with everything you need to make sushi, including Lundberg Family Farms organic white sushi rice and from Eden’s line: a bamboo sushi mat, wasabi powder, pickled ginger slices, organic brown rice vinegar, sushi nori and more. The basket includes a step-by-step instruction sheet with color photos and a 40-page recipe book.
edenfoods.com
TANK TALK
Profess your love for your significant other and for animals with the Love Animals Organic Racerback Studded Tank Top from Etsy shop KindLabel. Available in black or red soft eco-heather and featuring the word “Love” hand-printed with environmentally friendly inks and embellished with silver studs, the tank makes a statement and a portion of proceeds benefit the Humane Society of the U.S.
PEPPERMINT KISSES
Add a little wintry crunch of peppermint to your Valentine’s Day chocolate with the Dark Chocolate with Peppermint Crunch bar ($2.99) from Endangered Species Chocolate. Not only will this 72% cocoa-containing bar taste better than the pharmacy-bought variety, help to lower blood sugar and improve good cholesterol, but Endangered Species also donates 10% of profits to wildlife organizations like SEE Turtles.
HEART ON A DISH
Serve your valentine a special treat on a heart-adorned dish from Plates with Purpose ($40/5”X10”; $80/13” square). Made of post-industrial recycled glass that’s been hand-colored and hand-finished, proceeds from the plate benefit the Pittsburgh Chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Plates are also dishwasher and microwave safe.
TEA FOR TWO
For tea lovers, Etsy shop EcoLecticEvents offers tea bags with notecards that resemble candy hearts, bearing messages like “Kiss Me” and “I Love You.” Each recycled gift box contains 48 herbal tea bags with message tags printed on rice paper ($6.50 for boxed set)—and teas are individually wrapped in biodegradable cello bags. Custom messages and colors are also available.
etsy.com/shop/ecolecticevents
LEAVES OF LOVE
The Heartleaf Philodendron is not only one of the easiest houseplants to grow, with heart-shaped leaves that provide a more subtle wink to the season of love, the hearty climbing vine is also one of the most effective plants for reducing indoor air pollutants. Buy a pot for just $6 from doleaf.com, an online marketplace for independent garden centers, add to a hanging basket, and voilà! You’ve got a Valentine’s gift that keeps giving long after those long-stemmed roses have dried up.