Eco friendly and ethical gifts for Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is on March 2nd this year. It’s a time to show that we love our Mother’s for all that they do, and have done for us.

If we consider that Mother’s have been worshipped as the creator of life for generations, it seems a good opportunity to support this with ethical and sustainable gifts.

Traditionally, Mother’s Day gifts have included flowers, chocolates, toiletries or jewellery. Some of these conventional choices can have a negative effect on the environment and our health.

FLOWERS

Many flowers are sprayed with a vast array of toxic chemicals, (often sprayed by children) are transported thousands of miles by air to the UK and are then bought into our homes where we subject ourselves to the pesticides.

If you want to say it with flowers, why not opt for UK grown, seasonal flowers? Check out the soil Association http://www.soilassociation.org for details of approved organic flower growers in the UK.

Alternatively, you could plant your Mum a tree which will last for life.

CHOCOLATES

It’s easy to buy fair trade, organic chocolate. Conventional cocoa farmers rely heavily on the use of pesticides and, in many instances, have to get their children to work in order to make ends meet where they are engaged in dangerous work.

Buying fair trade means that children can go to school to get an education and farmers are paid a fair wage for their crop. Buying organic means that the farmers do not have to be exposed to dangerous chemicals (and neither does your Mum!)

Green and Black’s Maya Gold (the only fair trade chocolate in their range) or the Divine range of chocolates are easy to find in health food shops and most supermarkets.

PERFUME

Most perfumes are made from a toxic array of synthetic fragrances in cheap alcohol carriers made from petroleum. These products can contain hormone disrupters – that’s not what Mum needs!

Farfalla http://www.farfalla-essentials.co.uk/ use 98% organic ingredients and only pure essential oils in their perfumes.

JEWELLERY

Most gold is mined by spraying the earth with sodium cyanide to leach out the gold. The toxins then end up in local drinking water supplies.

Many diamonds are conflict diamonds (Do yourself a favour and hire Leonardo Di Caprio’s ‘Blood Diamond’ for a very moving and informative film about the illegal diamond trade one night) which are used to purchase arms and fund military campaigns.

Fairtrade silver jewellery is available from http://www.silverchilli.com/

THE BEST GIFT OF ALL

The best gift you can give your Mum, in my opinion, is your time. She’ll be delighted to be the centre of your attention and pampered for the day. Why not cook her a delicious, seasonal meal and then offer her a hand massage or just spend the afternoon chatting and sharing your time together.

Modern life tries to replace time, connection and love with gadgets and gifts, believing this to be an acceptable alternative. But the reality is, that most people don’t remember the ‘stuff’ they are given, they remember quality time spent together.

So give the best gift of all – spent time with your Mum and create some wonderful memories that she can carry with her for the rest of her life.

(Visit the American Meditation Institute for yoga science and philosophy to purchase a copy of the gorgeous ‘Mother Earth’ by Jenness Cortez poster shown at the top of this post)