This Valentine’s Day, Plastic is Forever

Diamonds may be forever but this Valentine’s Day, remember that plastic is too.

A plastic fork takes over a 1000 years to decompose – yet we only use it once. So much unnecessary waste is created across the country when we order take out. We know that America produces 25 percent of the worlds garbage but how much of that is unnecessary food packaging?

A program called Eco-To-Go has now launched at participating restaurants in New York City so that when you order takeout, you can advise the restaurant that you want your order to be Eco-To-Go.

Restaurants will respond by delivering the food, with no extras, such as unnecessary napkins and plastic utensils, as you have all you need at home. The program also hopes to encourage restaurants to use greener packaging.

DIY: Make An Eco-Friendly Valentine’s Day Card

This Valentine’s Day,  give your special someone a gift that’s personal and eco-friendly. In this video, New-York based artist/designer Shiho Masuda shows you how to transform a mailing envelope and magazine pages into a 3-D Valentine’s Day card.

Let’s Talk About (Eco)Sex – A Step By Step Guide to the Perfect Green Date

You’ve been working so hard lately trying to ‘save the world’. You feel it’s time to let your hair down and have a healthy, precious dose of passion. It is Valentine’s Day after all. Whether you want to keep your own ethics in check or are on a mission to woo the greenest batchelor(ette) in town, EarthFirst.com offers you exclusive green-hued sex tips!

Staying in is the eco going out:
1. Woo with some homemade sexual desire-laden dishes. You will automatically cut your carbon emissions by limiting your travel to the restaurant. It’s time to make your kitchen the sexiest eco diner in town.  Buy good quality food from a local, organic store that can provide you with all the aphrodisiacs nature offers. Avoid the oysters as that increases the shortage burden on seafood stocks. Instead, go for the seasonal options of pumpkin and squashes in winter and get busy on the strawberries in summer. Always have a healthy dose of onion and garlic, and make sure you finish with a serotonin-laced fairly traded chocolate dessert for that stimulating alkaloid sugar rush. Dark chocolate is thought to have more anti-oxidants and boost blood antioxidant levels by nearly 20% and is not as energy intensive in its production!

2. Set the sensual scene. Make sure you’ve set up a sexy Eco Boudoir before the meal and turn off those electricity guzzling lights and whisper sweet nothings by candle light. Purchase some lovely sustainable, vegan soy candles that won’t disturb your dinner with black smoke (unlike most tea lights). Soy candles burn cooler than other candles so they last longer to help keep the anticipation thrills of the evening running strong.  If you want some sparkle, LED solar powered fairly lights will also do the trick. Turn off the telly (at source, not standby) and get some world loving chilled tunes on. Digital radio station Chill FM has some very happy vibes, or if you really want to impress, hire a local quartet to serenade you at the table. Prepare to make your own music as you surprise your lover with the Pants to Poverty good pant world of Fairtrade, organic cotton underwear.

3. Get wet. Save water and bathe together or have a shower a deux. Why not use a timer to really notch up the gear into something quick and steamy? Indulge in some organic pleasures with essential oil based products that stimulate your senses, such as rosemary, bergamot, patchouli and fresh citrus scents. Tea tree and mint can add to the tingling sensation too. For other ways to stay moist why not reach for the lubrication? British company Yes! bring you the world’s first and only Soil Association certified organic range of intimacy products that are also Vegetarian Society approved. Using pure plant gums to replace the usual glycerine or silicone ingredient base, they are available in both oil and water based formats and perfect for green glideability.

4. Protect yourself, protect the planet. If you’re not ready for an organic sprog bounding around just yet and not too sure about the au naturale withdrawal method, then you will want a latex condom, made from the sap of the rubber tree. Cut out condoms containing additives that thwart biodegradation and those with toxins such as polyurethane (also known as PU).  Why not give the rubber tappers in South Asia who make your condoms a fairer deal by purchasing some brightly coloured French Letter condoms? Condomi have also got Vegan Society approved (occasionally coconut flavoured) condoms in their Virtual Skinwear range that is also biodegradable. Whatever you do, don’t flush the remnants of your evening’s passion down the bog. Other contraceptive measures such as The Pill have been reported by the University of New Brunswick to alter the hormones of fish in the water, so you may want to look into other options such as the coil or diaphragm.

5. Get frisky with nature. Avoid plastic, sweatshop manufactured sex toys and opt for ethical wooden objects instead, such as FSC certified spanking paddles from UK based Coco-de-Mer. You can even recycle your rabbit and other sex toys if you so please.  If you fancy sharing further thrills, then why not embark in some eco porn? German based activists have created F**k For Forest (FFF), a registered, not-for-profit online website where erotic activists all over the globe will give you some frisky forest fun and ensure all the money goes back to various ecological projects.

Words: Jen Marsden
Eco sexpert Jen Marsden is a UK based writerand author of the Green Guide for Weddings