mothers day

Sunday 2^nd May 2021 is this year’s Mothers’ Day in Spain. I thought it would be fun to look at a few ways to celebrate in a sustainable way, without feeling the need to keep to traditions that may hurt the planet. Even if you don’t live in Spain, these ideas can apply to you wherever and whenever you celebrate Mothers’ Day. Here is our list of ideas to celebrate more sustainably:

• Fresh flowers – are they the best idea?

Fresh cut flowers often come with a hefty carbon footprint. The majority of fresh flowers bought in Europe will come from The Netherlands, but many can come from Africa and South America too. In order to minimise your carbon footprint and ensure fair working conditions for workers, go to your local florist and speak to them to find out where their flowers come from. Try to choose those grown in Spain, as close to you as possible and ask for plastic-free packaging. And rather than cut flowers, you could consider buying a plant for your mum instead. If you can choose a plant like lavender or calendula, then you’ll be doing the bees a favour too. For the perfect zero waste solution, you could even buy or make a herb garden so your mum/family can cook with homegrown herbs. You don’t even need a garden, terrace or balcony to grow herbs, just a window! If your mum has a garden then a fruit tree is another very eco-friendly idea.

• Buy a zero waste gift

These days it’s not difficult to find shops that stock sustainable products and zero waste or plastic-free gifts, both online and offline. Some ideas might include, vegan, cruelty free and plastic free cosmetics such as solid shampoo and conditioner, body creams or lip balm. You could also opt for plastic free bathroom accessories such as a luffa soap dish or sisal soap pouch to go with a natural and handmade soap. And if your mum is completely new to going zero waste then a bathroom starter pack would be ideal. I don’t know about you, but I think mums are much easier to buy for than dads! Other gift ideas include bags such as a cotton tote bag or a set of cotton bags for fruit and veg, wax wraps for the kitchen, a reusable bottle or stainless steel tin, or some of our natural and handmade kitchen cleaning products. The choices are endless and that’s just with Eco Passion! If you do buy a gift from us then each purchase currently comes with a ‘seed card’ so you can plant some flowers as well!

Of course, not all gifts need to be items or products, even if they are sustainable and eco-friendly. One of the best types of zero waste gifts is to spend time together at an event. At the moment we realise theatre visits or shows are not really an option, but there are some galleries open so have a look around in your area. Alternatively, you could arrange a class together like pottery, painting, yoga etc. there are some lovely outdoor classes running until restrictions are lifted, so again have a look in your local area and support local business.

If, like me, your mum lives in another country (or another province), then these options may not work for you, so an online chat with a glass of something may have to do.

• Go for a meal in a vegetarian/vegan restaurant

This could be easy or difficult depending on whether a) you live anywhere close to any vegetarian restaurants and b) whether anyone in your family is vegetarian already or at least open to vegetarian (or vegan) food. If you get to choose the restaurant then do some research and see what you can find that is close to you. Most vegetarian restaurants will have something enticing even for the most avid meat eaters, and if you can go vegan for the day, even better! It will be a good chance to try something new and at the very least will be a great talking point. Of course, if you have a vegetarian or vegan family then even better! Support your local restaurant and enjoy your day!

However you choose to celebrate Mothers’ Day this year, give some thought as to how you can make it more sustainable, and keep the conversation of sustainability going!