Zero Waste Mother’s Day Gift Ideas
Just like any other ‘special days’, Mother’s Day has gone from being a nice way to celebrate your wonderful mum, to a consumerist binge of plastic tat and junk food, all to make the big corporate giants even richer.
Little Difference greetings cards are printed on recycled paper, and plant trees for each card sold, both in New Zealand and abroad).
Mums of course are there to protect and nurture us, make us laugh, keep us away from bad friends and men, and (hopefully) teach us how to cook, talk politely and be there with the tissues, when we get our hearts broken for the first time. And the next time. And overall they make the world a kinder place.
So why on earth would you celebrate all this by purchasing a cheap card wrapped in plastic, and a box of factory-farmed chocolates? There are better ways to honour your mum!
Only send plantable cards to pet-free homes, as many contain toxic herbs and wildflowers. Also most companies use non-native seeds, which are not good for local birds and wildlife.
How much does ‘big business’ make on Mother’s Day?
This Lilac Stripes Mother’s Day card is ideal to celebrate your lovely mum! With a pastel purple and peach striped background and ruby red heart, it’s a lovely way to remind someone how cherished they are. Blank inside, for your own message.
Everything at Good Tuesday is printed on recycled paper, sent in plastic-free packaging, made in the UK and beautifully designed.
In the UK, Mothering Sunday is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent, three weeks before Easter. Rooted in 16th century religious tradition, it originally was when people would visit their ‘mother church’.
But today it’s a consumerist binge of 29 million cards and buying pesticide-laden flowers from petrol stations and supermarkets, usually wrapped in plastic.
In history, Mother’s Day was also when domestic servants were given the day off, to visit their mothers. People would take a simnel cake (fruit and marzipan) home.
In the USA, Mother’s Day was influenced by Anna Jarvis, who led a campaign for a national holiday following her own mother’s death in 1905. Her mother was a social activist, who organised ‘mothers work clubs’ to improve public health and sanitation in the 1850s.
Later on in life, she became outraged that the day was being commercialised by florists and card makers, eventually leading her to campaign against the holiday she created, even threatening lawsuits.
She lost all her money trying to stop the commercialisation. And yet when she became ill and spent the rest of her life in a sanitorium, the florist industry secretly paid her bills, and even paid for her funeral.
Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness. Stevie Wonder
Buying flowers? Choose local organic bouquets
Mothering Sunday is the biggest flower-buying day of the year. So choose local organic seasonal bouquets, rather than the norm. This also supports florists, but also supports nature too.
Many flowers (including all bulbs) are unsafe near pets. Also avoid facing indoor foliage to outdoor gardens, to help stop birds flying into windows.
If you don’t want or can’t grow your own flowers, choose sustainable independent florists (find them at Flowers From the Farm).
One member is Bristol’s Organic Blooms, a social enterprise that also provides jobs for people with disabilities. Their bouquets are good for wildlife, and sold in compostable packaging. Somerset’s Common Farm Flowers also sells local flowers (collection only, and not available in winter!)
Store your flowers in a cool, dark place. Change the water regularly and keep trimming the stems. You can donate used bouquets to Floral Angels, where volunteers re-gift them, to people who need cheering up!
Alice Palace’s eco-friendly ‘dog mum’ card!
This eco-friendly dog mum card is printed on recycled card and sent in plastic-free packaging. The card is personalised so let your dog mum know how special she is!
Read our pets tag for more dog-friendly posts!
Lost your mum? A comforting book to reassure
Grieving the Death of a Mother.
Losing a mother early in life is a difficult transition, as no matter what the status of the relationship (good or not), this is likely the first person you turn to, when going through difficult times.
And if she is no longer there, you may find it harder to cope than most, when needing a sympathetic ear to listen. Of course if you have lost both parents early in life, the hardship emotional pain is doubled.
Losing a mother deprives you of a chief cheerleader. A friend once told me ‘I lost the one person who would love me, no matter what happened in my life. I always knew my mother would be there for me’.
Many grievers are left burdened with unfinished business, apologies that were never verbalised, unexpressed appreciations and unspoken affections.
My friend Carl captured the feelings of many when he said ‘I still needed her. I wasn’t finished growing up yet’. Some mothers serves as the glue that held a fragile family together. Make no mistake. The death of a mother can be one of life’s toughest experiences.
Although I am 54 years old, I am not all ‘grown up’. Just once more I would like to hear ‘Oh, I am so glad you called. I was just thinking about you. Did you have something good to eat today?’
The author is a former funeral director) and a member of the Association for Death Education and Counselling .
