Recycled Fleece Smittens
One mitten for me, one mitten for us. Hold hands in the cold with mittens built for two. In adult/adult and adult/child sizes, for all your strolling needs. Snowball fights not advised, unless you're on the same team. In red or blue. $35.

Elephant Poo Poo Paper Roses

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet." Don't worry, Romeo, these ones are scentless. Give your Juliet a bouquet that will last until the spring flowers bloom. Then tell her the paper is handmade in Thailand from elephant droppings. $15 per set of 3. More...

One of our best-loved herbs is basil.  Perhaps that’s because it’s not only reliable –  blooming abundantly, until autumn, when it dutifully reminds us of its annual status, and fades away within days – but also because it’s so versatile and varietal that we can add it to any number of dishes. More...

Cupid’s arrow may be aiming for a pink, loveable heart, but that doesn’t mean it should leave you in the red, particularly if you’re just recovering from your holiday spending of two months ago. And if you’d like to avoid consuming more unnecessary products this Valentine’s Day, I propose another unofficial holiday – along the lines of Buy Nothing Day – to protest the consumerism that seems to overtake the real meaning behind some of our holidays. Sounds heartless? Hardly.

The greeting card industry estimates that over a billion cards are exchanged on Valentine’s Day every year. Cards can be recycled, providing they’re not adorned with sparkle and glitter, but then there are the countless roses, candy, chocolates, singing telegrams, and other assorted heart and cupid shaped knick knacks and trinkets that people use to show their affection for each other. Gift-giving is wonderful, but when we start factoring in the fact that everything we buy is manufactured, then packaged and shipped, you come up with an unnecessary and negative impact on the environment. More...

This is an excerpt from our newsletter, which includes opportunities for additional coupons if you write reviews for select merchants. To receive our newsletters in the future, sign-in to your user account and make sure the newsletter box is selected.

Return to Sender With Recycled Cards

Research from Hallmark shows that Valentine's Day is the second most popular holiday for greeting cards, with as many as 180 million cards sent each year, and that's not counting children's valentines. Encourage kids to make their own cards with papers and materials from locally owned Wet Paint.

Adults who want to skip the heart shaped boxes and pink foil can send a love note on handmade cards created through a letterpress workshop at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts on the 13th.

These cards from Urban Bird Designs (sold at Mississippi Market) are made with images from books found at estate sales. Created using wind energy and printed on 100% recycled paper, they employ cute puns such as "deer to me" (pictured, right) and are blank inside--perfect for a gift certificate. Give your deers a four-class yoga card to Mind Body Solutions, body products by Garden of Eden, or a dance lesson at Arthur Murray. More...