Organic Bouquet: Sustainable Eco-Gifts

Flowers play an integral role in birthday surprises, setting the mood on Valentine's Day, and expressing an undying love. Organic flowers and gifts allow eco-minded consumers to support their earth-friendly lifestyle by choosing gestures that place less harm on the environment. Since 2001, Organic Bouquet has been delivering sustainably grown flowers to thousands upon thousands of customers around the world. Leading the way in the floral industry, the company has set impressive standards from establishing the first carbon offset program to promoting earth-friendly packaging. From 10 long-stemmed Organic-Certified Calla Lillies to a spread of orange roses bursting with color to a bunch of exotic-looking Pink Oriental Lilies (shown above), Organic Bouquet is much more than a flower business. The company offers a selection of decorative wreaths. Choose the hand-made Dried Lavender Wreath to add color and fragrance to a room. A wreath constructed of bay and rosemary (shown) leaves behind traces of ancient Rome with eye-catching appeal. Eco-Friendly Plants and Seed Gifts Imagine the delight that comes when relatives and friends open a gift that keeps on growing with love. Organic Bouquet offers plenty of choices in apple trees, dogwoods, California poppies, wine grapes, parsley, and other seasonal treats. Currently, Organic Bouquet is featuring the Tangerine Bonsai, which infuses a room with fragrant tropical flowers and produces mini tangerines. Housed in a natural ceramic bonsai container, this indoor gift is VeriFlora Certified. Organic Bouquet Gift Baskets Gift baskets are an easy way to show someone that you're thinking of them without the stress of choosing the 'perfect' gesture. Avoid time-consuming shopping trips and send a taste of luxury with one of the following theme-baskets:

• The Eco Gardener: For the gardener in your life, this tote provides your loved one with an array of gardening utensils, watering bottle, and a fragrant eco-friendly hand soap. Cap off an adventure spent with freshly grown rose bushes and herb gardens with a relaxing cup of tea, dried fruit, shortbread cookies, and chocolate.
• The Vineyard Selection: With a beautifully wrapped basket filled with organic Chardonnay from Bonterra vineyards, Organic Valley cheese, crackers, chocolate and cookies – how can you not go wrong?
• Italian Bistro Gift Basket: Celebrate with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon wine with a bistro basket offering the makings of a fine dinner (pasta, sauce, olive oil breadsticks, and biscotti).

Organic Boutique Eco-Standards and Achievements From the sustainable gift basket to the Oregano Wreath, Organic Bouquet products meet the highest of standards – certified by the likes of USDA Organic, Veriflora, Demeter, Fair Trade, Smart Certified, and Green-e. When possible, the company uses recycled, recyclable, tree-free, biodegradable, compostable, post-consumer, and wild-crafted materials for their luxury gift baskets, holiday wreaths, and plant-centered presents. Eco-minded shoppers can purchase their gifts with confidence - knowing that Organic Boutique:

• Takes a gentler approach in growing flowers that places less strain on the earth
• Embraces safe ecological standards
• Prints with vegetable-based inks
• Considers the well-being of farm workers and wildlife

In addition to the many green business practices, Organic Boutique supports social and environmental causes beyond their daily operations. For example, the company donates a portion of their proceeds to charitable organizations – raising more than $250,000 to date. Photo Credits: Organic Bouquet

Macy's: Saving Energy and Reducing Landfill Waste with 'Green' Practices

When it comes to shopping at your favorite department stores, have you ever stopped to think what they are doing to ease the distress that manufacturing, shipping, and their daily activities can cause on the environment? For many eco-conscious shoppers, the strides that popular, high-end stores take towards creating a more sustainable shopping experience can make all the difference when paying a visit to their shoe department to ordering a product from their online catalog. Let's take Macy's for example… Offering an impressive collection of luxurious bedding, your favorite scents, and cutting-edge fashion – the store has embraced a handful of 'green' practices. Biodegradable Shipping With shipped-out items, say 'goodbye' to those pesky Styrofoam peanuts. Expect eco-friendly packaging consisting of 100% biodegradable materials – pure corn and potato starch, to be exact. In less than 10 minutes, the packing material breaks down in water. You can dispose of the packaging by:

• Adding the packing material to your compost.
• Tossing it in the trash, as it will dissolve on its own at the landfill.
• Dissolving in water and then adding to your garden or yard.
• Simply placing into your garbage disposal under running water.

Solar Power on the Rise Taking advantage of the replenishing sun, California-based Macy's (such as Sunnyvale, Temecula, Newport Beach, Moreno Valley, and Thousand Oaks) will now use solar panels to enhance high-efficiency lighting and other energy-saving changes within their stores. These efforts will cut energy consumption by 40%. Each year, the difference is more than 24 million kilowatt hours saved per year. With these changes, Macy's will also decrease their annual greenhouse gas emissions by well over a million pounds per year. Eco-Friendly Shopping Bags Macy's is estimated to send consumers home with more than 43 million shopping bags (with handles) on a yearly basis. However, new practices now mean there will be no more guilt with mounting shopping bags, as their new bags are now 100% recyclable and use kraft paper with 30% recycled material. Macy's Eco-Shop Interested in shopping eco-products at Macy's, consider the following:

• Haven by Hotel Collection – organic cotton bath towels and rugs
• Calvin Klein – organic cotton towels
• Lauren Ralph Lauren Spa – towel collection and organic cotton bedding
• Charter Club Organic Cotton – down comforters, mattress pads, and European pillows
• Frango Organic Mint Chocolates

Photos from Macy's.com