This year, most of us had to substitute our usual Mother’s Day celebrations because of the COVID-19 pandemic, choosing instead to celebrate from afar for the sake of global health and safety. Not being able to spend this special day with the amazing mothers in our lives has got us thinking about how we can celebrate moms every day, not just on Mother’s Day.
At Wowe Lifestyle, along with our human mothers, we love to celebrate Mother Earth, who gives us all the beautiful and wonderful bounties of this planet! To honor Mother Earth and our moms, we want to encourage you to send Earth-friendly gifts to your favorite moms, just because! Here, we’ve compiled 5 eco-friendly gifts your mom will love no matter when you send them. Best of all, each of these gifts can be shipped directly to your mom’s home, so you don’t even have to leave the house!
1. Stainless Steel Straws
One of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has been no longer being able to go out to our favorite restaurants, movie theaters, malls, and coffee shops. Giving up these simple luxuries has been difficult for lots of people, but luckily, we are all learning to be a little more self-sufficient. Now, as states begin to tentatively re-open, we are beginning to be able to order food and drinks for pickup, which means we can all start enjoying our favorite coffee-drink-treats once more!
While it may be safe to pick up a coffee from our favorite cafe again, now is an excellent time to rethink the things we used to take for granted. A great place to start is with your single-use-plastic consumption. Most coffee shops and cafes continue to hand out single-use plastic straws, which are non-recyclable and terrible for the environment.
To honor your mama and Mother Earth, consider sending a pack of Wowe Lifestyle Stainless Steel Straws! Our straws are made from FDA approved food-grade stainless steel, and won’t ever rust, corrode, or snap so you can use them over and over again for years. Unlike plastic straws, which are brittle, prone to bacterial buildup, and only usable for a few hours at a time, your first purchase of stainless steel straws could easily be your last.
Sending a set of stainless steel straws to your mom will make her feel extra special, and is a fun way to encourage your favorite mother figure to head out and pick up a treat for themselves. Have your mom jump in the car and head to her nearest drive-thru with her stainless steel straw at the ready so she can enjoy a delectable java without the plastic waste.
2. Compostable Dog Poop Bags
While we may not be able to go out and socialize with friends, one thing the pandemic has given us is more time with our four-legged friends. For dog owners, this has meant way more walks, a great way too spend quality time with their pets, get in a little exercise, and enjoy the fresh air in a time when we have to spend most of our time inside.
If your mom has a pup, send her a box of compostable dog poop bags! Traditional dog poop bags are made from petroleum-based plastic, the same plastic used to manufacture plastic produce and grocery bags. Plastic bags of every variety take centuries to break down in landfills, and once they do begin to degrade, turn to microplastics which further pollute the soil, or the environments in which they are littered. Marine animals, in particular, suffer from the impact of plastic waste, often mistaking plastic bags and plastic scraps for food or becoming entangled in them.
Compostable dog poop bags are made from 100% plant-based materials, and can be composted in industrial composting sites, or biodegrade more readily in common landfills. The key difference between compostable dog poop bags and traditional plastic dog poop bags is what they leave behind. While plastic dog poop bags take hundreds of years to even begin to break down, compostable poop bags will degrade without a trace in just a few short months.
3. Zero Waste Hand Soap
While handwashing has always been a part of daily life, the coronavirus outbreak has honed in our focus on keeping clean. Hand washing has become a necessity each and every time we return home, want to touch our faces, or interact with the outside world. Because of this, soap sales are up, and so is plastic pollution since use of these items up.
Most liquid hand soap options come in hard-plastic bottles, some of which are recyclable, some of which are not. Whether or not they are recyclable, the majority of plastic cleaning product bottles end up in the landfill, and like plastic bags, take centuries to begin to break down and degrade.
To help your mom stay clean and healthy while also helping her to reduce her personal plastic waste, consider sending her a pack of zero waste Hand Soap Paste. Made by the Zero Waste Store, this hand soap arrives in bar form, packaged in fully biodegradable packaging. Each bar produces up to a gallon of hand soap, and making it is super simple. Each Hand Soap Paste bar dissolves in water to create a liquid soap, and can be poured into your empty hand soap pump so you never have to buy another plastic pump again.
4. Aeropress
It is important to treat yourself now and then, which is why we encourage you to encourage mom to get out and grab herself her favorite cup of coffee! While a treat now and then is important for your mental health and wellbeing, buying coffee every day can be a serious budget strain, and can be pretty unhealthy to boot. Ordering coffee out can also take up a fair number of resources, so if possible, try to keep your visits to the local coffee shop to once a week or less.
If your mom loves coffee and you want to encourage her to make her own at home, give her a super simple and eco-friendly option for brewing amazing coffee by sending her an Aeropress! The Aeropress is a super-easy way to brew coffee, and unlike other methods of home brewing, it takes up almost no counter space and is super eco-friendly.
Other popular methods of home brewing often include lots of single-use materials like plastic and aluminum cups, thick filters, and heftily packaged beans. When you brew with the Aeropress, the only materials you end up throwing away are your used beans and a small, super-thin, fully compostable coffee filter. The Aeropress brews smooth, non-bitter coffee, and can be used to make coffee comparable to drip, cold-pressed, and espresso brewing methods, so you can create virtually any type of drink using this super small, super simple, super eco-friendly option.
5. Bamboo Toothbrushes
No this isn’t the most glamorous gift, but in times like these, having basic necessities arrive at your door can feel like the ultimate lap of luxury. A clean, fresh toothbrush is one of the best feelings in the world, and regularly replacing yours can also help to maintain oral health, a super important factor in the overall health of you and your body. Most experts agree that 3 months is the length of time a toothbrush should be used before being thrown away, so really, we should all be using at least 4 toothbrushes a year.
Send your mom a practical, convenient, and eco-friendly gift by sending her a set of our biodegradable Bamboo Toothbrushes! Unlike traditional drugstore toothbrushes which are made from mixed plastics, our toothbrushes are made from sustainably sourced bamboo, and once used, can biodegrade or be reused for a virtually limitless number of projects. Our bamboo toothbrushes come in adult and child sizes, and come in a charcoal bristle variety to enhance whitening, and to promote a cleaner, healthier mouth.
Want more inspiration for living a clean, green life? Visit Wowe Lifestyle and check out our blog for more tips, tricks, and ideas.
