According to , over 160 million greeting cards are given each , making it the third largest card-sending holiday on the planet. That equals a lot of paper, and you can bet that a fair bit of it isn’t recycled. This year, it might be nice to be a bit gentler to Mother Earth as we make decisions about the cards we’ll be giving our moms, step-moms, grandmothers, and guardians. Read on to discover a few eco-friendly options for this year’s Mother’s Day greeting cards and notes.
For example, one option is to avoid paper altogether by choosing a sustainable wooden card like cards. Printed on thin slices of wood with earth-friendly inks, these are eco-chic keepsakes that can be cherished forever. Isn’t that a brilliant idea?
It’s been estimated that if all the greeting cards sold each year were free of new, virgin paper products, the following would be saved:
- 2.25 million trees
- 916 million gallons of water
- 196 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions
- Enough energy to power an average U.S. home for 3.8 million days
Besides the resources saved, tree-free greeting cards also help alleviate discarded waste and chemicals use. Currently, there are plenty of tree-free and 100% recycled Mother’s Day card options available, such as:
- Grow-A-Note Greeting Cards made by Green Field Paper (as shown above) which come in a variety of different hues and options. They’re an ethical paper company producing eco-friendly handmade paper, hemp paper, and beautiful seed embedded paper.
- – a carbon neutral art studio making 100% recycled paper cards with old colored office paper and grocery bags, recycled water, and inclusions of flowers, wildflower seeds, grass from the field and ferns from the woods.
Another place to score some amazing eco-savvy Mother’s Day cards is Etsy, where you can find cards to suit any mom’s unique style. These cards by Happy Dappy Bitsare printed on recycled card stock (with eco-friendly inks, at that!) and packaged in biodegradable cellophane.
A smart recycled paper option that’s also low-cost is to create a Mother’s Day card from recycled supplies gathered around the house. This is fun for kids, uses what you already have, and is extra special because kids can add their own unique touches. Pinterest is a fabulous place for gathering ideas, and if you find a crafty card on the web and want to keep it earth-friendly, just make sure you use recycled and scrap materials to make it. Additionally, if you like the idea of seed-embedded recycled note cards and would like to try making your own, Instructables has a great DIY page on how to do just that. When it comes to adding the seeds, aim for organic/heirloom varieties if you’re opting for vegetables or herbs, or indigenous wildflowers if you’d prefer fragrant blossoms.
However you choose to celebrate Mother’s Day, we wish you a wonderful celebration full of light and joy.
