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 Let’s explore some popular items associated with love, romance, and sex and see just how sustainable they are! 

OYSTERS

Oysters, a well-known aphrodisiac, may be more environmentally friendly than previously thought. Oysters filter up to 50 gallons of water a day and remove nitrogen, phosphorous, and other pollutants from their environment. Although decades of overharvesting, pollution, and disease have reduced wild oyster populations to just one percent of their numbers over the last century (source: OutsideOnline.com), farmed oysters allow these and other bivalves to build reefs that become habitats for other species. To identify local and ethical sources of farmed oysters, check out these companies which include Hog Island Oyster Company, Tomales Bay Oyster Company, Bodega Bay Oyster Company, Marin Oyster Company, Starbird Mariculture, and Cove Mussels Company. Here's a direct link to the oyster section of the popular SeafoodWatch.org chart.

CHOCOLATE

Is there a better symbol of love than chocolate? It’s even better if you buy chocolate that is organic and manufactured through Fair Trade labor, without palm oil, and recyclable packaging. According to an article from The Washington Post in 2019, “Executives from some of the biggest and best-known brands — Hershey, Mars and Nestlé — could not guarantee that any of their chocolates were produced without child labor…One reason is that nearly 20 years after pledging to eradicate child labor, chocolate companies still cannot identify the farms where all their cocoa comes from.” For more on Fair Trade chocolate, visit this prior SCOCO article. According to SpoonUniversity.com, the best five sustainable brands of chocolate are: Alter Eco, Divine Chocolate, Endangered Species Chocolate, Equal Exchange, and Theo Chocolate. Here’s a supply chain statement from See's Candies, the ubiquitous California chocolate company.

WINE

Northern Californians are lucky to live so close to wine country where there are hundreds of wineries to choose from, but if you want to up the ante for super local wine, check out Best 10 Wineries In Contra Costa County. Here’s a list of California wineries that practice organic, biodynamic or sustainable farming.

FLOWERS

Instead of flowers, consider buying your sweetheart a long-lasting plant. Fresh cut flowers are the epitome of beauty and romance, but 80% of flowers bought on Valentine’s Day are imported from other countries, mostly Columbia and Ecuador.  Workers, including children, are exposed to toxic chemicals that are banned in the US and Europe. The energy needed to store and chill these flowers during transport and distribution contributes to greenhouse gases. Another sobering bit of trivia, according to Gorgeous and Green florists in Oakland, is that the average wedding emits 12-14 tons of CO2, more than a person emits in a full year. Gorgeous and Green, which delivers orders via bicycle whenever possible, doesn’t use foam, recycles and composts whenever possible, avoids pesticides, and more, is a model of sustainability in the floral industry. View their sustainability pledge here. For flowers closer to our neck of the woods, consider Florali, a florist in Walnut Creek that is also part of the California Green Business Network.

BALLOONS

In general, balloons are not good for the environment. See this article for more details, including balloon alternatives.

CANDLES

The burning issue of wax is that most candles are made from paraffin, which is made from petroleum, a non-renewable resource and by-product of crude oil. When burned, paraffin creates benzene and tuolene, carcinogens that are highly toxic.  We hear a lot about soy candles, but although soy itself is natural, soy wax, a by-product of the soybean industry, is not. Here’s a comprehensive article that posits why even soy may be questionable. It appears that candles made from coconut oil or beeswax seem to burn the most cleanly. Check out "The Best Nontoxic Clean Burning Candles for 2021." 

SHEETS

You may be using a variety of surfaces to get it on, but let’s talk about the sheets you put on your bed. The production of standard cotton sheets uses a lot of water, pesticides, and labor. Here are some alternative fabrics for the eco-conscious:

Bamboo is a strong and luxuriously soft fabric that is highly absorbent and quick drying. The natural antimicrobial fiber extracted from the fast-growing bamboo plant is touted for keeping you cool in the summer and warm in the winter.  Shop "8 Best Bamboo Sheets of 2021."

Hemp is a cannabis plant grown specifically for industrial use and contains barely any THC (the mind altering chemical in cannabis), so eating or smoking textiles made of hemp won't get you high. For more info, see this article, "What Is Hemp?" Mainstream companies like Crate & Barrel and Garnet Hill now sell bedding made from hemp, a breathable fabric that grows fast, doesn’t require pesticides, uses less water, and is supposedly the most environmentally sensible textile on the planet. Here’s a succinct list of reasons for why hemp is good for the planet. Look for the Standard 100 by OEKO-TEX certification label, one of the world’s best-known labels for textiles tested for harmful substances.

TENCEL Lyocell sheets are derived from sustainably sourced, fast-growing trees, primarily eucalyptus, which are grown on five time less land than cotton and are responsibly processed. They are moisture-wicking and wrinkle resistant. Check out this article on the pros and cons of TENCEL Lyocell and shopping options here.

Organic cotton For skeptics who can’t part from cotton The Company Store offers organic and eco-friendly cotton sheets for kids and adults that are GOTS certified (Global Organic Textile Standard), which means they are derived from plants that are GMO-free and are grown without harsh chemicals.

LUBRICANTS

Moving along to the more earthy part of this discussion, it’s nice to know there are lubricants that are safe for intimate body parts but don’t take a toll on the environment. A good rule of thumb is if it’s not safe to put in your mouth, you probably shouldn’t put it anywhere else in your body. Natural lube ingredients that are safe include aloe vera (although not in combination with drying alcohol), vitamin E oil, virgin coconut oil, and olive oil (but not with condoms because it can cause breakage). Examples of ingredients in lubricants to avoid include phenoxyethanol (which is linked to skin irritation), Vaseline/petroleum jelly (which can alter pH levels and cause bacterial vaginosis), baby oil (which can cause infection), phthalates and parabens (which are hormonal disruptors), nonoxynol-9 (which can kill good and bad bacteria in the vagina and cause inflammation), glycerin (which can result in yeast infections), and silicone-based ingredients (which can coat skin and have toxic effects). Peruse this article for more on natural lubes for purchase and reference this article for the best vegan condoms and lubricants. For the more adventurous environmental activists, here is an article on eco-friendly sex toys because, as the author writes, “Nothing kills a boner like our planet’s pollution problem.” Another one, from SierraClub.org, includes information on buying, repairing, and recycling greener sex toys  -- who knew! Look for a separate article on condoms and other forms of birth control in next month’s newsletter.

DIAMONDS

If you are headed for a wedding and want to go the traditional diamond engagement ring route, consider where those sparkly gems were sourced. Here’s a concise review of "blood diamonds." According to Britannica.com, United Nations defines blood diamonds, also known as conflict diamonds, as “any diamond that is mined in areas controlled by forces opposed to the legitimate, internationally recognized government of a country and that is sold to fund military action against that government.” Parts of Western and Central Africa, especially in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Sierro Leone, have directed worldwide attention to the destructive role of diamonds. In 2003, the UN established the Kimberley Process, a certification process to verify exported diamonds were “conflict-free,” but human rights groups say rebel forces still produce blood diamonds through the forced labor of men, women, and children, and stones can be stolen during attacks on legitimate mining operations and smuggled into the international diamond trade. As geology.com claims, “Enormous amounts of money are at stake, and bribes, threats, torture, and murder are modes of operation.” Reckless mining has also left ecological destruction through soil erosion, deforestation, and even public health disasters through stagnant rainwater pits, which can breed mosquitoes and spread waterborne diseases such as malaria. Check out brilliantearth.com and other websites for ethically sourced, sustainable diamonds.

DOWN AND DIRTY TIP:

Conserve water, shower together!

STAFF PICK: Colleen Noland, SCOCO’s Community Organizer, shares this YouTube video on "Things NOT to buy for a sustainable Valentine's Day."

Stay tuned for an article on birth control in next month’s newsletter!

For more, visit Greenpeace's Earth Friendly Sexy Times.

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Replies

  • Wow Alison this is really funny/informative/daring!
    • Ha! Thanks. It's good to shake things up a bit sometimes!
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