Have a green valentines day!

Whether you're a misty-eyed romantic, or a cynic who thinks that Valentine's Day is based upon commercial exploitation, sometimes it’s nice to show that special person in your life how much they mean to you. So here are a few tips for the green at heart, to help make your Valentine's Day more environmentally friendly.

In a throw-away society, where everything comes pre-wrapped in plastic, a gift that shows thought and effort will almost always be received better than a basket of meaningless presents over-packaged in expensive ribbon and paper.

There are many environmentally-friendly gifts available in Brighton.

• Neal’s Yard, in Kensington Gardens, stocks a range of organic and sustainably sourced products for pampering your loved one, from aromatherapy oils and hand made soaps to gift boxes.
• Charity shops are a great source of the weird and the wonderful. Many a great gift can be found buried in the bric-a-brac section. By buying from charity shops, we can help to minimise waste and maintain a market demand for recycled products. Oxfam on Western Road is particularly good.
• Another way of giving your lover some well-deserved attention is to treat them to one of the holistic therapies offered by Retail Therapy’s Treatment Room (101 Gloucester Road). Nothing says 'I love you' like a massage!
• Sharing food is always romantic, and us lucky Brightonions have a vast array of cafes and restaurants on our doorstep. For a truly divine green experience, I recommend Kai in the North Laine. Their sumptuous gluten-free chocolate cake has won a highly prized Soil Association Award, perfect to share whilst you gaze lovingly into each others eyes. All their food is organic and locally sourced, which is reassuring for anyone concerned about the vast amount of air and land miles many foods take to reach our table.
• Alternatively, if you're going to cook a romantic dinner for two, the Farmers Market at the Friends Centre (Ship Street) provides an astonishing array of local foods.
• Last but not least, a Valentines card can brighten the dreariest of workdays, and The Hemp Shop in Gardner Street are stocking 100% hemp Valentine's cards. Deforestation causes immense environmental damage: annual crops like hemp require fewer chemicals for pulping and are a much greener choice than traditional paper cards.
• But if you really want to bring a smile to your loved one's face, try making your own Valentine's card. It’s amazing what you can do with some scrap cardboard, an old magazine and some glitter - very Blue Peter! Even recycling can be romantic.

Exclusive offer for BPEC members: In the spirit of eco-friendly love, those generous people at the organic cafe Kai (Gardner St) have offered a 10% discount on Valentines Day (14th Feb 2005) to all BPEC members!!

Competition We have a £5 Neal’s Yard Gift voucher for the first BPEC member to introduce a friend to BPEC.