Entertaining can be a wasteful affair. The traditional baby shower often creates a mountain of trash, from the adorable invitations that get thrown away, to a garbage can full of paper plates and plastic cutlery; from a mound of crumpled wrapping paper, to the heaps of plastic baby items.
Green Your Baby Shower
Fortunately, there are ways to improve the carbon footprint of your shower. Helen Coronato, in her September-October 2008 Mothering article, "Eco-Savvy Showers", offers suggestions for the expectant eco-mom-to-be.
- Send the invitations online to eliminate paper waste. Try an invitation service like www.evite.com. It's a breeze to use and allows users to RSVP immediately. For guests who don't have email, send an invite printed on recycled paper.
- Register for gifts with an online eco-friendly registry. Find a registry that offers items like organic cotton diapers, organic cotton baby clothes, and all-natural baby care products sans parabens. Encourage guests to stick to the registry if they are unsure what items are safe and healthy for baby. See below for eco-registry suggestions.
- Stick with a simple menu. Try to use local, in-season food when possible for your shower. Use regular dishes to serve your guests; skip the disposable ones. "Instead of loading up the landfill," Coronato writes, "load up your dishwasher, and celebrate with a clean conscience."
- Ask guests to sign up to bring a meal after baby is born. After a point, a new mom would rather have help with dinner than more stuff she may or may not need. Keep a list of the days and who has signed up, and remind people as their day draws near.
- Request on the invitation that gifts be wrapped in recycled or reusable materials, like boxes and bags that can do double duty as storage, or baby blankets.
- Close the shower with an eco-friendly party favor. Coronato suggests a compact-fluorescent light bulb with an attached note: "Thank you for helping us to celebrate our baby's bright future". You may also consider small seed packets, plants, and shopping bags.
Eco-friendly Shower Gifts
Need gift ideas to shower the new mom? Check out the blog at Eco Child's Play for a great top ten eco-friendly baby shower gift ideas list.
Green Baby Registries
While searching for the mom-to-be’s perfect eco-registry, here are some websites to consider, all of which offer registries:
- Baby Earth- they offer a pre-built Eco-Baby registry full of organic and natural gifts.
- Our Green House- at www.ourgreenhouse.com
- Mommas Baby- at www.mommasbaby.com
- Angel Baby Organic- at www.angelbabyorganic.com
- Organic Green Mommy- at www.organicgreenmommy.com
While celebrating the coming of a new life and the birth of a new mother, you can also honor Mother Earth. What a beautiful way to shower mom and her new baby!
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