Make Mom's Day

It may take a village to raise a child, but there are lots of moms out there who raise villages. Perhaps more than anyone else, these moms are renowned for always making kids their top priority—either their own or someone else's. This Mother's Day, buy mom a present that helps preserve that village she helped raise and the planet on which it was built.

Start her day with a bouquet of meaningful flowers. Mercy Corps, an international aid organization, has partnered with OrganicBouquet.com to create Mother's Day Mercy Kit bouquets. For $70, you'll get a beautiful pesticide-free, Veriflora-certified Asiatic Sunset Lily bouquet and a donation to Mercy Corps' worldwide programs made in your mother's name (www.mercycorps.org). For more on Veriflora certification, see "The Good Valentine."

Forget Calgon; take mom away without taking nonrenewable resources from the earth. Beeswax candles are made from the only naturally existing wax on earth, and unlike soft soy candles, doesn't require a container (meaning that they weigh less and produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions during shipment). Also, sweet-smelling candles from Bee Bright (www.beebright.com, 831-423-7185) or the Candle Bee Farm (www.candlebeefarm.com) provide financial support for beekeepers suffering from dying honeybee populations. She'll undoubtedly appreciate a bath with Red Flower's Hinoki Mint Mineral Bath Soak ($38; www.redflower.com, 212-966-5301), and keep up the pampering with Perfect Organics' Grapefruit Lavender Coconut Gift Set. The body scrub, body glow lotion, and natural fiber loofah come "perfectly" packaged in a reusable fiber gift bag that leaves the trees to clean the air for future generations ($39.99; www.perfectorganics.com, 800-653-1078). Lastly, with Pangea Organics' skincare products, your gift can cover two bases—the bathroom and the kitchen—at once. The calming Oatmeal and Italian Bergamot soap ($7.99) and the balancing French Chamomile & Orange Blossom facial cream ($28.99) come in new "Zero Waste" plantable boxes. Soak the packaging in water, bury in soil, and in a few weeks mom will have a mini herb garden—and the planet has less waste to deal with (www.pangeaorganics.com, 877-679-5854). If she likes to read while relaxing in the tub, why not give her a subscription to The Green Guide? A $12 subscription includes seven print issues and 14 months access to web articles that will provide her with all the information she needs to keep mothering her children and her environment.