In an effort to make more environmentally sustainable choices, my mom now shops with reusable bags that I purchased for her last year. A friend of hers has even launched a company that encourages people to eliminate excessive plastic from their shopping routines.

Encouraging mom to shop for groceries with reusable bags is just one way to help mom go green this year, and there are plenty of other ways to be an eco-enabler. While I generally prefer to motivate others to reconsider their choices by example and not pontification (even writing about it here I feel like I'm standing on a biodegradable soap-box), but sometimes you just have to speak up and spread the green.

Mom has always been the one to push the greens onto your plate, now it's your turn to put some green into her life. Below are some suggestions to make this a Mother Earth-Friendly Mother's Day.

1. Reusable shopping bags: smart, stylish, and sustainable.

2. Recycled and repurposed picture frames: wood, magazines or DIY.

3. Cook a farmer's market fresh dinner for mom. Try fixing one of her favorite dishes and maybe introduce her to some funky vegetables she's never tried before.

4. Fair trade, bird-friendly, organic coffee: Brew up a tasty roast to help her jump-start her day.

5. Recycled or repurposed jewelry: take a tour of local stoop sales and thrift stores, and keep an eye out for items that can be modified.

6. Make your own mother's day card: Here's a step-by-step process to make homemade paper. Write mom a poem, or if you're not feeling too adventurous write out the lyrics to her favorite song.

7. Make her a mini-herb garden.

8. Outfit her in some hip green clothes or shoes.

9. How about some tasty earth-friendly chocolates?

10. Or give her a chance to unwind and relax with a gift certificate to an eco-friendly spa.

Well, that should get you on the right track. Here are some ideas to keep your wrapping paper green, too. And while some of the links might take you far and wide, whenever possible try to keep your purchases as local as possible.

Happy Mother's Day!

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