Have a CSR date night!

Even though Valentine's Day 2010 has passed, you and your significant other may still be interested in a romantic, socially responsible night out. How to accomplish this?

Cut flower industry environmentally costly

The commercial floral industry is tough for consumers seeking social responsibility. When exotic flowers aren't removed directly from the wild, they are often grown in mass greenhouses with poor labor conditions. Flowers must then be treated with significant pesticides and fertilizers to ensure that they survive the journey and days in a florist's shop. It's not pretty, even if the flowers themselves are.

Luckily, you can seek out florists that carry flowers that meet the Organic Bouquet and Scientific Certification Systems' "Veriflora" standard, which ensure that the flowers meet six sustainability criteria. Also, FTD offers a line of eco-friendly floral products, and a number of web based delivery-only services now exclusively provide environmentally friendly flowers, such as Organicbouquet.com. In most cases however, delivered flowers incur unavoidable carbon cost. Purchasing floral arrangements from responsible grocers, such as Whole Foods or TJs, is another way of reducing carbon impact.

In the alternative, consider purchasing your S.O. a living gift, such as a small decorative topiary, potted flowering plant, or rose they can plant in a garden (or mini rose, for the apartment bound). Not only will a living plant remove CO2, it is likely to last longer.

Locavores win

When it comes to choosing a restaurant, local and family run businesses are those most likely to provide sustainable foods. Chains restaurants are most susceptible to business models that involve extensive shipping and non-seasonal, foreign ingredients. Local restaurants are often forced to shop locally just to meet their sourcing needs, and are thus somewhat seasonal by default. Additionally, some restaurants are now marketed to customers interested in sustainable, seasonal food; seek those establishments out.

If things are going well …

Wine can be a destructive product to produce. Vineyard creation constitutes stripping hills of native vegetation, often causing mass silt and runoff problems that ruin local fisheries. Wine also takes enormous chemical input to control pests and promote growth; unfortunately, these toxins pollute the air, water and wine. Luckily, consumers can choose from a range of organic wine brands and craft wine that is grown through sustainable permaculture techniques. Look for "organic" and "biodynamic" on labels, and again with the websourcing: if you can't find organic wine in stores, check out the creatively titled "Theorganicwinecompany.com". There are also a few web-based organic wine clubs online.

If things are going REALLY well …

Intimate toys have not been left behind in the green movement. Sex toys can involve serious chemicals: PVC, latex, phthalates, lead and more, and may come in contact with sensitive, membranous areas that are particularly susceptible to endocrine disruptors. Not to mention the waste involved in the sex toy industry; many sex toys will never decompose. For greener alternatives, ask for nontoxic toys at mainstream outfits such as Good Vibrations, or refer to Earth Erotics for a warehouse of sustainable sex aids.

Well kids, have fun. Remember to let the themes organic, local, and nontoxic  guide your consumption choices in planning a date that is socially responsible.