What’s an eco-friendly spot for a rendezvous with my lover on Valentine’s?

February 9, 2012Adria Vasil

Q: What’s an eco-friendly spot for a rendezvous with my lover on Valentine’s?

A: Why, hello there. Fancy meeting you here again so close to the lustiest of dates, St. Valentine’s big day.

I have to say, when most people have hot love on the brain, they don’t consider whether the bed is off-gassing or the rug is giving them a chemical burn. But what if you are looking for an ecologically inspired love shack? Town or country, romantic or risqué, here’s how to do it green-style.

ON AN ECO BED:

Let’s start with ground zero for love, shall we? The boudoir is the epicentre of most our romantic liaisons, so if you’re serious, you’ll eco-fy it however you can.

The quickest way is to roll in certified-organic sheets (score some at eco home stores like Grassroots and Ecoexistence). Ideally, you’d be frolicking on an organic mattress, too. Soma’s got the largest selection of eco beds, with certified organic ones starting at $1,899 or non-organic queens from $999 (somasleep.ca).

All-natural rubber mattresses are on sale now at grassroots (grassrootsstore.com). Essentia does organic memory foam, and Ikea has partly natural latex.

AT A GREEN HOTEL:

Pretty much every hotel in the country claims to be green on some level, even if it’s just asking you to hang up towels you don’t want needlessly washed. Click on your location on greenkeyglobal.com to see dozens, even hundreds, of regional hotels that qualify for at least some “Green Keys.” (Stick to those mainstream spots that have four or more keys.)

The Fairmont chain has been an eco leader, and its Royal York Hotel is retrofitted and diverts 67 per cent of waste by reducing, reusing, recycling and redistributing. (Untouched food is donated to Second Harvest, linens and furnishings to abused women transitioning to new homes.)

There’s a beehive on the roof, too, and if you decide to order room service, you can specify the OceanWise fish, organic chicken or locavore salads.

Or kick it up a green notch and book into the sustainably conscious Gladstone Hotel or super-eco Inverness High Park B&B.

NEXT TO AN ECO FIRE:

So you’re getting all Kenny G smooth and thinking of sparking up a little fireside time, are you? Sounds lovely, except that regular logs emit serious levels of carbon monoxide and lung-irritating particulate matter – enough to cause wood stoves to be banned in some towns.

Plus, wood smoke can aggravate asthma, bronchitis and angina. If you want to cook up some eco romance, set fire to a Java-Log, Ecolog or Smart Log. All of these emit about 10 times less carbon monoxide and six times less particulate matter. Plus, they’re made of 100 per cent recycled coffee grounds (Java-Log) or wood bits. Now, that’s hot.

IN THE DARK:

You don’t have to be a prude about it and refuse to let your beloved see you naked, but doing it with the lights off does turn on the planet. If you want inviting lighting, skip the benzene- and formaldehyde-spewing paraffin candles (artificially scented are even sootier) and light an all-natural, unbleached beeswax or veggie wax candle. (They burn cleaner and the flames last longer, too.)

Warning: if you want to experiment with a little wax play, stick to soy candles. Beeswax can cause third-degree burns, which, I don’t have to explain, can be a major mood killer.

IN THE WOODS:

Okay, so outdoor nooky may not be on your radar in the middle of February, but you are much more likely to be alone in the forest at this time of year. Winter camping is one nature-inspired reason to zip two sleeping bags together. Or maybe you’ll get frisky on a cuddly walk through High Park.

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