Published: February 01. 2010 2:00AM

As you walk through the malls and shop-o-plexes this week, you may not feel like you have a lot of environmentally sound options when it comes to Valentine’s Day gifts. But before you throw in the towel and buy your loved one carbon offsets, name a star after them, or something else eco-friendly but less than exciting, you might want to consider giving it one more try.

Lucky for us last-minute types, you can find plenty of eco-friendly gifts at many Upstate stores and businesses. After a few days of shopping around, we put together a list of several easy-to-find green Valentine’s gift ideas to make this year’s gift-buying fun and easy for you.

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For chocolate: Stop by Ten Thousand Villages and you’ll find organic fair-trade chocolate from small, sustainable farms like Equal Exchange and Divine Chocolate. For organic chocolate gift basket options, visit Simpsonville-based SimplicityGiftsSC.com. They offer convenient delivery, too.

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For flowers: Consider a native potted plant from Lichtenfelt Nursery, or, for cut flowers, try Dahlia (A Florist), where they make an effort to use local growers as well as Veriflora-certified flowers, which means those pretty blooms have been grown using sustainable agriculture practices.

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For cards: Send a Valentine’s Day e-card. Or if you prefer a traditional card, simple yet elegant cards available at Earth Fare are made from 100 percent recycled card stock and use only nontoxic inks. One more idea — forget the card and tell your honey how much you care, face-to-face.

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For jewelry: Why not spare the earth the damage caused by the process of extracting new precious metals and gems and purchase a beautiful piece of estate jewelry? Many local jewelers, including Hale’s, carry estate pieces. For something a little more whimsical, check out Christopher Park Gallery for an array of artsy jewelry created from recycled materials.

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For a romantic dinner: If you’re thinking about dining out, try a restaurant like American Grocery that makes an effort to serve foods from local and regional farms. A vegetarian dish at any local restaurant is also an eco-friendly choice. Another idea: Instead of eating out, why not cook a delish homemade meal? Go all out, get some fresh veggies, a nice bottle of wine and dress up the dining hall. Eating in doesn’t have to be boring. Do it in style.