How to Have an Eco-Friendly Valentine’s Day

Have your heart set on a romantic Valentine’s day? If you’re more concerned with your carbon footprint than candy hearts, here are a few eco-friendly ways to celebrate your love for the earth as well as your partner.

Don’t Pick Just Any Flowers

When it comes to gift-giving, you can’t go wrong with flowers. They’re beautiful, they smell nice, and they’ve been around for as long as there’ve been couples. But some cut flower operations use questionable pesticides and processes. So instead of flowers, surprise your special someone with a flowering avocado tree. It’s the gift that lives on and provides a renewable food source! 

Choose Chocolate Carefully

On Valentine’s Day, the competition in the gift-giving game is between flowers and chocolate. It can be hard to tell which products are grown and harvested responsibly. A lot of overlap exists between companies that produce high-quality chocolate and those that operate ethically. As is often the case, great chocolate will often come along with a great price tag. In fact, some say that price is the most reliable indicator of a chocolate’s quality. So this February, spend a little more on your chocolate and you’ll be rewarded with more than a better tasting bar.

Choose the Green Dining Alliance

What’s Feb. 14 without a Valentine’s Day dinner? Here’s the good news: It’s getting easier to eat eco-friendly. Vegan dishes and locally sourced ingredients appear on menus all over the country. Folks in the St. Louis area can even take advantage of one of earthday365‘s year-round sustainability certification programs, the Green Dining Alliance. Certified restaurants actively reduce their environmental impact by completing an on-site audit that evaluates all areas of operations and set personalized goals. Bailey’s Chocolate Bar is a Green Dining Alliance certified restaurant that is a great option for a Valentine’s Day date night. 

Volunteering Is for Lovers

There are lots of ways to celebrate togetherness with a significant other. One of the most inexpensive, and eco-friendly is volunteering. From dog walks to cuddling babies, there’s an activity to please any couple’s taste. And if you’re not a couple but looking to meet someone, volunteering is a great way to make friends and expand your social network.

Volunteering is good for the environment and for your community. If you’re thinking of going this route on Valentine’s Day, make sure to contact your organization of choice a couple of weeks in advance. Walk-ins are welcome at some volunteer gigs. But many require an application, background check, and a training session before you get started.

Stuffed Animals With Heart

There’s no doubt that stuffed bears have carved out quite a Valentine’s Day market for themselves. But, not all stuffed animals are Earth-friendly. If you’re planning on giving a teddy bear to a special someone, look for the organic label. Lots of companies offer options that are both cute as a button and responsibly produced.

High-quality stuffed animals — like high-quality chocolate and other higher-end products — won’t come cheap. But if a cleaner, happier environment is a priority for you or your Valentine, these eco-friendly options are worth every penny.

 

By Bob Pitkins
An environmental journalist who reports on sustainability efforts around the country. He enjoys trying out new vegan restaurants and visiting second-hand stores in every city he visits.