10 Ideas for a Sustainable Valentines Day

Valentines Day is bad news for the environment. Flower-growing producers are among the biggest users of pesticides, 18.7 million Valentine’s cards were bought in the UK in 2016 only be discarded a few days later and there’s a minefield of plastic packaging in your average box of chocolates!

But the good news is that you can always find sustainable alternatives so you can share your love with your partner and the planet...so here are my top ideas for a Sustainable Valentines Day, aside from not celebrating it at all!

(updated from original blog post in 2019, making it lockdown friendly!)

1. Make your own card

Make your own card from materials you already have at home and skip the glitter and googly eyes. It really is the message inside that counts. If you’re not feeling crafty, we sell greetings cards made from recycled coffee cups.

2. Skip the flowers or opt for dried

Alongside the pesticides and air miles to get fresh flowers on the shelves in the UK, the disparity between the time they spend on your windowsill and the time they spend rotting on a landfill site is pretty huge. Plant flowers rather than picking flowers, such as our Seedballs or opt for plants that won’t die such as succulents.

There are also so many great dried flower specialists these days. A couple I have tried out are The Cornish Flower Company specialising in dried and wild flowers (our wedding flowers were from Annabelle and she posts around the UK too). There's lots of great options on Etsy or try 

Happy Blossoms for brights. If you really want to buy fresh cut flowers, choose local, seasonal and organic….good luck in February.

3. Skip the balloons…(are balloons even a Valentines thing?)

They break down into micro plastics, even ‘biodegradable’ balloons. Even worse, if released, they can end up in the ocean or in remote places and be mistaken for food by wild and marine life and helium itself has a fairly significant ecological footprint. We’re even running out of helium quickly!

We have recently come across some natural rubber balloons but we just don't think they are needed for Valentines.

4. Opt for Fairtrade chocolate

Chocolate boxes have a special way of combining every type of plastic into one hell of a box creating a minefield, manufactured with a myriad of ingredients by large corporations. Instead, opt for Fair-trade and slowly made chocolate. We stock handcrafted bars who put people and planet first. The beans themselves do all the talking, having been selected for their unique natural flavourings.

5. Eat vegan and support small businesses

A vegan diet on average, creates 2-2.5 less carbon emissions versus a meat eaters so even if you’re not vegan, eat plant based this Valentines.

I think Valentines is the perfect excuse to support a small vegan business. So many food delivery options have sprung up, so here is a list of a few I have come across. They haven't all been tested and of course will contain packaging, some of which may not be recyclable, but I think it's important to support the small business that we can this year. There are very little packaging options (if at-all) for a zero waste food delivery, especially when business have had to quickly switch how they operate so I'd cut them and yourself some slack here. 

Doughnut Time Vegan DIY Kit

The Vurger Co Vegan Burger DIY Kit

Lele's Vegan Cake Mixes (with zero-waste packaging)

Rudys Vegan DIY Kits 

Club Mexicana At Home Taco Kits (these guys are my all-time favourite place to eat in London so I'm sure their diy kits are banging!)

Borough 22 vegan and gluten free doughnuts

It's worth checking whether any of your local vegan restaurants are offering delivery too.

6. Eat Local & Organic at home

Stay-in and cook a meal with fresh, local and organic produce. You could head to your local farmers market and see what they have in-season for ultimate eco points, plastic free of course!

7. Drink organic

Choose organic beverages whether alcoholic or not. A couple of my favourite are Artigianale Prosecco, Fattys Organic Gin and Seachange Wine...Every bottle of Sea Change helps fund ocean conservation projects across the globe and our minimal packaging reduces waste and environmental impact.

8. Choose second hand fashion

Before your date night, how about setting each other a challenge. Give yourselves a budget and browse second hand platforms online such as ebay, facebook marketplace, depop and vinted. The idea is to buy a ‘new’ outfit that your other half will wear on your date night in and to help tackle the fast fashion industry. It may even give you a few laughs!

9. Plant A tree

How about plant a tree. You can gift a tree in your Valentines name at Trees for Life. 

10. Still after a present, have you seen our Kind Valentines Box?

 

The Kind Valentines Box is packed full of gorgeous and sensual vegan and eco gifts. We will post the The Kind Valentines Box direct to your loved one...or direct to you if you want to treat yourself. Posted on 10 February to arrive by Friday 12 February.

Our Valentines box contains our favourite products from independent UK brands, featuring...

• 3x pack of Sensual tea lights in recycled glass container, scented with pure essential oils; Orange, Patchouli, Ylang Ylang and Neroli. Perfect to set the scene for a date night in.
• Vegan fizzy strawberry hearts in home compostable packaging (65g), because who doesn't love sweets.
• Oh So Shimmery whipped organic balm which can be used head to toe. With a shea balm base, it can be effortlessly massaged in and leaves a subtle shimmer for a special occasion (50g).
• Super Serum facial oil by cult vegan brand, Lani (30ml). 
• Sourdough & Sea Salt 66% dark chocolate by Pump Street Chocolate in Suffolk (20g).

We also have so many other eco and vegan gifts, check out our Gifts For Her such as recycled jewellery and candles.

The Kind Store team try and test all products that we stock, so you can be certain that what you are buying is high quality, works well and loved by us. We source all products using our ethos via our sustainable principles, so you can trust that what you are buying is kind to animals, people and planet. We stock items from UK independent makers and suppliers to ensure our products are eco-friendly. Discover hundreds of vegan, natural, sustainable and cruelty-free products.

Other blog posts you might like...

• What Are Soapnuts, Where They Come From And How To Use Them
• What The Recycle Symbols On Your Packaging Mean