How to Celebrate a Low Waste Valentine's Day
Valentine’s Day is coming up this weekend and we are excited to share some creative, environmentally friendly ways to celebrate with your family and loved ones! 🌹
Traditional gifts: Flowers, Chocolates, and Jewelry
Many ads around this time of year will market fresh flowers and decadent chocolates for your loved ones, and if you’re planning on following this trend, we’ve got some recommendations for you!
Perhaps instead of purchasing flowers from mainstream companies, visit your local florist and ask for the bouquets with in-season flowers, support your local farm by purchasing locally grown flowers, or visit a local plant shop and buy a potted plant.
If your loved one suffers from pollen allergies or just isn’t a fan of flowers, perhaps they might enjoy some chocolates! We recommend you look for brands that have fair trade certifications like Fairtrade’s to ensure that the people and environments involved in the cocoa industry are protected.
For those with money burning a hole in your wallet, if you want to purchase some diamonds, check out Brilliant Earth for some ethically-sourced, Beyond Conflict-Free, and recycled diamonds. You may also want to read up on lab-grown diamonds and see if that might be the right pick for you!
Grow some native plants in your community
What’s a great way to show some love to Mother Nature this holiday? If it’s warm enough where you live, consider a family-friendly activity like making seed balls to plant some flowers in your neighborhood. Just make sure to look up which native plants grow in your area!
Spend some quality time together with food
The best way to someone’s heart is through their stomach, so one great idea you can try this Valentine’s Day is to create a home-cooked meal! There are plenty of recipes you can try and we encourage you to get creative and figure out how you can use commonly-tossed food scraps to minimize the food waste in your kitchen. One of our favorite desserts is this low-waste lemon souffle dessert that’s baked IN the lemon itself!
Once you are finished in the kitchen, if you have any food scraps left, make sure you compost them. You can safely collect your food scraps using one of our Commit to Green trash liners and drop them off at a local drop-off site near you. A special note: make sure that your local site or pick-up service also accepts BPI-certified compostables if you are dropping off the trash liners, too!
Tell someone what they mean to you
We are all familiar with the Hallmark brand, but we encourage you to support a local, small business if possible when you purchase your greeting card this holiday! There are plenty of shops on Etsy selling plantable cards (plant the card into soil and watch something grow!), and there are definitely shops in your local neighborhood. We found one based right here in Brooklyn, NY that sells a variety of home goods, including thoughtful cards.
How are you celebrating Valentine’s Day this year? Drop a comment below and share your ideas!