Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, which means that there is a whole lot of extra love in the air. However, if we’re not careful, that extra love will translate to a whole lot of extra trash in the landfill (and plastic in our oceans) come next week.
But, there is some good news! While traditional Valentine’s Day celebrations are usually not the most sustainable, there are some *super simple* ways that we can all make our annual displays of love more eco-friendly – especially when it comes to gift giving!
I’m sharing ten sustainable swaps for conventional Valentine’s Day presents to help you gift greener this year. I’m starting with the basics and getting more creative as we go.
Note: This post contains affiliate links which means I make a small commission on your purchase of some products.
1. DIY or Plantable Cards
Instead of purchasing traditional Valentines, DIY your cards for a more personal touch, or choose zero waste, plantable cards made of seed paper. I love the brand Cute Root, because after choosing and personalizing the perfect card for your loved one, this brand sends it out for you – no trip to the post office required! After it’s tenure on the refrigerator, your loved one can plant the card and watch it grow into a wildflower garden.
2. Dried Florals + Potted Plants
Instead of buying roses or other cut flowers that will quickly wilt and die, surprise your boo with a beautiful dried floral arrangement or potted plant from your local flower shop.
If you are leaning towards dried florals, I recommend the The Pampas Mama – a small woman-owned business based in LA. Tabitha, the owner, creates stunning arrangements using pampas grass and preserved blooms that make a beautiful (and long-lasting) addition to any space.
If you want to turn this gift idea into an activity (or a fun DIY date), order a planting kit from Live Long and Plant, and pot your own plant or create your own terrarium.
3. Sweet Treats
When possible, always choose plastic-free chocolate with low waste or compostable packaging over traditional Valentine’s-themed boxed candies. When it comes to gifting sustainable chocolate, I recommend Alter Eco’s Truffle Variety Pack. These babies are sustainably grown, fair trade, carbon neutral, and absolutely delicious! You can pick them up either online or at Whole Foods.
4. Consciously Made Jewelry
Historically, jewelry is the ultimate Valentine’s Day gift, and supporting jewelry brands whose products are consciously made and support important causes, makes it a responsible one as well!
5. Growing Candles
Candles are the perfect addition to a Valentine’s Day spent at home, and Growing Candles are gifts that just keep giving. Designed to prevent waste from used candles entering landfills, the labels around these candles are embedded with wildflower seeds. So they can be used to set the mood and create that dreamy low-light on Valentine’s Day, and when the wax is gone, the seed paper label can be planted in the container and wildflowers can be grown! Growing candles… get it?
6. Dinner, Drinks, & Dessert
Try out a new recipe together at home or support a local restaurant for dinner (carrying out your favorite meal counts!). Afterwards, keep the party going by baking some treats together at home while sipping one of these sustainable wines. Or support your favorite bar or winery by planning a virtual “tasting date” or completing a cocktail making class together… and drinking all of the evidence.
7. Book a Staycation, Take a Road Trip, or Plan a Future Dream Vacay
– Book a Staycation: While we may not be able to jet off to Paris for a romantic weekend this year, staycations can offer the best of both current worlds. They allow us to save (literal) tons of carbon while at the same time explore a new nearby city or rediscover why we fell in love with our own home in the first place.
– Explore our parks: Another option would be to gift your love a National Park Annual Pass. Nothing says “I want to be alone with you” more than a year’s worth of access to miles and miles of open space throughout the United States.
– Take a Surprise Road Trip: Treat you and your Valentine to a surprise by gifting them a curated travel itinerary from Guess Where Trips. This company specializes in self-guided 1-day mystery road trips that are full of hidden gems! Each trip comes with a ‘Before You Go’ package and information on four surprise stops as well as additional recommendations, fun facts, and discounts for local businesses.
The variety of locations and activities makes these trips perfect for literally anyone – couples, families with children, etc., and you can gift a specific trip or a gift card!
Check out a recent trip we went on here, and you can use our code EXPLORE10 for a discount at checkout.
– Plan a future trip together: Alternatively, even though making your loved one’s dream trip a reality might not be current possibility, it will be in the future. And gifting a mini-travel fund, in the form of an AirBnb gift card, for when that day comes, makes for the perfect present in the meantime. Studies show that planning travel has positive mental health effects, so spend some time together brainstorming how you’ll spend that $$ – plan out where you’ll go, where you’ll stay, and what you’ll do. You could even look up recipes from that location and make a travel-inspired dinner or find movies made there to watch together.
8. Learn a New Skill Together
Eatwith: Eatwith curates intimate, immersive dining experiences in over 100 cities worldwide. Through Eatwith, I first toured La Boqueria, shopped for ingredients, and prepared a meal alongside a chef in Barcelona, and a year later, in Mexico, floated around the chinampas of Xochimilco while sampling traditional Mexican cuisine and learning of their significance in history. Both of my experiences were very different, but I could not recommend this company more! Virtual cooking classes and other dining experiences are available as well – and can be booked either in your own city or one across the globe!
Skillshare, Masterclass, Creative Live and Udemy: These platforms offer a wide variety of virtual classes that are so diverse in nature that they are sure to tickle just about anyone’s fancy. Available options include creative writing, yoga, confidence building, painting, photography, learning to play an instrument, and language classes.
9. Plan a Fun, Unconventional Date
Whether you plan out a full-fledged scavenger hunt for your s/o, devote an afternoon to trying out a new hike, or spend a night cuddled up together at the drive-ins, experiences equal quality time spent together and make for the best memories. If you are looking for some experience-based and thoughtful ideas, I’ve got you covered with some fun and unconventional date ideas.
10. Gifts that Give Back
If you are looking to give something that is not a material gift, a great alternative is to make a donation in your loved one’s honor. Many nonprofits offer virtual gifts in exchange for a donation.
– Plant a tree: Engage Globally, an organization that supports community-led sustainable development in Northern Ghana, for example, offers gifts like a native tree planted and raised by youth for $25. In exchange for your donation, you’ll receive a certificate explaining the impact you’ve made that you can forward to your loved one virtually or print and insert into that card that you just DIY’ed.
– Adopt a species: Another great option is to protect a species in your loved one’s honor. The Smithsonian National Zoo and World Wildlife Fund’s Species Adoption offer gift sets that allow you to make a donation to protect a certain animal(‘s habitat), and in exchange for your $50-100 contribution, you’ll receive a plush version of that animal as well as a photo and “adoption certificate.” This, to me, is far more meaningful than a big pink bear from WalMart, am I right?
I hope these simple swaps give you some inspiration to show our planet a little bit of extra love this Valentine’s Day. However you choose to celebrate, I hope your day is filled with lots of love and all of your favorite things!
