bad Valentine's traditions

Avoid these bad Valentine's traditions!

Your love for your sweetheart doesn’t have to be at odds with your love for the planet.

Boldly forgo the waste of conventional romantic gestures and plan for a sustainable future – together.   

Avoid these RED FLAGS declarations as you look closer to what they signal for the planet and those who live within it.

The examples we explore next will focus on the pinnacle of romantic occasions – the bad Valentine’s Day traditions. However, the same practices can be applied to other conventional days of love that may be specific to your relationship and even broader to include an occasion like Mothers Day.   

Join us as we venture into the world of dangerous declarations of affection – avoid these bad Valentine’s traditions!
After, check out our 10 Eco-Friendly Valentine’s Gift Ideas For Sustainable Love

bad Valentine's

1. Roses are red and they certainly are not green.

Roses have become a commodifiable symbol of love but at a shocking cost to the planet that will take your breath away. 

In the United States, 90% of the roses available at large retailers are imported from South America.  This massive migration of flowers is a huge source of CO2 emissions from hundreds of cargo flights, refrigerated transportation, and warehousing all wrapped up in plastic packaging. 

Statistics from the International Council on Clean Transportation estimates that in the 3 weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day,  4 billion flowers imported from Colombia release 360,000 metric tons of CO2.  That number is just from the flight into Miami and does not account for the additional emissions from transport to processing plants and further onwards to the retailers for sale. Refrigerated trucks require 25% more fuel to run on average and are often run on diesel engines which emit more air pollution. 

Perhaps it is time to stop focusing on smelling the roses and look to other local alternatives. 

Eco-Friendly Gift Idea
: Source locally grown fresh or dried flowers, potted plants, or seeds! Let your love bloom without the added emissions from faraway provisions.

2. The facts behind chocolate leave a bad taste.

According to the WWF,  58 million pounds of chocolate is consumed in the United States in the weeks leading up to and after Valentine’s Day. 

Did you know?  A cocoa tree may need to grow for up to a year just to produce the cocoa in 1/2 a pound of chocolate. This slow growth leads to deforestation for profit. Large swaths of tropical forest are clear-cut for cocoa tree farming.  70% of the Côte d’Ivoire’s illegal deforestation is related to cocoa farming.

The industry has direct connections to human rights violations including child labor.

Eco-Friendly Gift Idea
: Source ethically and sustainably produced vegan chocolate. Support a local baker or whisk them off their feet by making your own treats. 

bad Valentine's

3. Re-examine the value of that hunk of carbon.

Diamonds are another cultural symbol of long-lasting love. 

However, they don’t shine so bright when you look closer at the industry around them. This harm extends to both people and the planet at nearly every stage of labor and production.  This includes:

  • Human rights abuses, worker exploitation, and child slavery.
  • Wildlife habitat loss, shoreline erosion, excessive water use, and smog production.

Eco-Friendly Gift Idea: Support a local jewelry maker instead or opt for an experience gift that leaves no trace beyond the fond memories created – together.

bad Valentine's
alannah hardcastle
Author

Alannah Hardcastle

Passionate about leveraging the power of communications to drive positive change, Alannah knows how to engage communities with purpose. She’s particularly keen on building a diverse and inclusive community that upholds values to create a social and environmental impact.

4. Wood you cut out the greeting card?

The facts surrounding holiday card waste  will leave you feeling stumped!

Did you know that if everyone in the United States sent one card less each year, 50,000 cubic yards of paper per year would be saved? The 2.65 billion Christmas cards sold each year in the U.S. could fill a football field 10 stories high.

Let’s not forget the transportation emissions connected with this act. Research reveals that sending one card in the United States printed on non-recycled paper creates more than 200g of carbon dioxide

Eco-Friendly Gift Idea: Consider an e-card or arrange for a virtual experience together! Sign up for a virtual concert, comedy show or play. Support your local restaurant and get takeout (ask for no plastic cutlery and minimal packaging). 

bad Valentine's

5. Your scent is... intoxicating.

Nothing in the world smells as good as the person you love.”
Perfume and cologne is another popular gift for a paramour for many occasions. 

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the use of scented products can emit the same amount of chemical vapors as petroleum emissions from cars.

Synthetically scented products can include anything with ‘fragrance’ from perfumes to deodorants, laundry soaps, air fresheners, and beyond.  This fragrance contains volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which react with sunlight and other chemicals in the atmosphere to form ozone pollution

Eco-Friendly Gift Idea: If you are gifting a scented experience, be sure to choose naturally derived products that are crafted without added ‘fragrance’.

bad Valentine's

6. Etch a name into your heart, not on a tree!

Trees are living things! Please do not injure them by carving into them. 

Carving into a tree can put the tree at risk of developing an infectious disease.

Depending on how deep the carving is, it could prevent the tree from transporting water or nutrients through the cells below the bark. 
We should endeavor to protect nature given all the benefits it provides back!

Leave no trace and you’ll steer clear of a bad Valentine’s day experience.

bad Valentine's traditions

Avoid these Bad Valentine's Traditions

We think it’s time to reconsider harmful and dangerous displays of affection. 

Normalize alternative gifts that are local, sustainably made from materials that are ethically produced and do not create added harm to our shared home or the people that inhabit it! Better yet, focus on making memories together and avoid the curse of a bad Valentine’s gift that lasts forever.

If you agree, join our community!

We would love to hear your ideas for sustainable gifts in the comments below!

Psst. If you are feeling nervous in the face of love or having conversations about climate, read our blog How To Have Effective Climate Conversations – According To Experts”

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

environmental impact of valentine's day

More Blog Posts:

🌎 We may be random, but we're not without purpose.

Connect with our eco-community for free resources on actions you can take to protect our planet – starting today.
🌎🌎🌎