10 Eco-Friendly Valentine's Gift Ideas For Sustainable Love

January 24, 2023

10 Sustainable Valentine's Gift Ideas To Celebrate Love

Are you a hopeless romantic?

In spite of the commercialization of this holiday. we think it’s OK to still desire to participate in a day centered around LOVE.

This holiday can be a fun prompt to show appreciation to people that warm our hearts. Sure this can be a romantic partner, but it can also be your partner in crime, your bestie, family, pets, or an act of self-love!

We know there are ways we can mindfully treat ourselves and our loved ones while also protecting the planet and its inhabitants.

Here we’ve put together a list of 10 Eco-Friendly Valentine’s Gift Ideas to celebrate love in all forms! Check out our other blog to learn the Environmental Impact of Valentine’s Day.

Ethical & Sustainable Chocolate

Chocolate is one of the first things that comes to mind when treating your sweetheart. Canadian chocolate consumption is on average 5.6 kilograms per person annually. However, the cocoa farming industry can have a hidden dark side of labor exploitation and deforestation, which you can learn more about here. That’s why it’s much sweeter if you consciously choose fair-trade chocolate for your loved one.

From seed to wrapper, Camino brings positive change to the chocolate industry.

Better For People & Planet

Their products are 100% traceable, organic, and fair trade. The simple ingredients used are sourced from small-scale farmer co-operatives in the Global South. The direct connection to the supply chain ensures exceptional quality.

The farmer groups they work with have control over their land and their organizations. They use regenerative and organic agricultural practices, caring for the health of the people and the well-being of our planet.

♲ Eco-Friendly Packaging ♲

Their bar wrappers are made of recyclable paper and the inner liners, made from wood fiber, are backyard compostable!

Camino envisions a world where people collaboratively build vibrant local and global communities, fostering diverse and sustainable economies through equitable trade and environmental stewardship.

Use your purchasing power to support businesses that treat all workers across the supply chain with dignity and fairness.

Camino offers a wide range of yummy vegan-friendly chocolate bars that are both organic and fair trade.

Coconut milk
Dark
Almonds and Sea Salt
Almonds
Raspberries
Orange
Mint
Bittersweet
Extra Dark
Intensely Dark
Nightfall

*Camino is a Canadian brand that is only available for purchase in Canada.

Organic Biodynamic Wine

Biodynamic farming embraces a holistic, ecological, & ethical approach when tending to the land.

Land is dedicated to insectaries, hedgerows & flowering cover crops. The vineyard is dry-farmed. It has no irrigation so water conservation is at optimal levels!
The land is protected from soil erosion by utilizing a rock garden to diffuse rainwater.

No synthetic chemicals are used to control pests or to prevent fungal, viral or other diseases. Nine preparations are made from plant & animal products that improve the health of the soil & plants. The energies of the lunar cycle are followed; they dictate when action is taken (or not) in the vineyard & winery.

Make this the wine of choice for toasting your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day. Leftover wine? Here’s how to use it up.

Brooks Wine is the ONLY vineyard and winery in the world that is a certified B Corporation, a member of 1% For the Planet AND Demeter Biodynamic certified.

Rather than cut flowers -> choose life instead!

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.

Let your love bloom without the added emissions from faraway provisions.

How you might ask?

Consider locally grown fresh flowers
Gift a plant clipping or a Bonsai Tree Starter Kit
Offer organic seeds with the promise of new growth for the coming season
Donate to sponsor a meter of hedgerow at Topsy Farms
A seedling kit of their favourite herbs or greens

Heart Felted Soap

Why use felted soap?

It gently exfoliates, enhances soap lather, improves grip, and lasts longer than regular soap. It is also biodegradable and home-compostable. Simply wet, lather, wash and squeeze dry.

Available in four scented varieties:

rosemary mint (pink on grey and red on white)
lavender chamomile (pink on white)
apple cinnamon cider (red on grey)
and cranberry wine (multi-red on white).

These pure essential oil-scented soaps are felted by hand with 100% wool.

You can get them from our community member Simply Natural Canada – a Canadian brand offering sustainable products to help consumers transition to an eco-friendlier lifestyle.

Bath Bomb Gift Card

Bath Bomb Greeting Cards.

Turn a traditional greeting card into an invigorating experience with no waste left behind!

For real, this card completely dissolves in water, for a bath bomb experience, complete with fizz, scents and colour!

Handmade with love in Canada from all-natural, non-toxic and eco-friendly ingredients. Even the dissolving paper and printer ink are fofood-grade.

Choose between two varieties of relaxing lavender scent with purple water or uplifting eucalyptus scent with turquoise water. A message that says “You’re the bomb…and so is this card” on the inside.

Candles... without the fossil fuels

Hands up if you’ve ever been mesmerized by the flickering flame of a candle? Maybe your loved one inspires the same feeling.

Choose a beeswax candle to ignite your passions this Valentine’s Day.

Many candles on the market are made from cheap paraffin wax, a petroleum by-product of crude oil. They emit particulate pollution when burned.

Beeswax will burn clean and with no or very little soot. The wax is environmentally friendly, non-toxic and biodegradable.

Plus, beeswax will burn at a very high temp so will burn longer 2-5 times longer than other types of wax. We love these rosebud beeswax candles from The Refill Stop.

Weave Your Love On Display

Fibre art – any art – is an important part of life for so many.

Creating beauty by macrame ~ crochet ~ weaving ~ needlework ~ the possibilities are endless ~

Crafternoons can make for a great activity together or an inspiring prompt to gift to your loved one.

Check out this beautiful macrame heart wall hanging or coaster!

Interested in the pattern? Get it FREE here

Erica at Aster & Vine looks for products that are:

Ethically Sourced,
Up-cycled or
Recycled excess waste from the fashion industry.

Did you know? Aster & Vine is a vendor on our free mobile app. Log Green Acts like recycling, refusing single-use plastic and eating plant-based meals to earn 15% off your purchase with Aster and Vine.

Beam Travel Paint Card

“Love is like a beautiful painting, painted with the colours of our imagination.”

Channel your love into creative expression. This is anoher example of a gift you can give or materials for an activity to do together.

The Beam Paint Travel Card kits were designed to be portable packs of creative expression! All plastic and metal-free.

Lightfast pigments, tree sap, gum arabic, and Manitoulin honey, blend together to create a handmade saturated colour.

Harvested hematite pigment in the LaCloche mountain range near their home in M’Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island. Beam Paints draws on their early educations in Indigenous pigment and expands it to encompass all paint traditions.

You can it from The Green Jar in Toronto, Ontario. Founded by two sisters Mara and Tannis Bundi, who have always had a lifelong passion for sustainable living.

Time To Break-Up With Single-Use - Find A Keeper

Impress your partner and help shave the world…

The EPA has estimated that at least 2 billion disposable razors are thrown into the landfill every year.

. Switching to a stainless-steel razor with interchangeable blades will save on excessive plastic waste, all while giving your partner cleaner shave = Everyone’s a winner!

Rockwell Razors is proud to be a part of the plastic pollution solution by offering a plastic-free razor. Currently, they’re on track to divert 100,000+ tonnes of plastic waste (in the form of disposable razors) from landfill this year! Rockwell Razors offers a waste-free shave without compromising comfort or safety.

An At-Home Spa Experience

Treat your loved one to some “me time” and put together the ultimate at-home spa experience for them. Personalize it for their favourite scents and body care needs.

Here are some suggestions:

Nature’s Aid Bath Bomb
The Green Beaver Company’s Face Cream – to soothe dry winter skin.
A selection of calming herbal teas
BKIND Plant-based nail polish
No plastic frilly loofas, choose plastic-free exfoliators like sisal gloves, pumice stones or a loofah sponge.

Healthy Planet is your one-stop shop for alternative health products. They bring the highest-quality supplements, vitamins, health foods, bath & beauty and eco friendly products at low possible prices.