Valentine’s Day on 14 February is a celebration of love. Named after a priest who (like Jesus) could heal people by laying his hands on them. But when he defended the Christians at Rome (and refused to deny Christ), has was stoned and beheaded, back in the 3rd century. Not just for love, he is also the patron stain for epileptics and bee-keepers.
Some scholars believe there was more than one St Valentine, others say he had no connection to romance (this was due to Chaucer linking him with ‘courtly love traditions’ in a poem.
Of course today, his legacy is overtaken by a huge consumer plastic-fest of rubbish. Poundland was recently criticised for selling a ‘plastic box’ of love, with nothing in it? They said it was just a bit of harmless fun. No doubt the wildlife and marine creatures have other ideas.
There are better ways to celebrate your love!
Send post-consumer-waste Valentine Cards
Jade Fisher makes lovely unique Valentine greetings cards, all printed on recycled or waste paper, sent in recycled envelopes. These are hand-painted in Wales and made in England. Post-consumer paper is far better than FSC-certified (which still results in trees chopped down).
Or instead, consider these unique Valentine Cards, lovingly made in Oxfordshire and sent in plastic-free packaging. Also as a friendly octopus or sweet berry thank you card!:
After Christmas Day, more cards are sent on Valentine’s Day than any other, leading to a huge waste of trees. Even FSC-certified cards require monoplantations of trees covered in pestcides, and don’t support homes for wildlife. Buy cards printed on post-consumer waste paper, there are tons of them around.
Most cards bought will just end up in landfill, emitting methane gas (anything with glitter can’t be recycled. Although plastic packaging can be recycled at supermarket bag bins, it’s better not to buy it at all.
Little Difference is a lovely company run by a couple. She is from the Isle of Wight and everything is printed on recycled paper, and includes Valentine’s Cards.
Romantic Jewellery (from recycled silver)
Lily Charmed offers beautiful jewellery all made with recycled silver, in gorgeous sustainable gift packs. There are many unique gift ideas, including ones themed around love. There is already enough gold and silver mined on earth, to last for eternity. We like this silver ‘jammy dodger’ heart-shaped charm.
Organic Bubbly & Vegan Choc Gifts
The Goodness Project offers gifts for people and companies, which you can mix and match. Wild Thing Prosecco is organic and vegan, with profits helping Born Free (a charity that campaigns for better welfare for zoo animals). A portion from each sale benefits eco or animal welfare charities.
Use a letterbox guard for chocolate gifts. Save up corks and send off to Recorked, to be made into other things (corks are too dense to compost and are choking hazards, if left lying around).
We like their luxury vegan cakes in compostable packaging, made in an eco-factory in Leicestershire. The box contains 2 each of apple crumble tarts, pecan tarts, lemon tarts and passion fruit tarts. Or send a box of organic vegan Booja Booja truffles, made in Norfolk.
Luisa’s Vegan Chocolates (Nottingham) offer ethical choccy gifts – all vegan, Fair Trade and with no palm oil. This box is made with ‘vegan honeycombe’ chocs.
If you want to show your love, do it with vegan chocolates. There’s nothing romantic about giving chocolates made with factory-farmed animals, is there? And that’s where most dairy is, in conventional chocolate boxes.
And it’s far nice to support local artisans, over big companies that wrap all their inferior chocolates in plastic packaging. When you support local artisans, you bring more money into the local economy too. That’s real love!
Organic Bouquets of Roses & Other Blooms
The UK imports over 500 tons of roses for Valentine’s Day, despite England being able to grow so many of them, it’s our national flower. Organic local roses are far nicer with better scent and no plastic packaging. Imported roses are usually covered with chemicals, and arrive like you would look and feel, after a long-haul flight.
Rather than buy imported and chemical-laden roses, search for local seasonal flowers by entering your postcode at Flowers from the Farm.
Many flowers (including all bulbs) are not safe near companion animals. Read more on how to create a pet-safe garden, to know blooms to avoid for home delivery (either to you, or homes with pets). If displaying bouquets indoors, avoid facing towards outside gardens, to help prevent birds flying into windows.
Roses are also suffering from climate change, as they like precise temperatures of 15 to 24 degrees centigrade with around 6 hours of sunlight and plenty of water. In Bulgaria, the roses are blooming too early, and others are dying due to heat stress.
Organic Blooms is a social enterprise near the maritime city of Bristol, which grows its flowers using certified organic methods, and also offers training and jobs for local people with disabilities and those who need extra support.
These bouquets are cut, arranged and packed in the field workshop and conditioned without bleach or other chemicals. This prevents water pollution in the area around Bristol, which is also good for all local wildlife.
These flowers are sold seasonally as they are local, although some blooms are extended out of season using polytunnels. Flowers are grown using crop rotation and organic comfrey fertiliser, with the social enterprise happily knowing that a few flowers may be eaten, but that’s just organic gardening, and beneficial insects and creatures will also drop by!
All boxes and packaging are compostable, and the company is currently trying out biodegradable floristry foam and compostable aqua-packaging.
Ideas for Zero Waste Valentine Gifts
Give a CD of world music love songs
- Use heart-shaped recycled gift wrap.
- Visit an indie cinema, to watch a romantic film.
- Take them to the indie cinema or theatre
- Donate a tree, to rewild the Scottish Highlands.
- Give a subscription to a favourite magazine.
Bake a heart-shaped vegan cake! These lovely recipes can be found at Rainbow Nourishments and Happy Vegannie.
Before baking, read up on food safety for people and pets.
Plantable Valentine Cards (for pet-free gardens)
1 Tree Cards makes lovely cards, which not only plant trees for each order, but have plantable wildflower seeds, to help the bees after use. Great idea, but only send to people who don’t live with pets, as most wildflowers are not safe around them.
