A quick guide to a sustainable Valentine’s Day
By Ariana Lim
Valentine’s day is quickly approaching, and we all know what that means! Whether you will be spending the holiday with your significant other, friends, family, or using it for a little “me time”, ultimately, it’s a day to treat your loved ones and yourself. It may be tempting to go to the store and grab the closest box of chocolates for a gift, but let’s remember to give a little love to the planet as well!
Here is a quick gift guide for a sustainable valentine’s day:
1. Buy locally-grown flowers. Most popular flowers such as roses and tulips are not grown locally! The bulk of flowers that we buy at flower shops and grocery stores come from all around the world, from places like South America, Europe, and Asia. Those flowers travelled far to get here, producing LOTS of pollution. In order to reduce your carbon footprint, try shopping for locally grown flowers. Pick Ontario is a company that supplies Ontario-grown flowers to flower shops all around the province, making this sustainable option more convenient to consumers like us! You can find a list of shops in Waterloo that sells these flowers here. You can even search for your home town as well!
2. Enjoy a meatless Valentine’s Day dinner. Yes, you can reenact the romantic Lady and the Tramp scene with VEGAN meatballs! Meat production releases a whole bunch of greenhouse gases, consumes a lot of water, and takes up a lot of land. If going vegan sounds intimidating, baby steps are the way to go! Even one meatless meal a week makes a HUGE difference. For Valentine’s Day, spend time cooking with your loved ones, or find a list of vegetarian and vegan restaurants in the Waterloo area here.
3. Buy Fairtrade chocolates. Fairtrade is an initiative that encourages brands to pay their workers fairly, especially in regions where labour is exploited. Besides the social and economic benefits of the certification, Fair Trade also promotes sustainability with environmental standards, such as limiting the use of harmful pesticides for crops and reducing water consumption. The Fairtrade International certification is mainly for large corporations, but there are many other certifications with similar goals that are easier for smaller businesses to attain. In addition, fair trade means more than just chocolates! You can also shop for fair trade clothing, flowers, sugar, soaps, and much more!
4. Send a Valentine’s Day e-card. What better way to show your appreciation than through words? To cut down on paper use, send a digital Valentine’s Day card! Not only will this save you money and time, but you won’t have to start over when you make a spelling error or if your writing gets just a little too crooked. If that’s not really up your alley, make it a bit more personal and send them a voice memo or a little video of you telling them how much they mean to you.
Happy (sustainable) Valentine’s Day ❤
