In the UK alone we spend £650 million on Valentines gifts, ranging from flowers and chocolates to jewellery and perfume and we don’t often realise the environmental impact this one day has. We love a good celebration but is there a way we could share the love and still take reducing our carbon footprint seriously?
1. Valentine’s Day Cards
On Valentine’s day we send around 25 million cards, which means chopping down a ton of trees, around 8,000. Worldwide this one day has a massive contribution to deforestation and without trees we’d be in trouble, they support diverse ecosystems, turn carbon dioxide into oxygen and help slow the rate of global warming. Look out for recycled paper cards, or better yet, send an e-card. It’s a definitely green alternative for the future.
2. Put more thought into that bouquet
The environmental impact of shipping cut flowers around the world is huge. While flowers would usually be shipped on passenger planes across most of the year, in the few weeks before Valentine’s day we see a huge increase in flights dedicated to transporting flowers alone, increasing our air travel emissions. Look out for locally grown flowers or go for a house plant that will stand the test of time.
3. Shop for ethical chocolates!
Chocolate is a real Valentines favourite and our go-too gift, but how does our love of chocolate impact our planet? Well, it is often made with ingredients that aren’t grown organically such as milk powder which contributes to approximately 4% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and palm oil, which contributes to deforestation and threatens rainforest biodiversity and animal habitats. Give farmers a fair price and choose fair trade and organic chocolates grown without the use of harmful pesticides.
4. Go organic with your bottle of fizz
In recent years, the demand for prosecco has gone through the roof, meaning vineyards are rapidly expanding to keep up. Also, mass production methods use industrial pesticides and herbicides, reducing biodiversity and polluting the air locals breathe. But we do have another option, raise a glass to pesticide-free farming and choose organic and biodynamic wines, a greener alternative for just a few extra pounds.
5. Be a responsible shopper
Around Valentine’s day people feel under more pressure to make purchases they usually wouldn’t and in just a few clicks you can buy almost anything. This means more delivery vans on the road causing increased levels of air pollution and a ton of wasteful packaging, impacting the earths ecosystems. It’s hard not to order online in lockdown but cut your carbon footprint by shopping as local as possible.
Our spending habits and the amount of waste we produce all year round is an issue, but even more so during this holiday, Easter and Christmas.
Ebsford always have the environment in mind when delivering low-impact and sustainable solutions, but we’re keen to extend that consideration into our daily lives. We hope you will join Silty in his mission to reduce our impact.
