Yes, that romantic and (sometimes dreaded) holiday is upon us again, when restaurants, candy and flower shops get ready for a very profitable day! Not that there’s anything wrong with that, who wouldn’t want to dress up and go to a fancy restaurant for dinner rather than slave away at home? Who wouldn’t like to receive a big bouquet of fresh flowers or a box of sweets? Well, for the romantic-at-heart, you don’t have to give up your traditional Valentines treats to keep green.
Simply follow some of these tips below:
The Card
Instead of buying a store-bought Valentines card, the most obvious choice is an E-card, which is free (or very cheap), immediate and doesn’t use any paper or delivery energy. If you must go for the paper variety, opt for one that uses recycled paper. Tiny Prints has some adorable ones, which are easily ordered online. So while I’m sending my husband an e-card this year, I’ll get the kids to use some of our leftover computer paper, draw, paint and embellish, and voila!, Dad and Grandma have lovely keepsake cards.
The Flowers
Not that I’ll be sending flowers to anyone (this is actually a hint to my husband), but nowadays one can get green flowers. Florists who specialize in this will have their products come with special certified stamps, like Sierra Eco, which lets you give twice through fair trade or Veriflora. If you don’t have a green florist in your area, here are some key questions to ask your florist or vendor:
Where do these flowers come from?
Were pesticides used?
Do you know who were the workers involved? Were there child labourers involved?
Next: The Romantic Dinner and Sweets for your Sweet