Show your love without it costing the earth

1 - Visit a locavore restaurant

If you love dining out on date night, choose a farm-to-table restaurant near you next time you go out for dinner. Eating locally grown food is a great way to support farmers and producers, there are fewer fossil fuels used to transport foods, and the produce is fresh and seasonal. If your budget won’t stretch to a night out, source delicious produce from your local farmer’s market and make a home-cooked meal instead. 

2 - Give your sweetie a plant instead of flowers

A bunch of roses is exorbitantly expensive around Valentine’s Day, and will rarely last more than a week. Buy your Valentine a beautiful plant instead; indoor plants such as Peace Lilies, Devil’s Ivy or Hen and Chicken succulents are easy to care for and will last years. Plants are much better for the environment too, as they release oxygen into the atmosphere and absorb carbon dioxide.

3 - Ditch the Hallmark card

Millions of paper cards are given or sent every year on Valentine’s Day, and sadly most will end up in the trash. Raid your recycling bin for used card or paper and make a handmade card, or write your darling a letter. It won’t cost a cent and will mean so much more.

4 - Treat your love with eco-friendly beauty products

If your Valentine loves a little pampering, choose wisely and opt for make-up and skincare ranges that are kind to the planet. Our beautiful organic plastic-free lip balms come in four great flavours and can be shipped right to your door. Pucker up!

5 - Take a trip

Plan a romantic getaway with your loved one. Pack the car with goodies and head off for a mini break. 

6 - Buy organic, fair-trade chocolate

While chocolate is a traditional Valentine’s gift, a lot of it is made unethically. Spending your money on fair-trade chocolate is a great way to help support responsibly cultivated cocoa, which helps protect the environment and ensures farmers get paid a decent wage. Whittakers, Alter Eco and Green and Black’s are all good choices. 

7 - Buy an acre of rainforest

A novel gift idea and a great one for the greenie in your life. You can purchase an acre of rainforest in your sweetheart’s name through The World Land Trust, which operates a Buy An Acre fund that helps protect rainforests in Brazil, Ecuador and Argentina. Your Valentine will also receive a gift pack and certificate of recognition.

8 - Give experiences, not gifts

Studies show that it’s experiences, not material things, that bring long-term happiness. Build memories with your darling by gifting a movie pass or restaurant voucher. If you’re feeling adventurous, go hot-air ballooning on kayaking together. Or go on a hike and bring a picnic.