Green Love: How to Celebrate Valentine’s Day Sustainably

Valentine’s Day would probably be high up on people’s lists of holidays. It’s a day where we go over and beyond to celebrate our love. Usually this involves big, grandiose displays of affection to really emphasise the love one person has for another. You could argue that love makes the world go round, yet it can be celebrated in a way that is more sustainable and eco-friendlier. In this blog post we’ll be exploring ways of how to celebrate a Green Valentine’s Day, thus allowing you to not only show your love for someone but also love for the planet!

Choice of Gifts

For most people, Valentine’s Day can often be associated with gifts. Some people even tend to believe that the bigger and more expensive a gift is, the better the gift will be. Granted, in some cases, for some people, that might be the case but sometimes the approach of ‘Less is More’ can be applied. You could potentially gift your significant other something which perhaps might not be as expensive however, it would be sustainably produced and cause less harm to the environment. This may include gift ideas like handcrafted jewellery which could be made locally and possibly from recycled materials or organic skincare products which are also produced locally. This focus on local gift ideas would not only support local businesses but also reduce emissions which emanate from shipping. You may also want to opt for gifting something more handmade and creative, this too can be made using local resources and would give a personal and even romantic feel to the gift. Apart from this, if you plan on wrapping your gift, you may want to opt for some wrapping which is eco-friendly. This could come in the form of reusable fabric wrapping, bags or else get creative and use items like scarves to wrap your gifts.

Having Cards up your Sleeve

Perhaps the only thing more synonymous with Valentine’s Day than gifts would be the exchanging of lovely cards with long messages detailing your love for that someone special in your life. Just as discussed earlier, here you can opt to go for handmade cards which can either be purchased locally or a better idea would be to make your own Valentine’s Day card which can be personalised using recycled materials you have laying around the house. You may also want to consider what you’re writing on; paper is often very damaging as it can be produced in a non-sustainable way, however you can purchase and make your cards out of eco-friendly paper which is sourced from sustainable forests.

Get Together in touch with Nature

Aside from the gifts and the cards, the main objective of Valentine’s Day is to spend time with the person you love the most. You can enjoy some quality time together and at the same time reconnect with nature. There are plenty of eco-friendly date ideas you could choose from. These could include visiting green areas like nature reserves such as Buskett Gardens or Dingli Cliffs. Here you can then decide if you want to go for hike, go birdwatching or simply just relax and have a picnic somewhere. If you decide to go for the latter option, you may want to consider what you would take with you. It would be best to avoid single use plastic cutlery or plates and instead opt for renewable options, in terms of food you may want to try find something in season or products made locally. After finishing the picnic, it would be good practice to clear up properly and leave the area better than you found it.

In conclusion, Valentine’s Day should be about what you do and how you spend time with your significant other, it should be quality over quantity. It’s great to give gifts but the greatest gift you can give someone you love would be your time and your presence. It’s also important to make sure we take care of the environment so we can continue to enjoy Valentine’s Day and the rest of the planet for years to come. Every little bit helps!

Our GO Green Initiative

At GO plc, we’re not just a telecommunications company, we’re a group of people who connect people all over Malta and Gozo. We strive to maintain this connectivity, not just digitally, but also physically. It’s important that we take care of our physical environment so that future generations can also enjoy the same connectivity. That’s why we’ve set up GO Green, an extension of GO primarily focusing on helping sustain and improve the environment whenever possible.

This blog post was written by Benjamin Thomas Scerri – Sustainability Associate, GO Green.

Benjamin is a member of the GO Green team. His main focus is keeping track of new ways in which to make GO more sustainable wherever and whenever possible.