Valentine’s Day for many means exchanging flowers, chocolates, cards and maybe a nice dinner. The NRF predicts record spending this year: Those planning on buying gifts will spend a total of $27.4 billion, up 32% from last year.

But consumer interest in sustainability is rising, and more shoppers are looking to reduce their waste, carbon emissions and overall negative impacts on the environment and those working in the supply chain. We look at how shoppers can turn to sustainable alternatives for Valentine’s Day.

Flowers: Think Local and Potted Plants

The NRF estimates consumers will spend $2.3 billion on flowers this holiday. California is the largest rose producer, but its ability to meet demand depends on weather. To meet the surge in demand domestic production cannot fill, billions of roses are flown in from Colombia and Ecuador, the top exporters of cut flowers after the Netherlands. Starting the month before Valentine’s Day, hundreds of rose-laden cargo planes fly from Colombia and Ecuador to destinations in the US. According to the International Council on Clean Transportation, these cargo flights burn 114 million liters of fuel in total—producing a significant volume of greenhouse gas emissions, on top of transportation in refrigerated trucks which burn more fuel than non-frigerated ones and also rely on even more powerful greenhouse gasses to cool than carbon: CFCs. Hundreds refrigerated trucks transport flowers from US ports to warehouses where they are assembled into bouquets and wrapped in either plastic or boxed in cardboard and shipped.

[caption id="attachment_103696" align="aligncenter" width="350"] Source: Coresight Research[/caption] As an alternative to roses, we recommend potted plants or herbs, picking flowers from a garden or local flowers from a farmer’s market to reduce the travel impact of the purchase. Green gifts include planting a tree in honor of a loved one, or donating to an environmental agency. For those that buy roses, retailers such as Repeat Roses diverts waste from landfills. If the flowers are expired, the branches are chopped for mulching and the petals are used to make natural soil amendments. If the flowers are still in good condition, they are restyled into petite bouquets and brought to hospitals, homeless shelters and mental health facilities. Chocolate Options Include Fair Trade This year consumers will spend $2.4 billion on candy, primarily chocolates. The US consumes some 58 million pounds of chocolate during the week of Valentine’s Day. Cocoa beans are primarily produced in Ghana, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Ecuador, Brazil and Indonesia, where growers often clear forests to grow cocoa. Palm oil production and sugar are also driving deforestation. And, turning cocoa into chocolate is resource-intensive, using 4,500 liters of water per pound of chocolate during production, according to ScienceDirect. Milk production is also carbon-intensive as dairy cows generate methane, a greenhouse has 25 more powerful than carbon dioxide, making milk chocolate less environmentally friendly than dark. A sweet alternative to milk chocolate is to veer towards dark chocolate, which contains less sugar and has a smaller carbon footprint, and to purchase chocolate certified as “fair trade,” which ensures the farmers are paid fairly for their crop, but which also involves shade-growing to protect rain forests and wildlife habitat. Greeting Cards: Make Your Own This year consumers will spend $1.3 billion on greeting cards, but most cards are not made from recycled paper nor supplied from sustainable forests. Look for FSC-certified products to ensure the paper used to make them is sourced from sustainable producers. More sustainable options are to buy cards without plastic and with no foil or glitter, all of which make them unrecyclable. Or, consumers can make their own card using supplies that they already have at home: newspaper or magazine clippings, photos, an unused deck of cards or fabrics. Dinner: Go Local This year consumers will spend $4.3 billion on an evening out, including dinner. Instead of fancy dinner, green consumers can support local farmers by buying produce from a farmer’s market, and pair dinner with a bottle of wine from a vineyard certified as sustainable. Or, they could opt for dinner at a restaurant that sources locally and supports local farmers. Interest in sustainability is only likely to increase, so retailers and brands should be starting to think how they can reduce the environmental impact of their offerings for Valentine’s Day 2021.