Valentine's Day
Spending
- Americans spent $27 billion on Valentine’s Day gifts alone last year.
Holiday Spirit
- More than 30 million recipients of Valentine’s Day gifts don’t even want these gifts — meaning they’ll likely end up in landfills.
Waste
- Over 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate are sold for Valentine’s Day each year, wrapped in packaging that can’t be recycled and often containing unsustainable ingredients like palm oil.
- 145 million Valentine’s cards are sold in the United States every year, often made from materials that can’t be recycled.
- Around 100 million roses are grown for Valentine’s Day each year, producing about 9,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions — the equivalent of nearly 2,000 cars being driven for a year.
- More than 30% of Americans celebrate Valentine’s Day by dining out, but many restaurants’ menus revolve around items with a hefty carbon footprint, such as steak dinners.
- Jewelry is one of the most popular gifts for Valentine’s Day, but the extractive process of mining for metals and gemstones pollutes water, causes soil erosion and is linked to human-rights injustices.
Try These Gifts That Keep On Giving
- Give locally grown flowers or a potted plant — or make your own seed bombs as a low-waste alternative.
- Make homemade treats, buy certified fair trade chocolate, or support your local candy store or bakery when buying sweets.
- Rather than giving things, gift your loved ones an experience you can have together.
- Skip the crowds andsupport your favorite local restaurants by ordering takeout or making your favorite plant-based meal for a date night at home.
COVID-19 ALERT
Some of these suggestions aren’t advisable during the pandemic.
Please follow all CDC guidelines and keep these tips in mind when we are able to safely gather together again.