Editor’s Note: The Environmental Policy and Planning Commission (EPPC) is an ASUCD commission responsible for researching environmental issues affecting the campus and its surrounding area, and providing recommendations for improvement. Doin’ It Green is a new feature which provides tips and ideas for being green.
Love is in the air and Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. This holiday is usually a chance to buy a box of chocolates and a beautiful bouquet of roses to show your love. However, there are greener ways to show how you care about someone.
For starters, give an experience or a memory instead of a material thing. Plan a day of fun and maybe pack a picnic in the Arboretum or cook a homemade dinner with local, organic foods.
This year, don’t go to the store and spend 30 minutes (or more) reading each Valentine’s Day card to find the perfect one that expresses your exact feelings. Instead, make your own. As well as saving you money, the homemade card comes directly from the heart. You can say exactly how you feel and it’s one-of-a-kind that your loved one should keep forever.
If you want to go the box of chocolates route, try to buy organic fair trade chocolates that are packaged in recyclable or compostable packaging. If you can’t find chocolate in a recyclable package, then buy a few organic chocolate bars and create your own crafty box to wrap them in!
As for the dozen roses, Whole Foods Market offers local sustainable Whole Trade Certified organic flowers. If you can’t make it to Whole Foods, try the farmers market and ask if the flowers are grown locally and sustainably. Or, even better, you can pick your own flowers from a garden and turn them into your own bouquet.
After a day of fun, flowers and chocolate comes the greenest gift of all: making love. You don’t need anything, but maybe some eco-friendly condoms. Extra green points for saving electricity with the lights off. On Valentine’s Day you’ll be literally doin’ it green.
