Going Green for Valentine's Day

Next to Christmas, Valentine's Day is the busiest time of the year for buying gifts and sending cards, and who could resist the allure of a large, expensive Valentine's card, an exquisite box of chocolates or a hand-tied bouquet of flowers? However, it's worth taking a moment to consider the environmental and social impact that these gifts can have. Do those exquisite chocolates come from a cocoa plantation that uses child labour? Have those beautiful flowers been flown thousands of miles to the UK from Africa, or been sprayed with harmful pesticides? Where will the Valentines card end up? In a landfill site, where it will go on to create harmful greenhouse gases?

Whilst the most environmentally-friendly and ethical way to celebrate Valentine's Day would be to say "I love you" and enjoy a lovely long smooch, there are a number of other ways in which to show your loved one that you care about them - and the environment.

For a whole host of ethical and green tips for Valentine's Day, choose a topic from the menu below.