Americans exchange 188 million Valentine's Day cards every year, according to Hallmark research, and that doesn't even include all those packaged valentines that schoolchildren give their classmates and teachers. All those valentines may be romantic, but they don't show much love for the environment.
Paper is made from wood fiber, and a lot of that fiber is provided by trees that go straight from the forest to the paper mill. Paper manufacturing is a dirty business that adds to air, water and soil pollution. Papermaking uses enormous amounts of water and tons of toxic chemicals, and also emits pollutants that contribute to acid rain and global warming.
After the hugs and kisses, a lot of those valentines and envelopes end up in landfills. Discarded paper is a big part of any landfill, accounting for about 35 percent by weight of municipal solid waste before recycling, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Cards made with recycled paper are a step in the right direction—recycled paper is made from previously used waste paper, recycled wood pulp, or non-forest resources such as agricultural waste—but even paper recycling can add to pollution due to the sludge produced during the deinking process.
Electronic cards are another popular alternative, but still not completely green because of the environmental issues related to power plants and e-waste, the disposal of computers and other electronic devices.
One innovative alternative that has been gaining popularity lately is giving cards made with plantable seed paper, like those from the Green Field Paper Company of San Diego, which offers a selection of handmade cards and other paper products embedded with a mixture of wildflower seeds.
When Valentine's Day is over, your beloved can bury the card and when the paper biodegrades, the seeds grow into wildflowers—a beautiful ongoing reminder of your devotion.