Eco-Friendly Valentine’s Day Cards

Whether you love or loathe Valentine’s Day, if you have a significant other or a child in school, there’s a strong chance you’ll be choosing some sort of greeting card. Here are some of our favorite ideas for DIY sustainable Valentine’s Day cards so you can keep the holiday green.

This article focuses mostly on cards, but you’ll find tips on how to green your entire Valentine’s Day here. That one also includes a sustainable Valentine’s Day gift guide.

Why should we worry about greening our Valentine’s Day cards? It turns out, many of the 180 million greeting cards given each year end up in a landfill.

Eco-Friendly Valentines Day Cards

Handmade Valentines are truly the best, and there are so many great options to choose from.

• Go old school with construction paper or any colorful paper (think school papers or flyers) you already have on hand.
• Use packing paper from a move or some of that red or white tissue paper you received during the holidays.
• Buy or make seed paper and make your cards or card embellishments from it. When the holiday is over, your recipient can plant it and grow flowers!
• Create a personalized Valentine by stamping two of your child’s thumbprints into a heart on the front of a card and including a festive message inside.
• Try mini chalkboards you (or your recipient) can reuse with new messages throughout Valentine’s Day and beyond.
• Create your own festive treats with Green Child’s free printable lollipop covers.
• Create a 3-D heart using old magazines and picture frames.
• Old wall calendars often have beautiful images (and nice heavy stock) for cards.
• Looking for an activity to engage little kids? Make this marbled hearts craft from shaving foam and food coloring and embellish your cards with them.

Using the resources you already have is a wonderful way to keep it eco-friendly. No matter what you decide to create, these DIY ideas are great ways to show you care.

More Ideas for Eco-Friendly Valentines

If you don’t feel you are creative enough to DIY, make sure the cards you choose are made from recycled paper. The fewer embellishments (glitter, foils, etc.) the more likely they are to actually be recycled.

Download digital Valentine’s from some of the amazing designers on Etsy. You can print them on recycled content paper or any leftover paper that will fit your printer. We adore these Schitt’s Creek inspired Valentines.

We also love the Hamilton printable Valentines.

And this beautiful Golden Girls Galentines Day card.

You’ll also find plenty of kid-friendly options across Etsy.

Minted has so many creative designs, and you can choose recycled content paper for them.

Poetry is another way to send your valentine warm wishes. How about writing a poem to express your love using organic or recycled paper? This is a gesture that is sure to be kept by your love. Even if you are no Shakespeare, heartfelt words can be a delight that are cherished for years to come.

Learning to celebrate special occasions in a sustainable way can really make you feel good about showing a little love to Mother Earth.