February 2019: Green Tips

Tips for a More Sustainable Valentine’s Day and Lunar New Year

Rethink flowers. If flowers are a must, look for organically grown options. Or better yet, consider gifting your loved one a potted plant that will last longer than a week.

Choose chocolate consciously. Before picking up those chocolates, try to make sure that you are buying local, organic, shade-grown, and/or fair trade chocolate.

Use public transportation or carpool. If you are planning to travel, use public transportation or carpool to reduce carbon emissions (and skip out on the traffic!)

Use reusable dishes and cloth napkins instead of disposable plates and plastic utensils. Soiled paper plates and napkins are usually not recyclable and create a ton of waste. If reusable isn’t an option, try to choose disposable plates and utensils made from 100% post consumer waste recycled paper.

Shop for local and in season foods. Take a trip to the local farmer’s market to purchase local and in season foods to limit the carbon emissions from the journey food takes before it makes its way to the table.

Cook only what you need. Americans throw an estimated 40% of food away each year. That’s a lot! Avoid excess food waste by preparing a smaller portions and skip some of the less popular dishes.

Donate the clothes you have outgrown. Lunar New Year calls for some spring cleaning. Instead of throwing away the clothes that we have outgrown or do not want anymore, donate them to a local charity.

Repurpose red envelopes. Recycling red envelopes is great, but a more creative option is to turn leftover or used envelopes into beautiful lanterns for decoration. Check out “red envelope lanterns” on Pinterest for some inspiration!