Not only is it a gift that greatly lacks imagination, but the flower supposed to represent passionate love is also environmentally hostile.
According to Flowerpetal.com, the 100 million roses grown for a typical Valentine’s Day in the US creates 9,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
From habitat destruction for floral plantations to water and pesticide use; from the C02 emissions produced by flying the flowers into the US from warmer climate to the energy used to transport them in refrigerated trucks to your florist, “raising and distributing roses has an environmental impact worse than many other crops“.
So, instead of the traditional — dare I say boring? — red roses, surprise your Valentine by cooking them a fancy supper or by taking them to a show they’ve always wanted to see. There’s more enjoyment to be had from a lovely evening than from a bunch of flowers that won’t last more than two days. 