An eco-friendly Valentine’s Day in Dorset

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, love is in the air and for many of you your thoughts are turning to romance and the perfect Valentine’s Day gift or celebration. Here are a few suggestions to make it an environmentally friendly day, with a bit of a Dorset slant J

Valentine’s Day cards

Make your own, or choose bought ones made of recycled paper

Download a free Valentine’s Day card from Dorset Wildlife Trust

Support a local business and buy a handmade Valentine’s Day card from Dorset-based Nita Joy Designs.

Valentine’s Day gifts

Give a recycled, ethical, sustainable, eco-friendly gift.

Green Heart Gifts in Dorset has natural, handmade, recycled and Fairtrade items, including handmade soap that is made without palm oil.

Adopt a Brownsea Island red squirrel for £18 a year, from the Dorset Wildlife Trust.

Buy handmade chocolates from Dorset-based ethical chocolate makers Chococo. Chococo use local Dorset produce as much as possible and where they can't go local, they try to source ethically produced ingredients.

Buy gifts made by local craftspeople. Walford Mill Crafts, Wimborne, Dorset, has work by contemporary designers and makers, many from Dorset and the surrounding counties. A wide range is available including, ceramics, wood, textiles, jewellery, glass and metalwork.

Search Dorset markets and antique shops for old characterful poetry books – for example a beautiful edition of love poems, or a collection by one of the romantic poets such as Byron, Shelley or Wordsworth.

Valentine’s Day flowers

Whether you’re ordering flowers online, or buying them at your local florist, make sure they carry the Fairtrade mark. To meet Fairtrade standards, flower farms must meet basic labour and environmental standards and must commit to ongoing improvements which are regularly monitored by FLO-CERT, the independent Fairtrade certification body.

A potted plant for the garden makes a lovely gift and will last much longer than cut flowers.

If you have a garden with evergreen hedges and shrubs you could make your own bouquet with a difference with greenery from your garden, and origami flowers made from recycled paper – a real labour of love!

Or how about this DIY eco-friendly newspaper bouquet?

Ask your florist for a locally-grown flower bouquet. Seasonal locally grown flowers might be few and far between in February, but it doesn’t hurt to ask your local florist what they have available (options might include amaryllis, daffodil, hyacinth, snowdrops, crocus, violet)

Choose eco-friendly sustainable accommodation for your romantic break.

And of course Chesil Beach Lodge is your perfect location for this.

You can be even more eco-friendly on your romantic break by reducing your carbon footprint and staying local and using local transport. Our blog has lots of advice and suggestions for activities and places to go in Dorset, and we’re always happy to advise our guests about local attractions and local transport.

We offer a warm welcome and a sustainable holiday in the beautiful county of Dorset, so why not contact us and find out more about our eco-friendly self-catering accommodation in Dorset?