If you’re like me and most FilterForGoodians, you’ve got no love for disposable plastics. Yet use-me-once plastic doodads beckon from every store shelf, begging for a short-lived fling on Valentine’s Day! Just check out blogger Beth Terry’s sarcastic photo-illustrated polemic against pink and red plastic crap** at Fake Plastic Fish. Beth walked into a drug store — full of plastic-wrapped chocolates, polyester bears, and forgettable cards!

“On this official day of love, how will Michael know how I feel if I don’t choose the right gift?” asks Beth — somewhat sarcastically. But here, I propose to answer Beth’s lovelorn question — with plastic-free, eco-friendly Valentine’s Day suggestions. So if you too are frustrated by your local drugstore’s lovely plasticky options, try these three good-for-earth goodies. After all, love should set you plastic-free –

Upcycled handmade “Be Mine” card. The Two Marmosets store at Etsy makes pretty cards out of reclaimed materials — and the “Be Mine” Valentine’s Day card** is one of the cutest ones for sale. The card’s made in Los Angeles from reclaimed manila card stock and red paper, stamped with “chocolate brown non-toxic pigment ink.” Cost with matching envelope: $2.

Plastic-free chocolates. Now you can have your organic, fair trade, vegan chocolate truffles — in a pretty recycled and recyclable FSC-certified paper box too! nicobella vegan organic chocolate** truffles pack an antioxidant punch with ingredients like blueberries and green tea. The Walnut Flaxseed Crunch is my favorite of the six truffles that come in each box — available for $13.50 at Nicobella.**

Upcycled knitted teddy bear. If you’re the crafty type, why buy a teddy bear when you can knit one? That’s exactly what I did yesterday, because I happened to recently buy a knitting book called The Knitted Teddy Bear: Make Your Own Heirloom Toys,** on sale at a Borders that was going out of business. The book specifically features instructions for “A Recycled Bear,” but really, any of the 20 or so bears in the book can be knit with reclaimed yarn! To make my “Jake” bear, I took apart an old sweater I got at Goodwill and got knitting. Total cost: A couple bucks for the sweater, plus relaxation time and some creative juices.
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What are you getting or making your lover, crush, or self on Valentine’s Day?

Top photo by Two Marmosets/Etsy;** other photos by Siel

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