9 ways to have an eco-friendly Valentine's Day

While there is no truth to the rumor that Hallmark invented Valentine’s Day, there is no denying that many people think of it as a manufactured holiday designed to sell cards, flowers and chocolate. Every February 14th, millions of people buy cards and roses, and drop a ton of cash on diamonds, gold and silver. In 2019, Americans are expected to spend almost 20 billion dollars for the romantic holiday, and that breaks down to nearly $150 a person.

All of that consumer spending leads to a lot of waste. A holiday dedicated to love shouldn’t be about how much money you spend. You can still do a lot of romantic things that don’t destroy your budget and the environment.

Rethink your chocolate choices

Instead of picking up a last minute box of chocolates from the nearest convenience store, plan in advance to buy organic or local chocolate. Then, opt for minimal packaging instead of heart-shaped boxes or plastic molds.

Go green with your Valentine’s cards

Even though everything seems to be digital these days, more than 180 million paper cards are still exchanged on Valentine’s Day. Paper mills use huge amounts of water and emit loads of chemicals, not to mention, the trees that have to die to make these cards. Even recycled cards will emit methane when they decompose in a landfill.

This year, skip the traditional paper card and make one yourself out of old magazines or give a card made from plantable seed paper. You can also send a custom E-Card or chalk a sidewalk where you know your significant other will see it.

Related: 6 ways to reuse your Valentine’s Day roses

Pick organic bouquets

The flower industry is surprisingly destructive when it comes to the environment because of the heavy pesticide use. So, minimize your impact this Valentine’s Day by giving your loved one an organic bouquet or pick some flowers out of your own garden or visit the local farmer’s market.

If you do visit your local farmer’s market, that is also a great place to find local, seasonal treats instead of buying something that’s been shipped from thousands of miles away.

Stick to vintage jewelry

There are numerous environmental and human rights problems that come from mining gold and diamonds. So, instead of buying brand new jewelry, opt for a vintage piece that makes a statement. Or, consider something that has been made from recycled metal, paper or other repurposed materials.

Skip the restaurant

Many of us look at Valentine’s Day as an excuse to dine out at a fabulous restaurant and drop a little extra cash. However, there is nothing more romantic than making a meal together at home in your own kitchen.

Not only is cooking a meal at home better for your wallet, but it is also better for the environment because it will mean less food waste and no to-go boxes.

Donate to a cause

Instead of exchanging gifts or indulging with an expensive night out, you can go eco-friendly this Valentine’s Day by making a donation to an environmental cause or animal shelter in your loved one’s name.

Or, you can go further than a donation and save an animal from a shelter by giving a shelter dog or cat as a gift. Just make sure that your significant other actually wants a pet.

Related: Green Valentine gifts for Earth-loving sweethearts

Make your own bath products

A hot bubble bath with your Valentine is a great way to spend the evening, but there is no need to buy bath and body products from chain stores or big box stores. Instead, make your own bath salts, bath bombs, sugar scrubs or bath oils. There are plenty of recipes on the internet and most of them use natural ingredients.

Plant a tree

Skip the cut flowers this Valentine’s Day and instead plant a tree together as an ongoing reminder of your love and your relationship. If you aren’t ready for a tree, you can opt for a plant. And, if you still want to see beautiful flowers on the holiday, visit a botanical garden or nature reserve and take a romantic stroll.

Use eco-friendly protection and undies

Go green in the bedroom this Valentine’s Day with vegan condoms from companies like Sustain Natural, Glyde, L. or Lovability. Traditional condom companies aren’t very forthcoming with their ingredients, so we don’t know how long it takes for them to biodegrade. So, to stay eco-friendly this Valentine’s Day, go vegan — at least in the bedroom.

Via Sierra Club

Images via Sharon McCutcheon, Shutterstock

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Circular, solar-powered beach house is a sustainable holiday retreat

A charming, circular escape from the city has popped up on an idyllic stretch of beach in New Zealand. Powered with solar energy and built with weather-resistant materials, the St Andrews Beach House is the work of Austin Maynard Architects, a Fitzroy-based design practice that prides itself on sustainable architecture. The “Euclidean form” of the dwelling was inspired by the beauty of the remote site and is designed to take advantage of views in all directions.

Located on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula along secluded coastline near national parkland, the St Andrews Beach House is surrounded by stunning vistas of the water, wild bush, sand dunes and scrub. The simple two-story circular structure was a site-sensitive response to both the fragile environment and the client’s brief for a ‘bach’ — a New Zealand word commonly used for a very modest holiday home. The simplicity of the home’s design helps focus attention on the landscape, while its self-sustaining construction minimizes the building’s environmental footprint.

“Less than five meters in radius, St Andrews Beach House is an object in the landscape,” the architects explained in a statement. “A Euclidean form set amongst the rough terrain. The plan of the house is generated using the rational and precise geometry, as the circle extrudes into a tube. The internal spaces are generated by a tightly controlled plan adhering to the rules of form, guiding and arranging segments that divide the space, with a spiral staircase as its central core, providing light and air but also snug spaces. This is not a slick beach house, but a relaxed and informal escape, designed with materials that will patina and weather, like an old coastal wharf.”

Related: Swanky laneway house in Melbourne is built from recycled red brick

The communal living areas are located on the ground floor while the bedroom and bathroom zone are upstairs. In addition to the home’s small footprint and use of durable materials, the beach house was built with rooftop solar panels as well as double-glazed windows. A large cylindrical concrete water tank harvests rainwater for reuse in the toilets and for irrigation.

+ Austin Maynard Architects

Images by Derek Swalwell via Austin Maynard Architects

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These are our favorite beauty retailers from the Indie Beauty Expo

The beauty world can be a complicated place, especially if you’re looking to ditch products with intimidating lists of ingredients and make the switch toward eco-friendly makeup and skincare. The return of the Indie Beauty Expo brought hundreds of independent retailers from around the world to showcase their amazing, one-of-a-kind products in the heart of Los Angeles. This year, our team of editors attended the IBE in Los Angeles and scouted the best beauty products from independent retailers that don’t compromise quality ingredients for their carbon footprint. Here are some of our favorite brands from IBELA.

Little Moon Essentials

The body care by Little Moon Essentials is “made by the phases of the moon” in Colorado. We love to spray the energizing mist at our desks when the climate news becomes too much to bear, and we enjoy the fun scent names (like Tired Old Ass).

Kind Lips

We always keep lip balm on hand, and our current go-to is Kind Lips. Not only are these hydrating and kind to the planet; the company also donates 20 percent of profits go toward anti-bullying organizations.

Love Sun Body

This is the world’s first sunscreen made using 100 percent natural ingredients. It is, of course, reef-safe and effective in protecting your skin from sun damage.

Lunette

Menstrual cups can be intimidating, but Lunette offers soft cups that hold for 12 hours and do not leak.

Bare Me

We love Bare Me’s reusable, dry sheet masks in a nod to waterless beauty. Plus, the packaging and masks can be recycled thanks to TerraCycle.

Dirt Don’t Hurt

From charcoal tooth scrubs and gum cleansing oils to a charcoal-based bath powder designed to soothe and relax, Dirt Don’t Hurt caught our attention with its natural products.

Nature Lab Tokyo

If you’re looking to really volumize your hair, try the clean, vegan hair products by Nature Lab Tokyo. As a lab, it has an array of specific formulas to fit your needs.

IGXO

IGXO prides itself on PETA-certified vegan and cruelty-free cosmetics. Lipsticks are the star of the show, and we were highly impressed with their staying power and non-drying formulas.

Lalicious

Lalicious’ line of natural, cruelty-free body washes, scrubs and lotions are truly delightful. We instantly fell in love with the velour body melt, which made our skin softer than ever before.

Pure Mana Hawaii

With products plucked right from the owners’ beautiful farm in Hawaii, these serums and body oils will transport you straight to paradise.

Speak

We love Speak’s natural, vegan, cruelty-free skincare, especially the cream deodorant and the cleansing powder, which smells exactly like our morning oatmeal.

KIND-LY

These Australian-based natural deodorants are vegan and cruelty-free, and guarantee your pits will be free of aluminum, parabens, alcohol and other nasties. KIND-LY also offers an armpit detox for the transition to natural deodorants.

Sway

Sway offers natural deodorant, an armpit detox and skincare that is good for you and the planet. Founder Rebecca So just launched skincare at the event, and we are raving over everything: toners, moisturizers, serums and all.

Atar

Atar offers luxurious, cruelty-free and vegan hair care products made from natural ingredients. Our hair has never been softer.

Hum

Hum’s products promote beauty from within as they are meant to treat blemishes, acne, dry skin, hair and nails. The best part? All supplements are gluten-free, non-GMO and sustainably sourced.

Lather

From the bamboo lemongrass scrub to the hand therapy cream to the muscle ease, we loved Lather’s eco-friendly products approved by PETA and Leaping Bunny. Plus, Lather is a carbon-neutral business and uses green packaging.

Herbal Dynamics Beauty

This plant-based beauty brand embraces nature with every product. Try the refreshing rose water face toner, which applies like a mist, or the overnight recover mask, which will leave the fragile skin on your face softer than ever.

PYT Beauty

This is beauty without the BS (bad stuff). We were pleasantly surprised with the intense pigmentation of this natural cosmetics brand — we highly recommend the highlighters and lip duos!

Spinster Sisters Co

Spinster Sisters offers pure ingredients and reusable and recyclable packaging: we’re talking glass jars and plant-based plastics.

milk + honey

We love milk + honey’s plant-based, organic skincare, especially the products in scent profile No. 16, which blends pink grapefruit, bergamot and cardamom.

*hype

We’re obsessing over *hype, a line of plant-based nail polishes in a wide variety of colors. Even after several days, our nails have minimal chipping.

Olive + M

Olive + M’s skincare products are made using an olive oil base and U.S.-sourced ingredients. Each product repairs and protects skin from sun exposure, air pollution and other common problems.

Northlore

We fell in love with Northlore, as all its products are completely eco-friendly, from packaging to ingredients and even shipping. The glacier salt soak is all the rave for its detoxing and skin nourishing properties.

+ Indie Beauty Expo

Images via Inhabitat

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LEED Gold Gateway Arch Museum sports a 3-acre green roof in St. Louis

Praised for its use of sustainable materials and energy-saving features, the recently renovated Visitor Center and Museum at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis has just been awarded LEED Gold certification. Currently one of only eleven other LEED-certified National Park Service sites, the newly expanded development is the work of Cooper Robertson and James Carpenter Design Associates, in collaboration with Trivers Associates, and marks the centerpiece for the renewal of the 91-acre Gateway Arch National Park. The updated 150,000-square-foot building is tucked almost entirely underground and is topped with a 3.1-acre green roof.

Opened to the public in July of last year, the Visitor Center and Museum at the Gateway Arch is designed to maximize park space and provide improved visitor amenities without drawing attention away from Eero Saarinen’s iconic arch. By tucking the building underground beneath a vegetated roof, the architects not only preserves unobstructed sight lines to the Gateway Arch, but also helps reduce the heat island effect and maximizes the amount of open space. The energy cost savings for the project is estimated to be 24 percent below the baseline while the overall project’s potable water usage is estimated to have been reduced by over 31 percent from the baseline thanks to low-flow water features.

“The National Park service has ambitious sustainability goals that the design team embraced enthusiastically,” Director of Cooper Robertson Scott Newman FAIA says. “In addition to a 3.1-acre extensive green roof, the building features further sustainable and resilient design components such as LED lighting, high-efficiency HVAC systems, and close connections to local public transportation networks. These features bring a high level of efficiency that matches the National Park Service’s ambition. The LEED Gold certification recognizes that commitment and design innovation.”

Related: The first Active House in North America is now complete near St. Louis

Other factors that contributed to the project’s LEED Gold certification include the use of regionally extracted and manufactured (within 500 miles) construction materials that were selected based on their recycled content; low-emitting materials were chosen for the interior. Over 80 percent of the construction waste generated was diverted from landfills. Multiple recycling collection points and storage areas are located throughout the building. Water cisterns collect and recycle stormwater on site.

+ Cooper Robertson

+ James Carpenter Design Associates

Images via Gateway Arch Park Foundation

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How to make a meal out of leftover veggies

Hate seeing that half of an onion go to waste? What about when you get a little too excited at the farmers market and come home with more veggies than you know what to do with? The U.S. wastes a whopping 30-40 percent of food every year. That’s right, in 2010 the USDA reported that the country threw away 133 billion pounds (or $161 billion worth) of food. You might just be surprised, however, at how many fun, satisfying dishes you can make with tools you already have in the fridge. Inhabitat has compiled a guide for what to do with all of those leftover vegetables in your kitchen, so don’t be afraid to get a little creative.

Blend or juice

Walk into a kitchen with a good juicer or blender, and the possibilities are truly endless! Save your leftover ends from veggies like carrots, beets or cucumbers to make into a delicious juice for later. The colorful vegetable peels pack a big nutritious punch.

When you’ve got leftover leafy greens like spinach or kale, follow this guide for a flawless green smoothie:

1 portion liquid (something like apple juice, orange juice or almond milk)

1 portion greens

½ portion base (plain yogurt or a frozen banana works well)

1 portion of fruit

Optional sprinkle of fiber like chia or flax seeds

Sweetener to taste (raw honey or agave syrup)

Related: Fight food waste with these 11 ways to use leftover greens before they spoil

There’s nothing better than a warm bowl of soup when it starts to get chilly outside. Skip the trip to the grocery store (you don’t want to go out in the cold anyway), and throw together a hearty soup with some leftover veggies. Go with the traditional tomato or mushroom soup, or get outside the box with celery, cold asparagus or vegan broccoli cheddar. Follow Alton Brown’s recipe for this healthy mixed vegetable soup, or get creative with your own combination.

Basic tomato soup recipe:

Chop up some garlic, onion, red bell pepper and tomatoes, toss in olive oil and salt/pepper to taste.

Roast in the oven together until cooked through and soft.

Combine with vegetable broth and use a hand blender to blend everything together.

Add herbs, cream or whatever toppings you want!

Skewer

Grab a wooden or reusable metal skewer and chop up any combination of leftover zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, mushrooms, bell peppers and tomatoes. It will be both colorful and delicious. For even more flavor, marinate the vegetables for 30 minutes to an hour before putting them on kabobs.

Break out the food processor

Chickpeas, tahini, salt, lemon and olive oil — basic hummus is surprisingly simple to make, and it’s easy to jazz up with other leftover veggies like beets, carrots, peas or sweet potato. Check out this Bon Appetit arsenal of fun hummus recipes for inspiration.

Pesto is super versatile. You can add things like roasted tomatoes, pumpkin, zucchini or squash for a unique twist. For a basic recipe, combine basil, garlic, salt/pepper, olive oil, Parmesan cheese (or other hard cheese or nutritional yeast) and any type of nut (traditionally pine nuts are used, but it is just as good with pecans, walnuts and even macadamia nuts). This is the perfect solution for when you buy a whole bunch of basil just to garnish dinner on the night before. Toss the pesto in some pasta, or spread onto a flatbread to make a meal out of it.

Related: How to make homemade pesto in gourmet-looking recycled glass jars

Bake

Another great option is to use the leftover veggies for a healthy(ish) dessert. Grab the grater for some delicious zucchini bread or carrot cake. If you want to go even sweeter, try this recipe for chocolate avocado brownies from Tasty (technically avocado is a fruit, but we felt inclined to give it an honorable mention).

Crack an egg

For a nutritious breakfast (or dinner, there are no rules), a vegetarian omelet is definitely the way to go. Chop up leftover veggies from the night before, and whisk up some eggs to create the perfect omelet or scramble. If the vegetables are already cooked from dinner last night, even better! If not, saute up the veggies before folding them into the eggs. Pretty much anything goes here in the ingredients department: spinach, tomato, mushroom, squash, asparagus, diced carrot, broccoli, eggplant — you can’t go wrong.

Pickle

Pickling is a tasty way to add flavor to sandwiches or salads, and you can even eat them by themselves (also a great solution to those pesky recipes that only ask for half an onion). Some options for pickling include onions, heart of palm, peppers, carrots and cucumbers. To make pickling liquid, just heat up some white vinegar, sugar and salt until the sugar dissolves. Toss veggies into a heatproof container like a mason jar, and add enough pickling liquid to cover completely. You can also add some extra flavor like dill, peppercorns or bay leaves; just throw them in with the veggies. Make sure everything’s cooled before eating.

Related: Preparing pickled and fermented foods

Stir fry

Simple, satisfying and fast, stir-fry is one of the easiest ways to tackle those leftover veggies. Just fire up the stove, chop, stir and eat. Combine with some soy sauce or hoisin sauce for extra seasoning.

If you’ve got some leftover veggies and leftover rice then you’re in luck — leftover rice is preferred when it comes to fried rice (freshly-cooked rice will turn out too soggy). You don’t necessarily have to go with the traditional fried rice vegetables, either. This recipe uses kale and cauliflower.

Make Buddha bowls

If you’ve been on Pinterest in the last few years, chances are you’ve already come across a picture of a Buddha bowl. Basically, it’s a combination of vegetables, plant-based protein and whole grains, often brightly colored and Instagram-worthy. Use leftover veggies like cucumber, sweet potato, beans, spinach, cabbage, corn, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots or whatever else you have on hand to create one. Check out this collection of yummy Buddha bowl recipes from Buzzfeed.

Add a tortilla

Throw your leftover veggies in a warm tortilla to make a vegetarian taco. Add a dash (or more) of hot sauce, or sprinkle on some cheese for an extra kick. More hearty vegetables like carrots and peppers work better in a burrito or a quesadilla. Check out these recipes from ohmyveggies for some inspiration.

Images via Konstantin Kolosov, Carla Monson, Dagny Walter, Arinaja, Candace Towner and Shutterstock

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