The Big Day

Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and you may be planning the perfect gift or celebration for your significant other. While you might be wondering what to get this Valentine’s Day, a thoughtful card is usually at the top of the list. But did you know that greeting cards have a significant negative impact on our environment?

In the United Kingdom alone, it is estimated that two billion greeting cards are sold every year, with the average person sending 55 cards per year! And in the United States, approximately 6.5 billion greeting cards are bought each year, at a total cost of more than US $7 billion. That is plenty of cards contributing to the change in our climate!

They contribute to climate change

Greeting cards contribute to climate change through the most obvious way of mass production, with large amounts of greenhouse gases are emitted from factories.

After the cards are produced, they must be transported to their various destinations which can be a highly energy intensive process. For example, once a card is manufactured and packaged (don't forget the resources used like paper and plastic to manufacture the card), it must be transported first from factory to any large retailers for shop display. Then, once a customer makes a purchase, they will need to transport the card to their recipient typically via courier or mail. These subtle carbon costs stack up over time, especially if one were to send about 55 cards a year!

A recent study by Exeter University in the U.K. showed that sending one card produces about 140 grams of carbon dioxide.

Since roughly two billion cards are sold annually in the U.K., that carbon footprint is equivalent to manufacturing 10,000 cars each year!

They create a lot of waste

In addition to greenhouse gasses, the production of greeting cards also creates chemical waste. These chemicals are then released into the air and surrounding areas, where they may enter water bodies and pose health risks to both humans and wildlife. These include alcohol, chlorine, and lignin.

Since greeting cards are a “use once, then bin it” product, they produce a large amount of waste. In the UK, around 77% of cards are recycled which is great! But that leaves 33% of cards ending up in landfills, which is quite a lot considering the number of cards bought each year. When these cards decompose, they release both methane and carbon dioxide, two powerful greenhouse gases responsible for climate change.

The decomposition process can take anywhere between 5 and 15 years.

Eco-Friendly Alternatives

Climate change is here and it is inevitable, so what can we do as eco-conscious consumers? Well, we can all start by reducing our personal carbon footprint by making better choices! We can start avoiding wasteful products like traditional Valentine’s day cards and spend on alternatives available like more sustainably produced cards or our favourite gift idea.. a personalised video game! (We’re totally not biased at all here...)

With Minigamegift, you can create a fully digital, zero waste, completely personalised video game in under 10 minutes! Check out how it works here! This Valentine’s day, why not show a little love for the planet too and buy a zero-waste personalised video game that your significant other will treasure forever!

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Are you ready to create and send a personalised video game to your friend or loved one? Start here!