The Overconsumption Culture of Valentine’s Day

Photo collage by Tariq Lawal | Photos from Canva Media Library

When the month of February hits, everyone knows what’s coming. A sea of pink, red and white can be seen in any store you walk into. The flower carts are full of red roses, boxes of chocolate replace the usual candy aisle and teddy bears seem to grow in size. Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays that you either find adorable if you’re in a relationship, or bittersweet if you’re single. What people don’t stop to think about though is how Valentine’s Day plays into America’s consumerist tendencies. 

From a young age, the idea of shopping and spending money on things that we don’t necessarily need is drilled into our heads by people we know, movies and advertisements. Valentine’s Day is a perfect example of overconsumption and the “commodity fetish.” People usually only see the object they are buying and the price, not stopping to think about the environmental effects of it and where it is coming from. Do you ever stop and think about where all the flowers you are buying come from? What about boxes of chocolate? Chances are you don’t think twice about it before buying them for your Valentine.

There are many different theories on why overconsumption is such a big part of American culture. One that relates the most to Valentine’s Day is Pierre Bourdieu’s 1984 theory of “Distinction,” A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Consumption shows others our class identity and “who we are” compared to others. People learn this from their parents at a young age. They learn what is tasteful and what is tacky, not caring about how expensive an item is. Maybe the reason you buy your loved ones something on Valentine’s Day is because you saw your parents do it for each other when you were younger. You’ve learned what to get because you saw what your parents liked and disliked when it came to Valentine’s Day gifts. A 2025 survey by the National Retail Federation shows that consumers are expected to spend $27.5 billion on Valentine’s Day, a record amount. 

The overconsumption of this materialistic holiday also causes environmental impacts that most people don’t stop to think about. The amount of packaging waste alone that ends up in landfills is caused by all the wrapping, plastic ribbons, and non-recyclable materials that are thrown away as soon as the gifts are opened. Plastic especially takes hundreds of years to decompose, and even then, there are still microplastics that can cause health issues for animals around the world. Let’s go back to the flowers I mentioned earlier for a second. The amount of carbon emissions from transporting flowers from other countries just last year reportedly burned around 114 million liters of fuel and emitted around 360,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. Similarly, the amount of chocolate that is produced for Valentine’s Day raises concerns. The farming practices used to be able to mass produce chocolate for the holiday are unsustainable and raise deforestation concerns. Tropical forests in West Africa are cleared to plant new cocoa trees. Not to mention that the cocoa industry produces a large amount of waste themselves. 

Overconsumption is so rooted in our culture that we don’t bat an eye when Valentine’s Day comes around and stores everywhere are full of little gifts for others. If you stop for a second and think of the effects of the gifts that are so normalized in our society, you can see how although helping our economic system, they are hurting our environment. If you’re looking to celebrate this holiday, but want a more sustainable way of doing it, there are plenty of things you can do. Look to buy dark chocolate over milk chocolate since it has a smaller carbon footprint. Instead of buying a Valentine’s Day card, make your own and use eco-friendly wrapping paper instead of elaborate wrapping paper. There are still ways to celebrate a fun holiday with your loved ones, while also being conscious of the environment and not feeding to overconsumption culture.