“Every year on Earth Day, we reflect upon our environmental impact. At Frances Valentine, we make hundreds of decisions a day, spanning from big-picture strategy down to the smallest details on our products, such as the materials we use on our packaging. Throughout that process, we try to make the best choices, especially as they relate to the environment.

Recently, we took a good, hard look at our business and made a few important decisions. The first one was to delve full force into apparel. After testing special items, we decided to add this category to our existing footwear and handbag assortment. We intentionally set out to make long-lasting, heirloom quality pieces that could be passed down from generation to generation, in order to keep those items away from the landfills that were already full of fast fashion garments. The second decision was inspired by our desire to move away from single-use plastics. We opted to use plant-based compostable & recycled materials to produce our polybags and mailers. This way, we still protect our products in transit, but do so in a way that will not leave an everlasting footprint on the Earth. Our third decision was to join Cleanhub's mission to help eliminate plastic pollution in our oceans. This partnership was very meaningful for me as I spent my childhood near the beach in New Jersey and saw the first-hand effects of plastic pollution and the danger it presents for marine life and humans - as microplastics enter the food chain through seafood consumption.

Since 2021, we have helped to keep almost 2 MILLION plastic bottles from entering the ocean, which we are so immensely proud of and helps bring us closer to one of our company goals of working towards becoming plastic neutral. You can see our impact page here.

As Earth Day is upon us in 2024, we continue to reflect on our environmental impact and will do our best to show up for our planet in meaningful ways. I encourage you all to take small steps towards this goal by moving away from single-use plastic bags and carrying one of our canvas Heart Totes instead. :)"

– Chinese Proverb