Sustainability is crucial to any business, but the floral industry is no exception. Whether you’re a grower, distributor, or flower shop owner, there are plenty of ways to make your business more eco-friendly and sustainable.
While it can be hard to know where your flowers are coming from, you can be sure they’re not growing or delivering in a harmful way to the planet or your customers. This article will explore five tips for ensuring your flower business is as eco-friendly as possible.
Reduce Waste
The flower industry consumes a lot of resources. It takes land to grow, water to hydrate, products to treat, energy to cool, packaging to protect and fuel to ship flowers to their final destination.
It also uses chemicals, such as pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. These are harmful to the environment and the people who work in the industry.
Fortunately, there are ways to make the flower industry more sustainable. Putting sustainability at the forefront of your business’s mindset can help you reduce waste, recycle, reuse, reduce your carbon footprint and support local growers.
Recycle
The floral industry has a significant impact on the environment and is a large consumer of waste. Every stem requires land to grow, water to hydrate, products to treat, energy to cool, packaging to protect, fuel to ship, and plenty of labor to pick, pack and handle the flowers.
However, these costs can be avoided when florists in flower shops Utah recycle waste properly. They should dispose of shipping materials (cardboard boxes, paper pots) and soil that remains in the unsold containers to a natural resource recycling center.
Florists can also help reduce their carbon footprint by using energy-efficient cars and trucks for deliveries and purchasing local, seasonal flowers whenever possible. This is especially important for reducing CO2 emissions from international imports, often from flower farms in warmer climates worldwide.
Reuse
The flower industry is a massive generator of waste. Flowers used for events such as weddings and business launchings often end up in landfills and decompose over time, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.
Despite this, there are ways to ensure that the flowers we purchase are sustainable. One of the most important is reusing.
Many flower farms, for example, reuse their growing media, including soil and peat moss. This can save growers money and reduce the number of materials that need to be disposed of.
Reduce Carbon Footprint
A large part of the carbon footprint of cut flowers comes from their transportation, which includes airplanes and trucks that run on fuel. According to Green Matters, US imported flowers from Colombia for Valentine’s Day in 2018 generating 360,000 metric tons of CO2.
While many consumers have become familiar with the environmental issues of buying imported flower bouquets, they may need to know that locally grown, sustainably-certified flowers are also an option.
Sustainable flower production focuses on using less water and natural fertilizers and cutting out pesticides, herbicides and fungicides from the growing process. These crops are not only more sustainable in terms of the environment but also for workers and customers.
Support Local Growers
The flower industry is a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. Most flowers sold at grocery stores, florists, FTD and online are air-freighted from countries like Colombia, Ecuador and Kenya – generating a huge carbon footprint.
Imported flowers are also treated with chemical pesticides that have a negative impact on workers and their families in the developing world. Additionally, the chemicals used to grow flowers often leave a lasting impact on the environment as they degrade soil and water.
Supporting local growers wherever possible is essential to ensure sustainability in the flower industry. Local growers not only sell to consumers directly, but they also build a community and connection with their customers.