Sustainability in the flower industry

Sustainability is most definitely a buzzword these days, and lots of folks want to be able to say they’re running sustainable businesses. However, there are so many unsustainable elements the flower industry that it takes a lot of work to back up this claim, especially as a wedding florist! Here are some of the most environmentally harmful practices in the floral industry, and what we do differently to be better.

Most flowers travel on at least one international airplanes.
80% of flowers used in the US come from other countries, and even US grown flowers are largely grown in California. Being in Minnesota means that it is extremely likely that the flowers you see at the grocery store or your local flower shop traveled on at least one airplane to get there, and it was probably an international flight.

In order to minimize the number of miles the flowers we use in wedding designs travel to get to us, and ultimately minimize the use of fossil fuels and amount of carbon emissions caused, we focus on using as much local product as possible. In addition to cutting flowers from our own fields, we have fabulous local flower farm partners and are lucky to have access to a wholesale market that sells exclusively chemical-free flowers and foliage that comes from within ~2 hours of the Twin Cities metro area.

Most flowers come with tons of plastic packaging.
Because flowers are delicate and most of them travel a long way to get to their final destination, flowers are often shipped with multiple layers of packaging: plastic sleeves for every bouquet or bunch, plastic or paper padding in each cardboard box, and plenty of tape and plastic strapping securing the boxes. Most of the packing we interact with from imported flowers cannot be recycled.

Since we prioritize using local flowers, we are primarily using flowers that don’t come with any of the packaging I just mentioned. Flower farmers transport their products in buckets of water from their farms to their customers or the local wholesaler, no extra packaging besides a rubber band to keep the bunches together. Bonus: since the flowers aren’t being packed tightly into boxes and transported over multiple days, they are in pristine condition by the time we get them and last much longer!

When it’s not local flower season in Minnesota, we do our best to minimize waste. This looks like bringing our own buckets to the wholesaler and not using extra boxes or padding, reusing cardboard boxes and packing materials when we can, and recycling as much as possible.

Floral foam is toxic and doesn’t degrade.
Floral foam is the industry standard method for designing anything from a vase arrangement to a centerpiece, installations and even the occasional bouquet. It has been around for many decades, is made from carcinogenic materials, creates dust when it’s used, and breaks down into microplastics. Even “eco-friendly” floral foams are almost identical to the original formula.

We have never used a single piece of floral foam, and we never will. There are numerous alternatives to floral foam that we use, all of which are reusable, recyclable, or compostable. There is really no excuse to keep using floral foam, so even if you do not hire us as your wedding florist, make sure you hire someone who is foam free.

Too many flowers end up in the trash.
Because it takes more time and energy to disassemble wedding flowers than to throw the whole arrangement in the trash, the latter is what often happens (especially when floral foam is holding the whole thing together). Aside from not being the best option for organic material disposal, this is just sad!

In order to maximize the life of every stem we use, we focus on either repurposing flowers after your wedding or composting them. We work with two different organizations in the Twin Cities whose mission is to give extra life to wedding flowers by repurposing them into arrangements for seniors and folks living in memory care units. They are always taking donations—flowers, vases, and volunteers—and we are happy to connect you! If your flowers aren’t being repurposed, we make sure they get composted, so they can return nutrients to the soil and help grow more flowers. Who doesn’t want more flowers?