floral foam alternatives

Sustainability within the floristry industry is starting to gain some real traction. From ditching harmful floral foam to sourcing local flowers to cut down on travel emissions, florists can make a big impact.

Bloom’s philosophies on sustainability within the floristry industry are clear:

We are passionate about sourcing local botanical materials and using sundry materials with a low environmental impact
We do not use floral foam unless it is absolutely necessary
Where possible, we support organisations and charities that assist the communities of developing nations
We purchase items from these communities, such as hand made products which ensure the profits go directly into helping the community

It is a little known fact within the general public that often flowers purchased and consumed in Australia are imported from overseas. These flowers come from as far away as Africa and South America. There can be many unethical issues with this practice, both environmentally and also from a humanitarian standpoint.

Some developing nations produce high volume, mass-produced botanicals. Often this comes at a cost to both the environment and the treatment of those employed at these workplaces. The lack of environmental protection laws and regulated work conditions in these countries lead to devastating consequences for some communities.

Environmental issues caused by some farms include devastation to local waterways and soils due to pollutant and chemical run-off from the flower farms. This can affect the sources of water used for drinking, bathing, cooking, and agriculture in the communities, affecting the community’s health and the biodiversity of the area.

In addition to the humanitarian perspective, the poor working conditions these flower farm workers experience can be horrendous. They can be forced to work long hours in unsafe conditions, for little pay, and are sometimes subjected to physical or sexual abuse. It’s so important to be aware of this issue and to consider where your flowers are coming from, how far they have travelled, and the potentially high price paid by others for these flowers to be sold at a low cost to the consumer. We also acknowledge this is not the case for all flower farms and there are some ethically conscious operators.

Australia, UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand and many other nations, have an emerging group of wonderful growers of beautiful botanicals. Especially those fortunate enough to have a continent that spans through many different climate zones. These different climates enable local growers to cultivate varieties that thrive in cold, temperate, dry or tropical climates.

We recommend that you start to make yourself familiar with your local growers, within your area, including their seasonal varieties and growing practices, so you can better understand the growing process. With more understanding, education, and awareness, sustainability and ethical issues can be recognised and better dealt with.

To understand sustainability more thoroughly, and how it relates to floristry, let’s look at how it is categorised. Sustainability is divided into three categories: environmental, social, and economic. Let’s have a look at the considerations to take into account with each.

Environmental

Transportation
Pesticides
Water usage – for the growing process, and storage and handling for the florist
Land usage – for the growing of botanicals, and effects on local biodiversity
Electricity usage – for running cool rooms, refrigerated transportation and where that electricity is generated

Social

Human rights and safe working conditions for workers in developing nations
Social responsibility of consumers
Liveability concerns for some communities that are reliant on this industry
Health equity for those involved in the growing of botanicals

Economic

Cost effective energy bills
Competitive but profitable supply chains
Re-use of non perishable products

This theory is effectively detailed by the following Venn diagram:

sustainability in floristry

Sustainability is relevant to each of us, both in a local sense and also when looking at it from a global perspective. It is important to make educated choices for creating and maintaining sustainable practices within your workplace and as much as at home.

From a floristry perspective, you can do this by researching online products, growers, materials, botanicals, organisations, and charities that you can support and learn from.

We also teach sustainable practices extensively in our Bloom College Career Change Course. It’s so important to kickstart a career in floristry with the knowledge required to build and maintain a sustainable business. If you’re not sure if this course is the right one for you, get in touch! We’re more than happy to answer any questions so you feel 100% confident in your floristry path.

When floral foam was invented in the U.S. back in 1954, it quickly took over the floristry industry, becoming a florist’s best friend. A block of green, sponge-like foam that not only holds flowers in place but keeps them hydrated and easy to transport? It was a dream come true.

Fast-track to the present day, and floral foam has become something of a controversial topic among florists.

Floral foam is extremely harmful to the environment.

Each foam block is equal to ten plastic bags, and they are not biodegradable or recyclable. They end up as the microplastics that are floating around in our ocean.

Floral foam also contains elements that are considered to be carcinogenic, like formaldehyde, carbon black and barium sulphates. While the extremely small quantities found in single blocks are not harmful in small doses, long term exposure could cause side effects.

The hard part is, floral foam is so useful for florists. It’s lightweight, easy to cut and mould, and transporting it is a breeze. A 2019 study by RMIT University of 1200 florists around the world found that two-thirds of florists used floral foam, and 72% poured the foam wastewater down the drain.

So what alternatives are there?

Here are a few that we like to use at Bloom.

Chicken Wire

Chicken wire is a common alternative for floral foam, given that it’s very easy to use. The mesh holes are perfect for slotting flowers into, and if you leave the leaves on your stems, the wire will catch on these and more firmly hold your flowers in place. Chicken wire can even be wound around arches or larger structures to act as a base for grand arrangements like hanging or table arrangements. If you’re creating an arrangement in a vase, you can roll the mesh into a ball and stick it into the container. This way your flowers will stay still and can still reach the water. Chicken wire is both reusable and planet-friendly, so it’s easy to see why it’s a popular choice.

Kenzans/Flower Frogs

Kenzans (also known as flower frogs) are essentially metal discs with pins that sit in the base of a vase, originally used in the traditional Japanese art of flower arrangement known as Ikebana. Flowers are pressed onto the pins, where the pins hold them in place within the arrangement. Pressing the flower stem onto the pin opens up the base and lets the flower absorb water more quickly. Sure Stik is commonly used to anchor the kenzan within your vase/vessel. Kenzans are super easy to clean, and most importantly, they’re good for the environment.

Water Vials

Water vials are small plastic tubes (they look a bit like test tubes) which you fill with water and insert your flower stem into to keep it hydrated. Most water vials will have a flexible rubber cap that fits tight around the stem so there’s no water leakage. Often florists will use these in conjunction with chicken wire, so the flowers stay in place while also staying hydrated.

Water vials come in all different sizes, and most importantly, they can be reused as many times as you like. As long as you wash and clean them well between uses so there’s no bacteria growth, water vials can be a much more eco-friendly approach to floristry. For delicate flowers that need a little extra love and care, you can add a tiny amount of flower food to the vial water to give them a boost. If you want an option where this is done for you, you can try FLOSPAC’s.

Moss

Moss can easily be utilised to help hold your flowers in place, when used with other materials. Use compacted moss inside chicken wire to hold flowers in place for an installation, or grab those old floral foam cages from past events––you can place moss or even wood wool inside as a sustainable alternative for your event florals! You can usually grab moss from a wholesaler or online from speciality garden retailers. If you can’t get your hands on live moss, feel free to grab some Sphagnum Moss from Bunnings––that works too!

Wood Wool

While wood wool is mostly used for packing wine, food and other more fragile items for postage, it can also be a useful tool for flower arranging. It can absorb water to a certain degree, and you can scrunch it up inside a vase to create a firm base to insert flowers into. It also looks good, adding that rustic, farm-fresh feel to your arrangements.

Wood wool is made of shredded timber fibres, which makes it entirely eco-friendly, compostable and biodegradable.

Pebbles/Rocks

Placing river pebbles or rocks in a vase, vessel or pot is another good way of keeping your flowers in place. As long as they’re packed in tightly, the flowers won’t be moving very far. You can also pour the pebbles/rocks in around the finished arrangement to keep the flowers from shifting. The other benefit of using pebbles is that they can add a decorative touch to the overall arrangement, especially if the vase is clear. Being a natural product, pebbles are obviously able to be reused and are a great eco-friendly alternative to foam.

There are so many alternatives out there to harmful floral foam, so we really encourage you to get creative and look at other options when it comes to creating your arrangements.

At Bloom, we’re all about sustainability in floristry, and educating future florists how to run a sustainable floristry business. If you’re interested in learning more about how to incorporate sustainable practices into your floristry, check out the courses our sister school, Thrive Flower School, is running!

Every course addresses the importance of sustainable practices and how to integrate these into your business.

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Sustainability in the Floristry Industry