One thing we want to do here at Make Their Day Flowers Cheltenham is to help our customers to buy flowers more ethically. One of the biggest life lessons in recent years has been the enormous impact we are having on the planet as human beings. Our bad buying habits, taking more from the Earth than it has to give and a genuine disregard for nature have all resulted in some worrying statistics about the future of our precious flora and fauna.
Along with all the changes I have made in my Cheltenham store recently, swapping to plastic free cellophane to wrap our bouquets in, recycling packaging from deliveries, composting any green waste at home and buying British flowers wherever possible, I wanted to give you ideas to buy flowers more ethically, to tell you the things that you can do to help when buying blooms from somewhere else.
- Try to buy British grown flowers wherever possible to cut down on air miles, ask the florist about the flowers, where they came from, how they were transported. Be aware that although flowers from African countries can have a lower carbon footprint as they don’t need to use heated green houses to grow them, many growers use pesticides that are banned in Britain and Europe for their toxic properties.
- Ask for your bouquet without the plastic. There are many other options now, and a rustic hand tie with some raffia can be beautiful if you want to avoid packaging altogether. It can be hard to do this when you are buying off the shelf so try and use your independent florists where possible, we so appreciate your custom and you benefit from our years of experience, personalised service and love of our job.
- Say no to floral foam. This foam is toxic and non-biodegradable, just one block is equivalent to 10 plastic bags and breaks down into smaller and smaller microplastics. It also contains formaldehyde. It has even been banned from the 2021 Royal Horticultural Society shows. (It might be unavoidable in some displays though, in which case, follow steps online for how to properly dispose of it.)
- Ask not to have a plastic card holder with your bouquet, a hole punch and some raffia is a much better way to attach a special message.
- Request a presentation box instead of a presentation bag where possible.
We know it’s tough to think of all these things when you’re in a hurry so why not do some research and find a local florist that ticks these boxes that you can go to again and again. I love all my repeat customers and it’s a special relationship as you get to know what their likes and dislikes are very quickly. Working together we can make sure that the recipient gets a beautiful bouquet of flowers that will make their heart soar without it costing the Earth, both literally and figuratively!
And with the same day delivery option that I have for Cheltenham and the surrounding areas, I really am a great choice for those last minute flowers too, a much better idea then a battered, plastic wrapped, expensive panic buy from a supermarket!
