Wild About Flowers' Sustainable Journey

Being sustainable is an incredibly important aspect of our business and we recently put forward our proposal of sustainable initiatives to the Good Retail Awards and were delighted to be chosen as their winner!

Our sustainable journey has been a challenging one, but one we are passionate about and determined to work hard at. Working within an industry that has been dominated by a heavy use of plastic for many years, we wanted to take the necessary and multiple steps needed to enable us to offer a complete range of plastic-free products within our business and aid towards our overall strategy to become a more sustainable business.

The following objectives outline examples where we have made a significant change to just one element of our business. This change aids our overall objective to ensure Wild About Flowers is eco-friendly and conscious of our environment.

1. To replace all single-use plastic in our packaging of gift bouquets. This includes cellophane wrap, flower food sachets wrapped in plastic, plastic card fork holders, plastic sellotape, plastic ribbons, and bubble wrap.
2. To source recycled and reusable materials that align with our branding and ethos throughout. This includes recycled glass vases, recycled cardboard sheets, recycled card, recycled envelopes, natural silk ribbons, recycled cotton wadding, brown masking tape, compostable food sachets, and paperclips.
3. Work with local suppliers to lower our carbon footprint and create bespoke and eco-friendly packaging options for our flowers. We worked with a local printer to help design our bespoke box who provided the cut template specific to our sizing. A local ceramicist was commissioned to produce a handmade jug, we sourced second-hand fabrics locally, and bought in bulk recycled glass vases from a local supplier.
4. To ensure that every aspect of our floral gift can be recycled or reused. All of the items can be reused or recycled with the exception of the flowers themselves, which can be disposed of into compost.

We have seen many changes to our industry, particularly a rise of artisans within our trade. However, the desire for floral gifts to be delivered safely still involves elements of single-use plastics. As we work towards growing our own flowers at our premises, ensuring all aesthetics in our shop are of natural materials, and using sustainable techniques in our wedding and event work, we want our fundamentals in flower gift bouquets to be leading the way with recycled and reusable materials.

We are excited to launch our plastic-free collection in Spring. This is just the beginning for us, and we are passionate to continue the development of making our business more sustainable.

Additional steps we have taken within our business include:

1. When the business launched back in 2000, our business cards were made from Elephant Poo. We continued to use this product until, unfortunately, the supplier stopped this production in 2018. Our cards are now made from recycled brown craft paper.
2. Removal of all plastic carrying bags long before the government-imposed ban. We collaboratively produced a cotton shopper bag with other local businesses to encourage our customers to use when shopping with us.
3. Homewares and gifts within our business are stocked from British-only brands. We ensure these brands hold a similar ethos to ours and produce their products by hand and with natural ingredients.
4. Donation of unused craft items to local schools.
5. All natural waste is disposed of within our compost bins.
6. A water butt in our garden is used to collect water used for our planting.