Sustainability
JOURNEy
My longterm commitment to continuously
make improvements to our designs and choices
We source the finest seasonal flowers and foliages from Australian or local farms, some of our growers only will cut to order which also helps in minimising waste.
Unfortunately many consumers are not aware that a large percentage of Australian flowers are imported.
Issues associated with imported flowers include the carbon footprint of flying the flowers from countries such as South America, Kenya, Europe and Asia.
There are also bio-security issues to our native biodiversity and the chemicals required to treat the flowers in quarantine are also very toxic.
It’s worth asking your florist if they use imported flowers so you can make a conscious decision.
Local & Australian produce
No floral foam
Green floral foam is a single use plastic that is non-biodegradable and composed of toxic chemicals.
Early in 2018 when we discovered the environmental impacts and potential health hazards of working with green floral foam we removed it completely from our design work and have found wonderful alternatives.
Recent scientific tests and research conducted by RMIT University (The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) produced results that demonstrated the negative impacts floral foam micro-plastic waste has on marine species.
Article by RMIT University (The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology):
’Foaming at the mouth: Ingestion of floral foam microplastics by aquatic animals.’
Instead of floral foam, we use chicken wire, vases and re-useable water vials to create our designs.
No dyed or bleached flowers
There is a current trend for ‘preserved’ or chemically ‘dried’ bleached, dyed and materials that are mostly imported. Whilst this allows for creative and artistic expression and we have dabbled in altered flowers a few times before in our work, after further research we’ve learnt that the impact on the environment is not worth the result, taking a once compostable material and turning it into plastic and chemically coated landfill waste..
Flower arrangements as captivating and special as they are, are perishable products, we must remember that so they need to be disposed of thoughtfully through vegetation recycling.
On occasion during the hot wedding season we may use underlay silk flowers in large scale installation work, these however are reused in many events and not disposed of in landfill.
The following article is a great insight:
We use native alternatives instead of noxious weeds such as pampas grass which is illegal to use and sell in NSW with large penalties as they cause huge damage to our natural flora and fauna. There are many beautiful native grasses and dried materials that can be used for a similar bohemian look that are not harmful to our National Parks and Wildlife.
Pampas grass:
outcompetes native vegetation
is a fire hazard
harbours vermin
could threaten forestry
Read further information:
Protecting our native land
Day to Day
Over the years we have worked continuously on evolving our business to be more environmentally friendly.
Wrapping flowers for guests to take home, minimising waste, vegetation recycling, soft plastic and cardboard recycling, avoiding single use plastics, washing buckets and vases in natural detergents.
We also ‘give back’ to a number of conservation charities each year including our adopted Koala ‘Basil’.