I wanted to be a sustainable floristry business but soon realised it's not that black and white
Beautiful isn't it - the natural world.
Something we need to protect and nurture as much as we can, or risk losing it piece by piece.
We try our best by reusing our carrier bags and water bottles and trying to buy loose fruit and veg that isn't wrapped in plastic, and some people have made huge commitments such as becoming zero-waste households and growing all their own food. I'm sure we all know by now that if everyone did a bit, a lot would change, and if we all just do what we can then we are doing our best.
(I could insert a big section here about huge corporations and their role in protecting the planet but it's all a bit disheartening and anger-inducing so I'll just leave it unsaid.)
Of course we could each do better. Of course I could wash out every piece of soft plastic I use to take to a specialist recycling bin, or get a compost bin in my garden to use up my food waste. The thing is, not all sustainable practices are financially or practically viable for all of us. We're in a cost of living crisis and we lead busy lives, often trying to spin several plates at the same time. Again, we all know what we are capable of practising in our daily lives in order to play our part for the planet, so if we do what we know we can do then this adds up to achieve a big impact.
This brings me to FERN and what I wanted when I set up the business. Some things are non-negotiable, such as my decision to never use floral foam and always wrap in either paper or biodegradable cellophane. I was however perhaps a little idealistic when I made plans to ONLY use British grown flowers and foliage. I knew it would be difficult but I was sure I could make it work. Quickly I realised this would mean not being able to accept any orders for gift bouquets, weddings or funeral work between the months of November and early February, which is almost a third of the year with a significant portion of my offerings being impossible to fulfil.
I started this business from the ground; I had no savings to use, no investor, no business loan. If I want to succeed, I really need to be expanding and growing as much as I can from the outset, and this requires profits to be made.
It really pains me to have to look at the situation from a financial standpoint, but I would much rather have to make a few sacrifices in sustainability in order to be a successful business that tries its best to be kind to the planet and can then hopefully influence others, rather than trying too hard and this being my downfall.
On a morally engaged level it is also difficult to declare something as a wholly sustainable practise. For every decision you make to be more green there are people arguing that it is still a failure due to other factors you might not have considered. What I have settled for and remind myself when I feel like I'm not doing enough is that there is no perfect way to be sustainable.
Moss is a compostable alternative to floral foam but it is a finite resource that is often unsustainably sourced.
British flowers can be sourced locally and don't have the environmental impact of air miles but can sometimes on larger farms be grown using chemicals and a lot of energy for heating.
Imported flowers involve huge carbon emissions from their journey here and can sometimes be grown in poor working environments, but they can also be grown outdoors in warmer climates with no extra energy needed and can often provide work in safe, managed and fair conditions for people who might otherwise end up in a dangerous industry.
My answer to using imported flowers is that I don't have a definite answer. At present I only use imports if flowers have been requested that aren't in season, but most of my customers are happy for me to select from British seasonality. This may have to adapt in the future - I may decide to use only British in the summer and then imported in the winter, or make a decision on an adhoc basis depending on what stock is available to me. Where possible I try and ensure that the imported flowers I use come from farms that pay a living wage and enact fair working conditions for their employees.
What I have decided is that imported does not necessarily mean unsustainable, and using them when required means I can have greater flexibility in giving my customers what they ask for.
There is no perfect answer to being a sustainable floristry business so I have decided to place my environmental focus on where my products and my waste ends up. All my wrapping is compostible, biodegradable or recyclable and the mechanics I use can always be reused or recycled. Currently the only non-recyclable plastic that I use within my designs is pot-tape, and I have some work to do on ensuring the sundries I get from my suppliers are as plastic-free as possible.
As it stands I don't have a solution for my green waste due to the aforementioned financial or practical viability, but I am looking into some options to make sure it can be taken for a useful purpose such as making compost or biofuel.
So, FERN may not be perfect but I'm trying. I'm adaptable to change and always willing to test out other ideas to improve the business' sustainability and role in protecting our planet. But if some of these ideas don't work for me and my business then that is not a failure; nothing can be a failure when you are still trying.
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