Among Sun Valley Floral Farms’ many sustainability practices is using sticky tape, seen here zig-zagging through a bed of lisianthus, to capture pests.
How were your flowers grown? Your customers would like to know. Surveys reveal that consumers care deeply about the environment and are willing to change their buying habits to reduce their impact on it. In the latest issue of Floral Management, contributing writer Bruce Wright explores sustainable practices in the floral industry — and how floral professionals can leverage them in their marketing.
According to an international survey by the data analytics company Nielsen, 81 percent of consumers feel strongly that companies should help to improve the environment. Among Millennials, the largest generation of the adult population, 85 percent say it is important for companies to implement environmentally friendly practices. The company estimates that U.S. consumers spent $150 billion on sustainable products last year.
Cherrie Silverman, AAF, AIFD, of Cherry Blossoms Florist in Westminster, Colorado, has visited farms in South and Central America to see firsthand how her flowers are grown. She learned not just about their steps to reduce pesticide use, but also how they care for employees, from offering hot meals to dental and medical care and stipends allocated to home buying. “That’s really important to me,” she says. “It makes me want to do business with that farm.” She strongly believes that level of passion leads to high quality of product as well.
Silverman’s travel experience and photos gave her a great opportunity to educate — and attract — customers.
(For more about how florists can source sustainably grown flowers, read Up the Supply Chain.)
“When you source your product sustainably, you open up a world of possibilities for positive storytelling that links your business to social and environmental benefits,” Wright says.
As an example, Wright shared a video titled “The Journey of the Roses” that Kroger (a grocery chain headquartered in Cincinnati) created in partnership with Rainforest Alliance, one of the best-known certifiers of sustainable farm products. The short film opens in Colombia with interviews of happy farm workers who enjoy a host of benefits, including a daycare center. It then flashes forward to the making of the rose garland that is draped on the winning horse at the Kentucky Derby — a job done by a Kroger florist for more than 30 years.
“That story really resonates with consumers in terms of certified and sustainable sourcing,” says Jacob Davignon, who leads a global team for key markets and retail for Rainforest Alliance.
While typical retail florists may not have the same resources of Kroger, they can nonetheless use storytelling as a marketing tool, he says. Florists can let customers know how they sourced flowers in the form of a blog, store signage, or even an article in the local media.
For more on the industry’s commitment to sustainable practices, read “Go Green” in the March/April issue of Floral Management.
Katie Vincent is a senior contributing editor for the Society of American Florists.
