Posted October 26th, 2009 by Caley
After meeting many people at event and wedding trade shows, chatting with floral suppliers who regularly visit every florist in town and hearing feedback from our customers, it has come to our attention that what we do is not common practice around Vancouver. Here are a few ways we strive to be an eco-friendly florist.
1. Painted the shop GREEN
We did some research and realized this didn’t do anything.
2. We Compost Everything
We partnered with Waste Management to come collect all our compost each week. We found that this was the most environmentally friendly method, as compared to our van taking a specific trip to the Vancouver South Transfer Station all the way from our store in Kitsilano.
3. Recycle Everything
We receive a lot of catalogues, junk mail, and card board boxes from our suppliers. We hoard them all and use them to pack our arrangements to be safely delivered to their destination. When they are ready to be retired, we put them into our recycling container and Waste Management comes each month to collect it.
4. Only Use Eco-Friendly FSC Certified Paper
Everytime we receive faxes, print out new order sheets, or need to print out documents, we use FSC certified paper. It costs a lot, so if you are one of the companies who faxes us advertisements for things completely unrelated to the needs of a flower shop, please just email us!!
5. Recycled Greeting Cards
We sell greeting cards that are printed with soy based inks on heavy cover stock containing post consumer recycled content. They come with a 100% recycled envelope sealed in a biodegradable corn based clear bag. Check out my favourite card!
6. Tree Free Business Cards
You can get some too, check out Club Card’s Tree Free Recycled FSC certified business cards that use soy based inks. If you order about 100,000 cards the price is pretty reasonable.
7. Environmentally Safe Bleach Used to Clean Vases
It is crucial to properly clean vases and buckets used to display our flowers, this is so that each stem can last as long as possible. But it’s not crucial to use the cheapest and most harsh bleach we can find at the grocery store. We found this company to suit our needs quite well.
8. Reuse Every Drop of Water
For the same reason that we clean our vases to the point that they can be used store scalpels in hospitals, we also change the water in our vases frequently to ensure our flowers last as long as possible. The water from the vases and the water from our cooler all goes to water our plants and garden outside in the back. To the person who stole our tomato tree, please bring it back, we put so much effort into growing it!!
9. Paperless Office
Our customer’s can choose to receive their invoices and receipts via email, rather then a paper copy. Just let us know you would like a PDF version of your receipt, and we can email it to you in just a few clicks.
10. Source B.C. Grown Flowers Where Possible
By sourcing as much local flowers as possible, we can minimize transportation and its associated carbon emissions.
Our work to becoming Vancouver’s most eco-friendly florist is a daily challenge and we are always looking for additional ways to reduce our carbon footprint and minimize our impact on the environment. When you order from us, you know that we have done our best to make your order in the environmentally cleanest way.
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