Why Evyrose Is A Foam Free Florist
What is floral foam?
It is a green spongey looking brick – known by its manufactured name : Oasis.
Floral foam has been used and loved by many florists for its convenience and capabilities. The foam brick can hold and retain water, so becomes a great stable water source for installations, large floral walls, floral arches, you dream it Oasis will help you keep those flowers drinking water. OR for much simpler purposes, like sending a get-well arrangement to a loved one. Simple or extravagant, floral foam has become a standard practice in the floral industry.
The Facts:
Floral foam was invented 60 years ago by product designer V.L Smithers, founder of OASIS®. Ever since, it’s been an essential tool in floral design by making the process of arranging flowers simpler, speedier and more elaborate.
It can hold up to 50x its weight in water, creating a water source and stabilizer that keeps your bunch looking fresh and pert for up to 12 days.
Better still, it’s lightweight, durable and easy to cut and mold. This makes it super easy to transport any arrangement in one piece, saving time, money and water sloshing out of your vessel in transit.
Consider this…
Like many things, we are considering our environmental impact and looking at products in our homes and businesses that are perhaps harmful and maybe not all that necessary.
Floral foam is the first thing to go. Unfortunately, this innovation for florists is incredibly harmful to our environment for many many reasons.
Floral Foam contains the same amount of plastic as 10 shopping bags, is non-biodegradable and non-recyclable with a one-time use, it is also toxic to both humans and animals.
Many florists and institutions are making plans to ban the water-absorbing block from use.
So why is Floral Foam bad for our environment?
Floral Foam is a major contributor to the growing plastic pollution crisis & often gets mistaken for a natural product because of its texture, colour & function
Floral Foam is manufactured from synthetic & non-recyclable plastic
Floral Foam is created using a combination of carbon black, formaldehyde and phenolic foam – ALL are toxic
When cut floral foam particles can be inhaled or washed down into our water systems
Floral Foam does not dissolve in water or fully degrade in landfill or soil. Even this process takes thousands of years
Floral Foam breaks down into small, tiny micro plastics which contaminate our water, marine life and also our food chain
There are some much safer options that we employ for our floral arranging and designs,
which we will share of course!
Tips to Help!
If you do encounter floral foam here are some of the safest ways to dispose of it;
- Dispose of it in landfill headed garbage
- Do Not put it in any compost or garden
- Water containing bits of foam should NOT be poured down any drains, sinks or toilets
- Pour the ‘foam water’ through an old pillowcase / cloth / tea towel to capture any the foam particles and fragments
- Place any strained remnants in landfill headed garbage
- Pour any remaining strained water into a hole in your garden
Disposing of the strained water in a hole is currently the best environmental practice for safely disposing of leftover water from floral foam. If you do pour it down a drain or sink, only a percentage of the micro-plastics will be captured through our refined sewage processing. The rest ultimately finds its way through the filter and remain in water that's then used to fertilize farmland. Or just as bad an outcome, it contaminates our marine life by reaching rivers, streams and eventually oceans.
We hope that you find this informative and useful.
We are continually educating ourselves and re-evaluating our business practices to keep the safety of our environment top of mind. Our hope is to slow down and be mindful of how we are keeping our connection to nature.
Your flower loving friends,
Emily & Liana
