The fresh flowers that we buy for our homes, offices and gift to our friends and family come at a significant cost to the environment. It is time that we consider the true cost of our love for fresh flower.
You would be amazed at the number of environmental consequences of using fresh flowers! Regardless of whether you’re buying for yourself or looking to spoil a loved one, purchasing flowers for individuals and businesses who care about the earth can be rather problematic.
You may have heard about ‘food miles’, the growing trend of buying food that has been locally grown, locally produced or locally made. The benefit? A great way of reducing our carbon footprint and ensuring our planet stays beautiful. Well, the same principle applies to fresh flowers.
Below we look at 3 aspects that cost the environment when using fresh flowers:
A large amount of fresh flowers are grown in greenhouses in Central and South America, Africa and Europe. In order for these flowers to reach the consumer, they must be packaged and flown by air across the world. For the duration of the transit, these flowers must be kept in refrigerated holds to ensure their freshness. Studies have shown that during a single valentine’s day in the US, fresh flowers flown in from South America produced 9000 tons of CO2, equivalent to over 4 million liters of burnt petrol.
Since flowers are not edible, regulators are not strict on pesticide laws, therefore flowers carry significantly more pesticides than is allowed on food. About one-fifth of the chemicals used in the floriculture industry in developing countries are banned in the US. Pesticides like Methyl Bromide are used during the growing process and is highly toxic. Even when the flower has completed its life cycle, it ends up in a land fill where it decomposes producing methane, another greenhouse gas. This is hazardous to humans and destructive to the ozone layer.
Water use is also a huge issue. Increasingly, water is being exported through trade from some of the most water-stressed countries. For example, cut flowers account for 45 per cent of Kenya’s water exports.
It comes as no surprise then that artificial flowers continue to grow in popularity. The global artificial flower market is now valued at over 1.6 Billion USD. Silk flowers are now made the use of recyclable materials, no need for pesticides, the have an emissions benefit of transport by sea, and they remain beautiful for years.
Silk by Design Australia supplies Eco-Friendly silk flowers and plants to customers throughout Australia. Browse our products to find that perfect home decor item or unique gift.
You would be amazed at the number of environmental consequences of using fresh flowers! Regardless of whether you’re buying for yourself or looking to spoil a loved one, purchasing flowers for individuals and businesses who care about the earth can be rather problematic.
You may have heard about ‘food miles’, the growing trend of buying food that has been locally grown, locally produced or locally made. The benefit? A great way of reducing our carbon footprint and ensuring our planet stays beautiful. Well, the same principle applies to fresh flowers.
Below we look at 3 aspects that cost the environment when using fresh flowers:
The environmental cost of fresh flowers transported.
A large amount of fresh flowers are grown in greenhouses in Central and South America, Africa and Europe. In order for these flowers to reach the consumer, they must be packaged and flown by air across the world. For the duration of the transit, these flowers must be kept in refrigerated holds to ensure their freshness. Studies have shown that during a single valentine’s day in the US, fresh flowers flown in from South America produced 9000 tons of CO2, equivalent to over 4 million liters of burnt petrol.
The environmental cost of fresh flowers planted.
Since flowers are not edible, regulators are not strict on pesticide laws, therefore flowers carry significantly more pesticides than is allowed on food. About one-fifth of the chemicals used in the floriculture industry in developing countries are banned in the US. Pesticides like Methyl Bromide are used during the growing process and is highly toxic. Even when the flower has completed its life cycle, it ends up in a land fill where it decomposes producing methane, another greenhouse gas. This is hazardous to humans and destructive to the ozone layer.
The environmental cost of fresh flowers watered.
Water use is also a huge issue. Increasingly, water is being exported through trade from some of the most water-stressed countries. For example, cut flowers account for 45 per cent of Kenya’s water exports.
It comes as no surprise then that artificial flowers continue to grow in popularity. The global artificial flower market is now valued at over 1.6 Billion USD. Silk flowers are now made the use of recyclable materials, no need for pesticides, the have an emissions benefit of transport by sea, and they remain beautiful for years.
Silk by Design Australia supplies Eco-Friendly silk flowers and plants to customers throughout Australia. Browse our products to find that perfect home decor item or unique gift.
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