Ethical Flowers Melbourne | Sustainability Florist

Sustainability

OUR STORY

THE HEART OF OUR BUSINESS

ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

At Botany, sustainability is not just a value; it’s the very essence of our business. We invite you to discover the ways in which we prioritise environmental responsibility while ensuring the quality of our stunning flower arrangements. Our unwavering commitment to sustainability leads us to select locally grown, seasonal flowers, guaranteeing a flower delivery service that maintains the highest quality without compromising our planet.

Grown Not Flown

A huge number of flowers are flown into Australia every week. They carry enormous carbon miles, are chemically treated, and are a pathway for invasive pests to enter Australia. We use only Victorian-grown, or at a push, Australian-grown flowers.

Conscious Deliveries

Deliveries are a big part of being an online florist, and our major source of emissions. To help counter this, we donate $1 from every delivery to Greenfleet, who plant native & biodiverse forests that create habitat for wildlife and help to sequester carbon.

Plastic Free Flowers

It may surprise you to know that most commercially sold flowers are packaged into single use plastic sleeves, which end up going straight to landfill. We avoid these sleeves at all costs, and only purchase unpackaged & unsleeved bunches, completely avoiding this unnecessary waste.

No Floral Foam

Floral foam is a fine-celled thermoset phenolic plastic foam. It is listed in SARA Hazard Categories as both an Acute Health Hazard and a Chronic Health Hazard. It slowly breaks down into microscopic particles that make their way into our waterways, adversely affecting marine life. We do not and will not ever use it.

Naturally Dried

Our dried flowers are purchased fresh and dried in house here at Botany. Unlike imported preserved flowers, our naturally dried range does not contain any harsh chemicals, bleach or dyes. They are safe to touch and smell, and safe to have in your home.

Vase Returns

To help reduce our waste and create a more circular business model, we offer vase returns for all our Botany customers. You can send your unwanted Botany vase back to us for a discount off your next purchase, and we’ll reuse it in another order.

REDUCING OUR IMPACT

SUSTAINABLE FLORISTRY MELBOURNE

We believe that sustainable floristry is the natural next step for our industry. As a sustainable florist in Melbourne, our goal was to create as little impact on the environment as possible. We take pride in our membership in the Sustainable Floristry Network, a worldwide community committed to sustainability.

SFN serves as an educational hub for sustainable florists and customers alike, helping us all understand our environmental footprint and how to make positive changes. When you choose florists within this network, you’re choosing sustainable flowers from Australian farms that have minimal impact on our environment.

VISIT SFN WEBSITE

SUPPORTING LOCAL FARMS

FOUR YEARS OF FLOWERS

2020 - Botany launches

What started as a lifestyle change in 2015 quickly developed into a career epiphany as I realised just how much waste surrounded my daily job. My beloved floristry was creating mountains of plastic & piles of foam, and I couldn't take it.

An idea for a different kind of florist is born.

Botany goes live on 26th June 2020 - my first customer is my big sis. It was 2 weeks before I got my first "real" order. Since then this little business has grown so much, and now delivers local, sustainable flowers to happy Melbournians every week.

2021 - Imports make headlines

Industry body Flower Industry Australia pushes an article into the Herald Sun about Coutnry of Origin labelling for flowers, so that consumers can more readily tell what is local and what is imported. Botany is featured as a supporter of locally grown.

We begin donating to Greenfleet to offset carbon emissions from deliveries.

Ellen also chats about what sustainable floristry means on her interview with industry podcast "Are Those For Me".

2022 - two great causes

Ellen is asked to be involved with the Sustainable Floristry Network - a global education initiative helping florists transform their businesses.

We give up a day to volunteer planting native trees and shrubs with Greenfleet in Kinglake, so we can see first hand the impact our donations have.

2023 - growing the business

Our range of sustainable gift hampers launches after months of design & packaging research.

We begin doing weekly flowers for two Australian fashion labels; Zimmermann and Bec & Bridge.

We chat about our floristry journey so far on Dish The Dirt, an industry podcast interviewing local flower famers and florists.

2024 - flower & garden show

Botany teams up with Grown Not Flown to create a display piece at the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show. We use it to educate visitors about where their flowers were grown - locally, or flown in from overseas?

We win bronze for the display and start a social media conversation about waste within the industry after bump out. Our Instagram video about floral waste tops 200K views.

Botany is featured in issue 96 of Green Magazine. In the interview, Ellen explains why Botany is different to the traditional florist business model.