Local. Seasonal. Sustainable.
OUR ETHOS
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
REDUCING OUR IMPACT
Environmental Responsibility
THE HEART OF OUR BUSINESS
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.
PLASTIC FREE FLOWERS
- Sourced directly from local flower farms. Victorian farms are our top priority, but around 5% of our product is also sourced from Australian farms when we need to.
- You will never find an imported bloom in our designs. The immense carbon miles and chemical treatments needed for imported flowers mean they are a NO from us!
- All of your flowers are plastic free from farm to vase.
Single-use plastic sleeves are one of our industry’s biggest waste issues. Thousands of plastic sleeves are used daily by many of our local farms to pack fresh-cut flowers. After a short transportation period, they are removed by the florist and go straight to landfill.
Rather than hoping for a long-term recycling solution to these single-use plastics, we decided instead to cut them from our business completely. We are proud to say that all of our flowers are 100% plastic-free from farm to vase – making them significantly more environmentally friendly.
We exclusively utilise unsleeved bunches and partner with local farms that package their flowers directly into plastic-free buckets. By eliminating this waste from our supply chain, we’ve prevented over four thousand pieces of plastic from reaching landfills. To delve deeper into sustainability in floristry and discover how you can contribute, click the link below.
FIND OUT MORESAY NO TO WASTE
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Every part of our business gets a good, hard look at how we can do better, and our packaging & sundry items are no exception. Here’s what we currently do to ensure we are doing our bit for the environment. Click the tabs to read more.
Packaging & Presentation
Our lovely customers can return our vases back to us so we can reuse them, creating a more circular business model. Find out how by clicking the link below.
CREATE REAL CHANGE
WHAT WE DON’T DO
Is just as important as what we do. Let’s take a look at the things that are not present in our business (but are commonplace in our industry).
NO FLORAL FOAM.
This product came into floristry in the 1950s and was quickly adopted by the industry for its ability to absorb water and hold stems in place. We now know that it is a microplastic that adversely affects marine life and human health. Needless to say, it is banned from our studio!
NO PAINTS, DYES OR CHEMICALS.
Over the last 10 years, the trend of spray painting, colouring, dying or chemically altering flowers has gained immense popularity. But this creative act takes a naturally biodegradable product and turns it into waste. Instead, we use the beauty already present in fresh flowers and allow that to shine.
GIVING BACK
To NATURE
Our major source of environmental impact is the carbon emissions created by delivering all of those beautiful flowers. To counter this, we donate $1 from every delivery to Greenfleet. This incredible organisation turns these donations into native, biodiverse forests that sequester carbon and protect native wildlife. Each year, we offset around 28 TONNES of carbon with Greenfleet!
Say hello
We love all things sustainable floristry!
We want to shape our industry for the better. No plastic, no foam, just beautiful flowers delivered to your door. Ask us anything – we love to chat!