How Floriculture Can Address More Responsible Plastic Use
Plastics Guide for Floral Industry Retailers. | Sustainabloom, American Floral Endowment (AFE)
Plastics play a major role in floriculture, showing up everywhere from propagation trays and plant containers to floral sleeves, shipping crates, and even price tags. For growers, wholesalers, and retailers alike, plastics offer convenience, durability, and cost efficiency, making them difficult to replace entirely.
At the same time, as the industry continues to explore more sustainable practices, plastics present a real challenge. Many businesses are working to balance the practical benefits of plastic with growing concerns about waste, recyclability, and environmental impact. Finding that balance is an important step toward operating within a more circular economy.
Promoting Responsible Plastic Use in Floriculture
Sustainabloom offers a collection of guides designed to help floriculture businesses better understand and manage their use of plastics. These resources take a closer look at how plastics are used across the supply chain, what alternatives are emerging, and where meaningful reductions can be made without disrupting day-to-day operations.
The Plastics section includes three separate guides, tailored specifically for growers, wholesalers, and retailers. Together, the guides explain the different types of plastics commonly used in floriculture, how they’re made, and what happens to them at the end of their life cycle. Business owners can learn about the seven main plastic categories, which materials are more easily recyclable, and which pose greater environmental concerns.
Beyond the basics, the guides also address practical considerations businesses face today. Topics include recycling codes, shifting consumer expectations around plastic use, and strategies for reducing waste using the “four R” approach: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Replace. Each guide also breaks down the often-confusing difference between “compostable” and “biodegradable,” helping businesses make more informed choices when exploring alternative products.
Some sections are tailored to specific sectors. Retailers and wholesalers can find guidance on plastic certifications relevant to floriculture, along with examples to help identify credible programs.
The grower-focused guide explores the return on investment associated with reducing plastic use and improving recycling practices, an important consideration when weighing sustainability goals alongside business realities.
Each guide also features an industry spotlight, highlighting how companies across the country are addressing plastic use in creative and effective ways. These real-world examples showcase efforts ranging from incorporating recycled materials into products to rethinking single-use plastics and responding to consumer demand for more sustainable options.
To explore the Plastics guides and other sustainability resources, click here.
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