Developing sustainable, plastic-free solutions for the flower industry

为花卉行业开发可持续、无塑料的解决方案

• 批准号: 87723
• 金额: $ 8.79万
• 依托单位: LARRY WALSHE LTD
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Collaborative R&D
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=87723
• 关键词: Developing; sustainable; plastic; free; solutions

The global cut flower industry is valued at £22.8 billion(Global\_Industry\_Analysts\_2020), with the UK cut flower industry accounting for £1.6 billion of retail sales(NFU\_2016). There are an estimated 14,077 florists in the UK, responsible for selling approximately 25% of UK cut flowers. Florists are typically micro, owner-operated businesses. Operating on low margins, developing new technologies or adopting more sustainable practices is presently out of reach for many.Larry Walshe is a luxury events florist founded in 2014\. Over the last 6 years, we have built a nationally and internationally renowned brand, commissioned by Royal Households and globally leading British brands including Stella McCartney. However, COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on our business, with weddings cancelled or postponed as a result of national and international bans on large-scale gatherings. The future for large-scale events remains highly uncertain.In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Larry Walshe is building a luxury e-flowers business, which will deliver resilience in the face of potential future global disruption. Our ambition is to "build back better" and be the first UK-based sustainable, carbon-neutral, and plastic-free e-florist. We have already taken significant steps towards achieving this:* **Carbon-neutral:** Working with the Carbon Trust, we have committed to measure our carbon footprint, reducing carbon emissions wherever possible (e.g., sourcing UK-grown flowers), and offsetting unavoidable emissions.* **Plastic-free:** Our bespoke flower arrangements are instead packaged in recyclable materials, including FSC-certified cardboard.* **Ethical:** We source Fairtrade flowers wherever possible, which ensures safety and working conditions for flower workers.However, in developing our sustainable e-florist offering, we have come across one major hurdle: the plastic sachets of flower food, which are provided free with each bouquet of flowers. Flower food plays an essential role in prolonging vase life, by up to 60%. However, plastic flower food sachets contribute to the estimated 855 billion single-use sachets that are thrown away every year (enough to cover the entire surface of our planet). We estimate that 0.5 billion plastic flower food sachets are distributed each year solely by florists in Europe. Although this accounts for a small percentage of the total single-use sachets, as an industry that relies on the beauty of nature, we have a responsibility to our planet to stop profiting from unsustainable practices.Inspired by emerging plastic-free bio-based materials being developed in response to the global plastics crisis, we have developed a product concept for a plastic-free flower food sachet. With Innovate UK support, we propose to work with identified bio-based materials manufacturers to reach experimental proof-of-concept stage for our plastic-free flower food sachet, which delivers not just on its environmental credentials, but also offers improved usability, guided by inclusive design principles.Post-project, we plan to further develop and commercialise our sustainable flower food sachet within our new e-floristry business, but also to supply sustainable plastic-free flower food sachets to florists based across the world. Thus, this project will demonstrate UK leadership in sustainable packaging and support the global floristry industry to transition to a more sustainable future.Leaving an impact, not a trace.

全球切花产业价值228亿英镑（Global\_Industry\_Analysts\_2020），其中英国切花产业占零售额16亿英镑（NFU\_2016）。据估计，英国有14，077家花店，负责销售约25%的英国切花。花店是典型的微型业主经营的企业。低利润经营，开发新技术或采用更可持续的做法目前是遥不可及的许多。拉里·沃尔什是一个豪华的事件花店成立于2014\。在过去的6年里，我们已经建立了一个国内和国际知名的品牌，委托皇家家庭和全球领先的英国品牌，包括斯特拉麦卡特尼。然而，COVID-19对我们的业务造成了毁灭性的影响，由于国家和国际禁止大型聚会，婚礼被取消或推迟。大型活动的未来仍然非常不确定。为应对COVID-19疫情，Larry Walshe正在建立一个奢侈品电子鲜花业务，该业务将在未来全球可能出现混乱的情况下提供弹性。我们的目标是“重建得更好”，成为英国第一家可持续、碳中和、无塑料的电子花店。我们已经采取了重要措施来实现这一目标：* 碳中和：** 与碳信托合作，我们承诺测量我们的碳足迹，尽可能减少碳排放（例如，采购英国种植的花卉），并抵消不可避免的排放。** 无塑料：** 我们的定制插花采用可回收材料包装，包括FSC认证的纸板。** 道德：** 我们尽可能采购公平贸易的鲜花，这确保了鲜花工作者的安全和工作条件。然而，在发展我们的可持续电子花店产品时，我们遇到了一个主要障碍：鲜花食品的塑料袋，每束鲜花都免费提供。花卉食品在延长瓶插寿命方面起着至关重要的作用，可达60%。然而，塑料花卉食品袋每年被丢弃的一次性食品袋估计有8550亿个（足以覆盖我们星球的整个表面）。我们估计，每年仅欧洲的花店就分发了5亿个塑料花卉食品袋。虽然这只占一次性食品袋总量的一小部分，但作为一个依赖大自然之美的行业，我们对地球负有责任，停止从不可持续的做法中获利。受为应对全球塑料危机而开发的新兴无塑料生物基材料的启发，我们开发了无塑料花卉食品袋的产品概念。在Innovate UK的支持下，我们计划与已确定的生物基材料制造商合作，使我们的无塑料花卉食品袋达到实验性概念验证阶段，该食品袋不仅具有环保证书，而且在包容性设计原则的指导下提供更高的可用性。项目后，我们计划在我们新的电子花卉业务中进一步开发和商业化我们的可持续花卉食品袋，也为世界各地的花店提供可持续的无塑料花卉食品袋。因此，该项目将展示英国在可持续包装方面的领导地位，并支持全球花卉业向更可持续的未来过渡。