Developing sustainable, plastic-free solutions for the flower industry

全球切花产业价值228亿GB(全球行业分析师2020)，其中英国切花产业占零售额的16亿GB(NFU 2016)。据估计，英国有14,077家花店，负责销售约25%的英国切花。花店通常是业主经营的微型企业。利润率低、开发新技术或采用更可持续的做法目前对许多人来说都是遥不可及的。拉里·沃尔什是一家奢侈品活动花店，成立于2014年。在过去的6年里，我们已经建立了一个全国和国际知名的品牌，委托皇家家庭和包括斯特拉·麦卡特尼在内的全球领先的英国品牌。然而，新冠肺炎对我们的业务产生了毁灭性的影响，由于国家和国际上禁止举办大型聚会，婚礼被取消或推迟。大型活动的未来仍然非常不确定。为了应对新冠肺炎疫情，拉里·沃尔什正在建立一家奢侈的电子鲜花业务，这将在未来潜在的全球动荡面前提供弹性。我们的雄心是“重建得更好”，并成为英国第一家可持续、碳中性和无塑料的电子花店。我们已经为实现这一目标迈出了重要的一步：**碳中性：**与Carbon Trust合作，我们承诺测量我们的碳足迹，尽可能减少碳排放(例如，采购英国种植的鲜花)，并抵消不可避免的排放。*无塑料：**我们定制的鲜花采用可回收材料包装，包括FSC认证的纸板。*伦理：**我们尽可能采购公平贸易鲜花，这确保了花卉工作者的安全和工作条件。然而，在开发我们的可持续电子花店产品时，我们遇到了一个主要障碍：花卉食品的塑料袋，每束花都是免费提供的。花卉食品在延长瓶插寿命方面起着至关重要的作用，最高可达60%。然而，塑料花卉食品香包每年被丢弃的一次性香包估计有8550亿个(足以覆盖我们星球的整个表面)。我们估计，仅在欧洲，每年就有5亿个塑料花卉食品香包由花商分销。尽管这只占一次性香包总量的一小部分，但作为一个依赖于自然之美的行业，我们对我们的星球有责任停止从不可持续的做法中获利。受应对全球塑料危机的新兴无塑料生物基材料的启发，我们开发了一种无塑料花卉食品香囊的产品概念。在Innovate UK的支持下，我们建议与公认的生物材料制造商合作，使我们的无塑料花卉食品香包达到实验概念验证阶段，它不仅提供了环境资质，而且在包容性设计原则的指导下提供了更好的可用性。项目完成后，我们计划在我们新的电子花卉业务中进一步开发我们的可持续花卉食品香包并将其商业化，同时向世界各地的花店提供可持续的无塑料花卉食品香包。因此，这个项目将展示英国在可持续包装方面的领导地位，并支持全球花卉行业过渡到更可持续的未来。留下影响，而不是痕迹。

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.