With more and more consumers “going green” and encouraging environmentally friendly practices, flower shops are using tips like these to ensure the highest quality designs and products.

There are many benefits associated with more eco-conscious work habits. First, you gain the trust and patronage of conscientious consumers. Secondly, you reduce your energy dependence and energy bill by proxy. Another great benefit is that you encourage other people to adopt these habits. Every little bit helps.

On a side note, I know of an elementary school in my area that has used the money received from recycling alone to buy new playground equipment. With a student body of a few hundred K-2 students, the school has purchased more than a dozen new pieces of equipment thanks to the hard work of the students. Help keep our planet green for younger generations to enjoy beautiful flowers thanks to eco-friendly practices such as these:

• Recycle paper, cardboard, plastic containers. Shredded newspaper comes in very handy as packing material. Cardboard boxes from a new shipment of vases can be used around the workstation to absorb water and protect that table from cuts. Empty milk jugs can be used to water plants or hold pre-mixed preservative. Print on both sides of the paper or cut used papers into squares for scrap paper.
• Phase out / eliminate use of aerosol sprays.
• Encourage and reuse returned containers. For example, offer a free arrangement with the return of 5 vases.
• Buy local products when possible for a smaller carbon footprint. Buying products from local nurseries, growers, and suppliers helps keep travel costs down which reduces carbon monoxide emissions.
• Turn off non-essential electrical appliances at day’s end. With the exception of security systems, floral refrigerators and other essential equipment, reduce your electricity bill and conserve energy by simply shutting off the lights and switching off your computer at the end of the day.
• Favor the use of cloth towels over paper towels. Cloth towels will need regular cleaning but these costs are minimal when compared to continually supplying paper towels. Another option is to opt for durable shop towels over paper towels. These cloths tend to be made of stronger cloth fibers. Though as disposable as paper towels, shop towels tend to last longer under the stress of big jobs.
• Fill delivery vehicles with gas during cooler times of the day. The popular belief is that gas vapors do not evaporate as quickly during the cooler morning and evening times. Therefore, you get more bang for your buck because you are gaining an extra fraction of a tank.
• Recycle vase water by using on outdoor plants. Instead of taking a hose to outdoor plants, conserve water by using your vase water on outdoor plants. Instead of dumping the water from an arrangement that is a few days old, use it instead on outdoor plants.****This is only for clear vase water. If it has floral preservative in it you can not use it.*****
• Replace standard light bulbs with energy efficient light bulbs. Looking much like a glass curly fry, these light bulbs come in a variety of watts but reduce wasted energy. Plus, they usually last as long if not longer.
• Use plant-based cleaners to clean spills and workstations. Harmful chemicals can hurt the environment and your plants. Avoid using these chemicals and opt instead for plant based cleaners.

There are many ways to protect the environment. Energy efficiency is at the top of the headlines almost daily. Efforts to save the environment are gaining popularity and spreading like wildfire. Tips like these are a great place to start because they help everyone go green while saving some green.