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Jay florist named ‘founding ambassador’ of global sustainable floristry network

JAY — Linda D’Arco, owner of Little Farmhouse Flowers in Jay, is one of just four U.S. florists to serve as founding ambassadors to the newly established international Sustainable Floristry Network.

The network aims to promote the growth of sustainable practices in the floral industry – an industry that has relied heavily on single use plastics and environmentally dangerous habits for decades. Through education and a shared commitment to sustainable practices throughout their operations, the network seeks to build an international cohort of “green” design studios. The organization has opened a fund raising campaign to prepare educational materials for florists.

Of the announcement, D’Arco says, “I am thrilled to be joining forces with some of the most celebrated florists in the world to build consumer awareness and appreciation for healthier floral design. This is a tremendous step forward for my industry and an exciting moment for my business here in the Adirondacks. The announcement of our group is timely: new research exposing the consumption of floral foam and so-called “bio-foam” (popular floral design products) by aquatic life has just been made public.

The group of founding ambassadors hail from across the globe and include notable florist Shane Connolly of the UK, whose resume includes the floral design for the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

“The vast majority of our business is via beautiful Adirondack and Vermont venues and properties. Our clients choose these areas for their weddings because of their natural beauty, clean air, and clean water. We feel that our commitments support the region in a way that promotes the long term success of the greater regional wedding industry, too. Since the opening of my business, I have been an advocate for sustainable practices. I think my perspective is grounded in my former career as a teacher, in my parallel work as a flower farmer, and in my appreciation for and stewardship of our beautiful corner of the planet here in the Adirondack Park. These positions haven’t always been well received,” says D’Arco. “Just a few years ago, mentioning ‘sustainable practices’ online or in my advertising led to a noticeable downturn in social media traffic. But education and a growing appreciation for low-impact event work now leads to a humbling demand for our services.”

Green floral foam is seen floating around and inside of an organism. (Image courtesy of Charlene Trestrail, RMIT University, Australia)

“I am thrilled when I can walk away from a beautiful event with just a small handful of waste and some healthy material for compost. But I will be happiest when there is no waste at all,” says D’Arco. Other features of her studio’s event work include chemical-free specialty cut flowers and greens grown specifically for her clients on the studio’s flower farm, rental (rather than single use) vessels and event props, and a “no floral foam” commitment.

The group seeks to end the widespread use of materials like floral foam, which is made with carcinogenic components and breaks down into micro plastics. Floral foam accounts for enormous landfill input each day. Since the 1950s, this material has been widely understood as the “only way” to hydrate flowers in installation event work. “There is a pervasive belief that it must be used for certain kinds of work and that notion is categorically false. I can remember, early in my work as a designer, being told by another regional flower grower/florist that it just had to be used sometimes. She said it with such conviction, that I believed it until I started to see for myself the impact of the waste,” says D’Arco. She continues, “floral foam is hiding on the arbors at weddings. It’s on church pews, and it’s under the beautiful flowers honoring loved ones at funerals. It needs to stop. People were working with flowers for hundreds of years before the convenience of floral foam. We can learn a lot from their resourcefulness.”

In recent years, companies selling foam have promoted a “biodegradable” option, but unfortunately this label is misleading. The agents binding the foam particles together have been made to decompose quicker, releasing micro plastics and carcinogens into our ecosystems at a faster rate. The Sustainable Floristry Network also asks the industry to examine its use of plastic flower bunch packaging, the carbon footprint related to the shipment of floral products globally, its use of chemical preservatives, dyes, bleaches, and pollutants.

Linda’s business, Little Farmhouse Flowers, is an event floral design studio with an accompanying flower farm in the Ausable River Valley of Jay, New York. It specializes in wedding and event work, education through workshops and consulting, and seasonal wholesale and retail flower sales of their sustainably-grown products. Outside of Linda’s event work, you can find her flowers at Nori’s Village Market in Saranac Lake.

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