Explore our sustainability planning templates for retail florists and wholesalers. Learn more.

Industry Spotlight

Florverde Sustainable Flowers: Internationally Recognized Sustainability from the Origin

Florverde Sustainable Flowers is internationally recognized as a credible, data-driven sustainability system aligned with the expectations of leading global retailers and market initiatives. Florverde holds SSCI social recognition for primary production, awarded by The Consumer Goods Forum. This distinction confirms Florverde’s robustness in managing labor and social responsibility at farm level, within a global governance framework where Walmart participates at Board level.  Florverde is also accepted under the Walmart U.S. Pollinator Health Position, demonstrating strong adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and environmental stewardship practices. In addition, Florverde is one of only sixteen certification schemes approved under the Ethical Charter Implementation Program (ECIP), placing it alongside globally trusted programs such as Fair Trade USA, Rainforest Alliance, GLOBALG.A.P. + GRASP, SA8000,…

Redefining Candlelight Through Sustainable Innovation

InfiniTea Candles™ believes beauty shouldn’t come at the cost of the planet. After more than 30 years in the wedding and event industry, their founder witnessed the same troubling pattern night after night: melted pillars, warped LED candles, wax-filled cylinders, and bags of single-use décor tossed in the trash. These moments of celebration create an enormous, unseen environmental footprint. Their patent-pending pillars are crafted from durable, heat-resistant materials and designed to be reused endlessly. Instead of burning through dozens of wax pillars or replacing disposable LEDs, InfiniTea offers a low-waste alternative that looks and performs like traditional candlelight. Each pillar houses a standard reusable 1.5” insert, allowing for real tea lights, LED tea lights, or even oil-lamp inserts—giving event designers,…

Syndicate Sales Launches Tennessee Clay to Pioneer U.S. Ceramic Manufacturing with Sustainability at Its Core

Tennessee Clay, a newly launched line of premium ceramic containers from Syndicate Sales, is proud to call Tennessee home—and even prouder to bring large-scale ceramic manufacturing to American soil. Produced in a highly automated facility in McKenzie, Tennessee Clay is the only operation of its kind in the U.S. manufacturing ceramic pots at scale. By combining regional pride, sustainability, innovative design, and a deep respect for both people and the environment, Tennessee Clay offers an elegant, eco-conscious addition to the Syndicate product offering. The clay is sustainably and responsibly mined, and sourced just ten miles from the factory, significantly reducing the carbon footprint of transportation.  They are using new energy-efficient equipment that meets the latest industry standards, ensuring minimal energy…

Jiffy Growing Solutions: Working Towards a Greener Future for All

Every year, millions of tons of sugarcane are harvested around the world. After harvest and processing, the material often left behind is bagasse – a fibrous material that has often been treated as waste, burned for energy, or left to decompose. At Jiffy, they saw something different. They saw potential. Jiffy Bagasse is not a new product on its own, but a sustainable, peat-free raw material designed to be part of your substrate mixes. Blended with other components, it helps create growing media that perform well for a wide range of crops – from bedding plants and houseplants to nursery stock. With sugarcane being the largest crop by mass globally, bagasse offers a consistent, renewable, and widely available resource. It…

“Clean Driven Logistics” at Armellini Logistics

Armellini Logistics is proud to be celebrating their 80th Anniversary this year. Although they have enjoyed a rich history, they are always planning ahead and sustainability is part of their plan. Their sustainability program is titled “Clean Driven Logistics”. Armellini Logistics is an EPA SmartWay Partner. They enjoy a ranking of 1 (1 = lowest CO2 and NOx emissions vs. 5 = highest CO2 and NOx emissions). They have a Florida DEP approved Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) and provide training to employees on the importance of clean water and pollution prevention. The terminal managers are certified in stormwater management. In 2024, they recycled 370 tires through a local vendor. Recycled tires can be used in a number of…

Sustainability at Mayesh Wholesale Florist (from Plastics Guide)

As a national wholesaler focused on floristry educational initiatives, Mayesh put sustainability at the top of its educational pillars for 2023. Among the efforts – plastics reduction. “Plastics, in particular, are tricky,” says Pat Dahlson, CEO of Mayesh. “We are really trying to move away from them where we can.” Mayesh started working with flower growers in Ecuador to remove plastic sleeves and replace them with cardboard. In addition, once the flowers are in the United States, they are traditionally re-sleeved from one type of plastic to another. Instead of using more plastic and more labor to re-sleeve, Mayesh has started encouraging replacements such as butcher-block paper, craft paper, and newsprint, which works particularly well for summer flowers. “As a…

Sustainability at Neal Mast Greenhouses (from the Substrate Sustainability Guide)

The sustainability team within Neal Mast Greenhouses actively ensures that the company remains accountable for its environmental impact and helps align the company’s goals with sustainability practices. Part of their overall efforts focuses on green waste reduction. “We have a responsibility to be mindful of our shrink and keep waste out of the landfill,” says Brooke Wiig, the human resources manager and sustainability officer at Neal Mast. Wiig acknowledges this is especially important given the company’s large scale. In response to this challenge, Neal Mast has maintained a seven-year partnership with a local landscaping company. The collaboration involves repurposing growing media, where the landscaping company incorporates Neal Mast’s substrate into their landscaping projects alongside other planting materials. Wiig emphasizes the…

Sustainable Solutions at HC Companies (from Plastics Guide)

Sustainability is a competitive advantage companies can have if they are a leader in that space, says Tom Marting, the director of Sustainable Solutions at HC Companies. “We all need to be thinking about sustainability because the future will be different than the past,” Marting says. Plastics are produced from byproducts of petroleum refining, and climate goals necessitate individual and collective reductions in fossil fuel consumption which will result in plastic supply constraints in the long term. HC Companies, for example, is using sustainable alternative materials such as recycled paper fibers for pots and hanging baskets in their EcoGrow containers, which are 100 percent bio-based. They also utilize wood-derived, cellulose-based compostable materials in their BioPax bioplastic containers. Robust recycling programs…

IPM at Metrolina Greenhouses (from Integrated Pest Management Guide)

Think IPM is a fringe idea in pest management? One of the largest ornamental producers in the country, Metrolina Greenhouses, practices integrated pest management to maintain crop health and sustainability. Dr. Mark Yelanich, director of research at Metrolina, emphasizes the importance of monitoring the major insect pests, such as thrips, white fly, fungus gnats, shore fly, spider mites, and aphids. At Metrolina, they do weekly 24-hour counts with sticky cards, which enable the growers to find hot spots in the more than 200 acres of greenhouses. “We want to avoid simply scheduling chemical sprays without understanding the pest pressures,” Dr. Yelanich says. “And over time, our pesticide usage is going down, so we’re heading in the right direction.” Metrolina employees…

Carbon Offsets at Continental Floral Greens (from Carbon Accounting Guide)

Navigating emissions trading and carbon markets can be challenging, but it’s worthwhile pursuit, says Madison Milgard, who leads sustainability efforts at Continental Floral Greens. “Not only can carbon credits provide a revenue stream for a company,” Milgard says, “But the process also helps growers learn more about their land and become sustainable for generations to come.” At Continental Floral Greens, the company started by looking at carbon sequestration and soil health, and looking for a crediting process that could fit in their budget. For them, the search led to Earth Optics, a company that measures and verifies carbon storage through soil mapping. The process only took a few weeks for their 10,000-acre timber farm. Through the data generated by the…

Want to Get Involved?

Share Your Story

Make a Difference

Donate to the Program