SUSTAINABILITY AT HYBRID
How we care for the environment
It is vital that we consider the role floristry plays in the world. We need to think about our values as florists, the impact of our actions on the earth, the elements we can change and our role as agents of change. Hybrid Flowers aims to integrate academic insights and industry leadership to foster sustainable design and business practices, working towards a greener future.
We firmly believe that florists have a choice in how they source their flowers, how they design with them and what they do with their ‘product’ after use. It is essential that florists inform their clients on the best practices, continue to share their knowledge with colleagues and strive to learn from environmental and community experts.
Education & training
Hybrid is committed to ensuring that we remain at the forefront of sustainable practices within the floristry industry. We have been an active member of the British Florist Association for many years and are proud to be an industry stakeholder on the Sustainable Flowers Research Project with Coventry University and the University of Surrey since 2024.
Proud to be a member of the Sustainable Floristry Network
SFN are setting a new standard for floral design — one based around sustainability principles. The more practitioners who work towards the principles, the further the industry can shift towards a sustainable standard of design and business operation.
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Flower sourcing
Hybrid Flowers prioritises sustainability. At least 80% of the flowers we buy come from FSI 2025 member growers. The Floriculture Sustainability Initiative 2025 aims for 100% certified floriculture, ensuring responsible production and trade.
We champion local and European flowers grown in harmony with the natural seasons. We encourage our clients to include flowers based on colour palette rather than specific flower varieties to allow us to include more locally sourced, seasonal material. Around 90% of our flowers arrive to our studio by land and sea rather than air freight.
We actively seek out British-grown flowers and plants through direct partnerships with UK cut flower growers and our wholesalers at New Covent Garden Flower Market.
On the rare occasions we buy airfreighted flowers from further afield, we ensure that these are grown outdoors by certified flower farms that adhere not only to environmental standards but social as well. This means these growers go above and beyond to support their employees, the local schools and communities as a whole whilst also promoting women’s rights.
Designing out waste
At Hybrid Flowers, we design with intention, actively eliminating waste and pollution by thoughtfully circulating materials and regenerating natural systems. We select floral structures, props, containers and decorations which are designed to be used repeatedly and, therefore, avoid single-use items.
We do not use traditional plastic floral foam, as this creates environmentally harmful microplastics. Instead, we embrace eco-alternatives like Natural Floral Foam™ from Agra Wool International™ crafted from biodegradable basalt and sugar; we are also excited to be trialling a new, fully compostable floral foam.
We use as little water as possible in our work and only buy flowers and foliage to order. Our studio in the arches of London’s railway maintains a naturally cool temperature so we never, ever refrigerate flowers. For both efficiency and environmental reasons, we always minimise delivery routes.
We have a waste carrier's licence and are, therefore, able to recycle all our paper, cardboard and glass waste as well as return flower carrier buckets to our suppliers weekly for continuous use. All our wax candles are donated to areas of the world where electricity is scarce.
Proud to be a Trace supplier
As a trained Trace supplier, we can provide detailed data to our clients or event agencies about the events we work on. We can track and report on our transportation methods, the types of flowers we use and their post-event lifecycle. Our commitment to transparency and sustainability is reinforced by our partnership with Trace.
Using flowers more than once for good
Whenever flowers return to our studio at the end of an event or installation, we sort through them carefully and any flowers still in good condition are repurposed for charity.
Hybrid Flowers proudly supports our community by donating reusable plants and flowers to the South East Cancer Help Centre to support their fundraising efforts. Our long-stemmed flowers are gifted to Floral Angels, a charity that restyles them into beautiful new designs for care homes, shelters and hospices, spreading joy and supporting our community.
Around 90% of the remaining flowers and foliage are composted by COM:POST, an innovative floristry initiative transforming green waste into reusable compost. This closed-loop system ensures our foliage and flower remnants have a second life, contributing to a sustainable cycle and enriching the earth. It's a simple, yet powerful way to minimise waste.
South East Cancer Help Centre
The South East Cancer Help Centre is a small independent charity helping local people and their families cope with cancer. They have NHS recognition but do not receive any Government funding so fundraising is crucial for them to continue their work in offering:
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one-to-one hands-on therapies including reflexology, reiki and aromatherapy massage
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counselling and loss recovery
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weekly group therapies such as yoga, art therapy and tai chi
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monthly gong baths, mindfulness and meditation
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monthly support groups for breast, bowel, ovarian and prostate cancers
Turning green waste into growth
We're a proud COM:POST partner! The COM:POST system takes florists' weekly green waste and turns it into reusable compost. This helps us to reduce our environmental impact and reassures our customers of our sustainability policy.
Donating more than flowers and plants
We love to include beautiful fresh fruit and vegetables with seasonal, locally grown flowers in our sustainable event designs. We source these foods from an ethical supplier based within New Covent Garden’s Fruit and Vegetable Market. We are very proud to be able to donate these natural foods, in their original condition, to Soup Kitchen London and the Felix Project straight after the event to help those in need.
