The Wild Rose Florist & Gift Store - Delivering Flowers Sustainably

A local Auckland florist, The Wild Rose, has discovered a new packaging solution that provides a way for the floristry industry to deliver beautiful flowers, but do it more sustainably.

Florists traditionally use a non-biodegradable plastic cello to wrap their flowers. The Wild Rose uses cellophane, which is made from readily renewable cellulose, sourced from responsibly managed plantations – fully biodegradable and home compostable - after it has helped protect and keep the flowers looking beautiful. This compares to the traditional non-biodegradable plastic cello which typically ends up in landfill.

How do you know if you have received Flowers wrapped in Cello or Cellophane? An easy test is to burn it – cello melts, bubbles and blisters. Real cellophane burns like paper. The reality is that in New Zealand it is incredibly hard to source Cellophane, so it is most likely plastic cello.

In addition to this home compostable cellulose wrap, The Wild Rose has also swapped out bleached white tissue for a small piece of wool that is used to give the flower stems a source of water. Wool is 100% biodegradable, home compostable and sustainable.

To ensure customers continued to receive fresh, long-lasting flowers numerous tests were run to check that even the most sensitive of flowers were happy with this new sustainable transport solution of fully biodegradable wool. The results were impressive, the flowers loved it.

The reason is that this wool is highly absorbent and can hold around 40% of its weight in water which flowers can then drink as they travel to customers across New Zealand.

The wool used would otherwise be a waste product and using it in this way saves it from going to landfill. It is ‘non-textile grade’ wool that commonly comes from the belly of sheep bred for meat and is cleaned with soap and hot water.

Customers of The Wild Rose can now divert all their flower wet wrap to their compost, instead of it going to the rubbish bin. As the cellulose wrap and wool is from the land, and can be returned to the land through composting, this new flower wrap method delivers a fully circular sustainable solution.

These new innovative steps that The Wild Rose discovered provides an improved sustainable offer and is a continuation of steps the Auckland Florist has already taken to be environmentally friendly.

The Wild Rose grows most of its own foliage and many of the flowers from its own flower farm. This provides better value for the customer, but picked daily, its flowers are fresh and naturally full of fragrance. They aren’t sprayed, you can thrust your nose into them to inhale the fragrance. They are given a lot of love and special treatment to make them grow including a special mix of home compost.

“We take the cut off leaves and stems from the florist, food waste from our kitchen and the neighbours horse manure to create a special blend of compost that the flowers and plants love” said Melanie Kennerley, owner of The Wild Rose.

“It’s immensely satisfying being at a point where we can deliver our customers a more sustainable flower offer. From growing our own flowers, to delivering beautiful fresh flowers in a home compostable wrap solution, it’s another reason I’m proud of what we offer at The Wild Rose Florist and Gift store”.

“I’m incredibly excited and proud to have developed this packaging solution that helps, rather than harms the planet. I believe it is a first in New Zealand and my next goal is to work on making this solution available to others in the floral industry, because it is only when we all work together that we can really help the planet.”

About The Wild Rose

The Wild Rose Florist and Gift store is a Florist based in Takanini delivering great value flowers and gifts nationwide. The Wild Rose is owned by Kennerley Gourmet Grocery Ltd, who specialises in Grocery and Gifting. Alongside The Wild Rose, they also own The Meat Box, Celebration Box, Paddock To Pantry, Hello&Cookie and The Gift Shop.

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