6 ethical flower delivery services to use this spring
Surprise and delight a loved one with a beautiful bunch of flowers. A quick online search reveals plenty of pretty options, but if you're concerned about sustainability, there are several things to consider before ordering your blooms.
Where are your flowers from?
The vast majority of cut flowers we enjoy in the UK are sourced overseas, meaning your bouquet has often travelled a long way to your front door.
This isn’t necessarily worse than choosing British stems, as these are sometimes grown in energy-guzzling hothouses, but if buying local or minimising air miles is important to you, stick to English bunches.
What are worker conditions like?
We all want to support safe, supportive working practices. Look for flower brands that display Fairtrade, Florverde or other recognised ethical certifications on their websites, so you know staff are treated fairly and earn a decent wage.
Essentially, brands should be happy to shout about this. If they’re not, there’s probably a reason for it.
How have they been grown?
Chemical pesticides can have negative effects on surrounding wildlife and end up leaching into the water supply, so look for organic fertilisation methods.
Naturally, flowers need a lot of water, but the most eco-friendly blooms will be grown in a way that keeps an eye on water consumption and carbon emissions. Brands should also responsibly dispose of their waste.
How are they packaged?
Committed to cutting down on single-use plastics? Lots of bunches are still packaged in non-recyclable cellophane.
Fortunately, some companies have started using a new, biodegradable alternative. Or better still, none.
The most ethical flower delivery services in the UK
We tested 20 flower delivery services to find the most trustworthy online florists. We sent bouquets from each brand to a panel of 190 people, who reported back on their experience.
They told us how the flowers arrived, what they thought of the packaging and how long their blooms lasted. We also ordered a bouquet from each company to assess the online ordering experience for ourselves.
Below, we've rounded up the best ethical, sustainable blooms you can buy, taking packaging, environmental impact, working conditions and transportation methods into consideration.
If in doubt, get in touch with the brands themselves. Most of the companies below have a live chat function for speedy responses to your queries.
Sweet Devotion
The eco credentials: Officially one of the UK’s most ethical florists, Arena has earned a perfect 100 score for the last five years in the Ethical Company Index.
It doesn’t put anything into landfill, the packaging is free from single-use plastic and, for every bunch of flowers bought, it plants two trees through its partnership with the Eden Reforestation Projects. Not bad.
Country Living's verdict: Our testers loved their hand-tied bouquets, which arrived safely packaged and well-watered.
They lasted for between 10 and 12 days, but there are delivery restrictions around some special occasions.
The Springtime Bouquet
The eco credentials: These high-quality flowers come in wrapped in brown kraft paper without any plastic. Moonpig's sustainability credentials for flowers include reducing waste where possible. When the flowers are prepared, all the offcuts and stray leaves are salvaged and sent to processing plants and paper mills where the green waste is collected and used to produce packing materials without needing new resources.
Country Living's verdict: Our testers loved this beautiful mix of spring blooms. Presented in a smart box, the flowers arrived in bud and bloomed a few days later.
Appleyard Flowers
The eco credentials: Appleyard packs its flowers in recyclable paper and card, and says it’s working to produce as little waste as possible throughout its production process.
Finally, it only sources stems from Britain and occasionally Kenya, putting a percentage of what it pays for these flowers back into the community — that means building new schools and only working with Fairtrade farms that pay workers a decent wage.
Country Living’s verdict: Safely arriving on our testers' doorsteps with thorough care instructions, Appleyard’s striking and balanced arrangements unanimously impressed.
You can enjoy same-day delivery if you’re sending within London, otherwise there is a next-day delivery service.
£36.99 at appleyardflowers.com
The Hallie
The eco credentials: Bloom & Wild has been working on its sustainability credentials over the past couple of years and, as a result, has been carbon neutral since 2020.
Packaging is fully recyclable or compostable, and the brand works hard to reduce its waste, only ordering what is needed and composting green waste. As such, no stems have been sent to landfill by Bloom & Wild since 2015. Plus, plants that aren't perfect are offered at a reduced price instead of being binned (think wonky veg, but for flowers).
Country Living's verdict: The website offers a seamless ordering experience and the bouquets were equally standout.
They remained in bloom for three weeks, earning our panel’s praise — all said they’d use the company again and recommend it to their loved ones.
Rose and Lily Bouquet
The eco-credentials: Bunches sources many of its stems from Florverde-certified farms.
This is a voluntary scheme designed to support workers’ rights while meeting certain environmental standards, including keeping a check on water consumption and emissions, using organic fertilisation methods and responsibly disposing of waste.
Country Living's verdict: There's a generous selection on offer and our testers found it easy to find their perfect bouquet, thanks to the array of helpful filters, from flower species to colour.
The option to use Apple Pay or Google Pay made checkout speedy, too. Flowers arrived safely and looked beautiful, if slightly smaller than advertised.
Classic Spring Bouquet
The eco-credentials: When it comes to the origins of its blooms, Interflora has fewer credentials than other brands on our list, due to its way of working with independent florists both locally in the UK and worldwide.
Nevertheless, we were impressed. The company doesn't use glitter and its packaging is well-designed; gift boxes are made with recycled materials and are fully recyclable, while cellophane and flower food sachets are biodegradable and ribbon is made in the UK using only recycled plastic.
Country Living's verdict: You don't know exactly what your arrangement will look like as while you can make special requests, your local florist will use the flowers they have in stock.
Our testers were delighted with their beautiful deliveries — they arrived well-protected, leaving everybody willing to recommend Interflora. Florists are stationed around the world, making it a go-to for sending flowers further afield.
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