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Evaluation of Commercial Viability of Eco-friendly Alternatives to Traditional Floral Foam and Their Effects on Vase Life of Five Species of Cut Flowers
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This horticultural study evaluates eco-friendly alternatives to traditional floral foam, a significant source of microplastic pollution, finding that some sustainable substitutes maintain cut flower vase life comparably to conventional foam. Replacing plastic-based floral foam could reduce microplastic contamination of garden and waterway soils.
Increasingly, consumers are indicating that they would be willing to pay a premium for floral designs from a more sustainable floral provider. During the past several years, more environmentally sustainable floral foams and foam alternative media have been developed as an eco-friendly alternative to traditional floral foams comprised of phenol-formaldehyde plastics. Phenol-formaldehyde foam breaks down into microplastics, which ends up in landfills, soils, and waterways—including the planet’s oceans—if not disposed of properly. Eco-friendly foam alternatives are made from natural materials such as basalt minerals and coconut ( Cocos nucifera ) fiber (coir). The objective of this study was to investigate eco-friendly floral substrates for their commercial viability in the floral industry by analyzing the vase life of five of the most commonly use cut flower species in traditional vs. eco-friendly foam alternatives. Flowers selected for the experiment included ‘Freedom’ rose ( Rosa hybrid), ‘Orange Queen’ alstroemeria ( Alstroemeria hybrid), ‘Atlantis Yellow’ chrysanthemum ( Dendranthema grandiflorum ), ‘Pink Nelson’ carnation ( Dianthus caryophyllus ), and ‘Million Star’ baby’s breath ( Gypsophila paniculate ). The flowers were selected based on their importance to the floral industry with regard to their overall volume of use in floral arrangements and volume of production. The findings from this study indicate the traditional phenol-formaldehyde–based floral foam maintained vase life longer for a majority of the flowers tested when compared with basalt floral fiber medium and coir pouches. However, the basalt floral fiber medium maintained a vase life of more than 7 days for all flowers tested, indicating it is an adequate medium to use in retail floral design production. The coir pouch did not maintain the customer-expected vase life of 7 days for all but one of the cultivars tested. This indicates that coir pouches are generally not suitable for traditional everyday retail floral design use, but could potentially be acceptable for special occasion designs in which the consumer prefers or specifies a more sustainable approach and/or can accept a shorter vase life.
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Researchers compared vase life of cut delphiniums in conventional phenol formaldehyde floral foam versus eco-friendly alternatives including basalt rock fiber and coir, finding that basalt fiber maintained an average vase life above the industry's 7-day consumer threshold — making it a viable sustainable substitute, while coir performed poorly in durability and handling.
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