Perth Voice Interactive

FLORAL foam will be under the microscope this month as part of an effort to reduce its toxic impact on the environment. 

Floral foam is popular amongst florists for providing a structure for flowers to stand in and a source of hydration so the arrangements won’t wilt. 

It contains phenol formaldehyde, a plastic considered hazardous in humans, although by the time the foam is produced its toxicity has declined.

But after the arrangement is binned, the foam’s structure breaks down and the harmful chemicals can get released into the environment. 

The Freo Florist founder Donna Hamilton says floral foam is so widely used in the industry because apart from its toxicity, it’s essentially a perfect product. 

“It’s one of the great conveniences of our modern time,” Ms Hamilton said. 

“If you’ve got a block that you can just cut into any shape you want, and if you put a flower in it and it stands up perfectly and stays fresh, you’re never going to want to explore other ways of doing things because it’s just so convenient.“It’s like the fast food of the floristry mechanic’s diet.” 

It’s also commonly used in floristry training, another reason why it’s so popular, according to Ms Hamilton. 

“Just because we trained on it doesn’t mean that’s what we have to do forever,” she said. 

Ms Hamilton will be presenting at the Floral Futures seminar as part of Fremantle Design Week later this month, in an effort to discourage the use of floral foam by demonstrating more eco-friendly alternatives. 

These include the use of water vials, agri-wool, and ocean pouches, as well as the use of chicken wire to provide structure for arrangements. 

“We really encourage people to actually display their flowers in a vase, so that they’re actually in water and they don’t need foam,” Ms Hamilton said. 

“For mechanics like arbours or things where flowers appear to be defying gravity we’ll often use a chicken wire cage with something inside of it to create moisture for the flowers.” 

Ms Hamilton says she would like to see the use of floral foam banned in Australia, and that the “power” to move florists towards safer alternatives lies with venues who facilitate events that feature flowers, like weddings and birthdays. 

“At the heart of it we would love to see floral foam banned in Fremantle venues,” she said. 

“I would like Fremantle to become the first city in the world to be foam free.

“It really scares me to say that, because it’s going to upset a lot of people in the industry if it actually happens, if we’re successful.

“Venue owners should have the power to say that florists can’t use foam, and that flowers have to be in sustainable base, and it’s up to florists to figure out what that is.” 

Floral Futures will be hosted at Moore and Moore Cafe in Fremantle on Wednesday, October 23, at 6.30 pm. 

by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER