What is an ethical consumer?

Are you a MeadowSweetie? 🌿

If you’re trying to shop more thoughtfully, you’ve probably asked yourself: Do I really need this?

The most sustainable choice is to not buy something at all or to buy less. Not something many businesses say out loud, but it’s true! We sell small and we sell local to minimise our impacts.

With flowers, some people chose to grow their own and if they receive flowers they might enjoy to press or dry them. British grown flowers can be composted once they have been enjoyed and that way the flowers return to the soil to help with the next crop. Shockingly, imported flowers should not be composted due to the high chemical residues found in them.

That idea of a closed loop really matters to us. We compost all our green waste, and we hope our customers do too.

In the UK, 85% of cut flowers are imported, often flown in from places like Kenya, Ecuador and Colombia. One imported bouquet can have a carbon footprint comparable to an economy seat short-haul flight. British-grown flowers, by contrast, have been found to have a 90% lower carbon footprint. 

We have a cutting garden in the New Forest where we grow our own flowers for local bespoke work and we work with other small British growers we know and trust for our nationwide deliveries. Outdoor-grown, seasonal, no or low chemical use, peat-free, and no air miles.

Our packaging is made in the UK from 80% recycled cardboard. Jars are made in the UK using >40% recycled glass and can be reused and recycled. All our green waste is composted. Our overnight Royal Mail deliveries have the lowest per-parcel emissions of any UK courier.

But sustainability isn’t just environmental, it’s social too. Fair pay, safe working conditions, meaningful jobs. Flowers can and should create good work as well as beauty. We support British farmers and help with the local economy.

And here’s the lovely part: flowers genuinely make people happier. They lift moods immediately and have lasting wellbeing benefits. Choosing seasonal British flowers means you get the joy with a lower impact on the planet.

So if you love flowers, care where they come from, and like the idea of beauty without unnecessary waste… you might just be a MeadowSweetie!

Why not try a single posy and see how it feels?