As the owner and manager of Calypso Flowers, as a person who works closely with nature, AND as a sensitive Human Being, I am very conscious of the way in which we deal with nature and the environment. I recently moved the business from a 'shop front', located on a main street, to a 'studio' set up in nearby Abbotsford.
The 'green' effect of the move is that I am now sharing resources with 2 other companies, thereby cutting down on heating, lighting, and rubbish removal, for example. I also have reduced water usage by having a smaller display area. I no longer need to have window display lighting.
I continue to maximise recycling in the following ways:
PAPER
-the cellophane in which the flowers are wrapped when they arrive from market is cut up and used to wet-wrap the flowers prior to delivery to you, the customer
- if the flowers come wrapped in paper, then the paper is reused to pack boxes to prevent movement and breakage in transit
-any other waste paper material (used tissue paper, junk mail etc) goes into the council recycle bin
-the small clear plastic bags, if they have been unavoidably brought from the supermarket, are recycled as wet-wraps for larger bunches of flowers. Calypso Flowers has a 'no plastic bag' policy.
- where possible, cardboard boxes from the supermarket are salvaged to package table centres etc when they are to be couriered out ( I LOVE the plain black apple box bottoms !)
- I also use the black apple boxes for delivery of wedding flowers. The boxes are a good size, sturdy, and look very stylish in the way that we present them.
OTHER GREEN DECISIONS
PLANT MILES
Most of our flowers and foliage is sourced locally, that is, within Australia. A large percentage is grown around Melbourne. Only the tropical flowers and foliage come from overseas. These 'imports' constitute about 5% of our stock
I choose to buy sundries from Melbourne suppliers, rather than Sydney ones, for three reasons: to support local businesses; to reduce the amount of packaging that is is required to safely pack the goods for a long haul; and to reduce the miles that have to be transported.
I welcome any suggestions for further improvements.
Denise Patience