SAY I LOVE YOU, RESPONSIBLY: ARENA FLOWERS, THE LONDON BASED CONSCIOUS FLORIST
THE FLOWERS THAT KEEP ON GIVING
words JOHN HACKETT editor Julia Restoin Roitfeld IMAGES ARENA FLOWERS
WITH VALENTINE’S DAY APPROACHING, WE COULD NOT FIND A BETTER WAY TO SAY I LOVE YOU, THAN BY GIFTING A FLOWER DELIVERY SUBSCRIPTION, ESPECIALLY IF THOSE ARE ETHICALLY SOURCED, WITH SUSTAINABILITY AT THE CORE OF ITS BUSINESS PLAN. WE INTERVIEWED ARENA FLOWER’S CEO, JOHN HACKET, ON WHAT MAKES THE BRAND ECO-CONSCIOUS, THE PERFECT VALENTINE BOUQUET, AND ALL THINGS SUSTAINABLE.
SHORT ANSWERS FROM JOHN
LESS IS MORE: CONSIDERATION
LAST ITEM I PURCHASED: DEREK ROSE UNDERWEAR - I BUY A BUCKETLOAD ONCE A YEAR, GREAT MATERIALS, LOCALLY PRODUCED.
LAST ITEM I RECYCLED IS: EVERY DECEMBER, WE CLEAROUT AND REMOVE ANYTHING THAT HAS NOT BEEN WORN OR USED IN THE PAST 6 MONTHS, BUT ACTUALLY, THE LAST THINGS WERE THE CHILDREN’S BICYCLES THAT WE GAVE TO FRIENDS.
BEING SUSTAINABLE IS: IMPERATIVE.
MY HOPE FOR THE FUTURE IS: THAT FINALLY, THE GOOD ECONOMIC CASE FOR OPERATING SUSTAINABLY AND TAKING CARE OF OUR NATURAL WORLD CAN BE REALIZED BY THE MAJORITY OF BUSINESSES AND NATION STATES. THERE IS NO VIABLE REASON TO PROCRASTINATE.
Sustainable Packaging
“Our determination to improve the lives of the communities we touch is what drives much of our activity”
WHEN WAS ARENA FLOWERS FOUNDED AND WHAT LED IT TO BE ECO-CONSCIOUS, SUSTAINABLE AND ETHICAL?
Arenaflowers was founded in 2007 and has always been conscious of its responsibilities to the planet and its people. However, five or six years ago we stopped to consider the role of a small, independent business with an international supply chain and direct access to engaged customers and thought deeply about our purpose: what were we doing and what more could be done. It wasn't quite an epiphany but actually, just monumentally sensible to be led by purpose. Our determination to improve the lives of the communities we touch is what drives much of our activity
WHAT MAKES ARENA FLOWERS SUSTAINABLE?
The support of our customers. Without the support of the thousands of customers who trust us to deliver important, emotional connections on their behalf we wouldn't be able to do the good things we do. Those things include removing all single-use plastics from our products in 2017, reducing packaging, water consumption and air miles, salvaging green waste and repurposing it in the worlds first closed-loop system for flower waste, planting more than 750,000 trees in areas of the world suffering from deforestation, coastal erosion and extreme poverty, buying local or Fairtrade whenever the opportunity exists, paying everyone in our business fairly and generating almost £100,000 in charitable donations for Women's Aid and Crisis.
WITH VALENTINE’S DAY AROUND THE CORNER, AND YOUR FLOWERS SEASONALLY SOURCED, WHICH BOUQUET WOULD YOU RECOMMEND?
Locally grown flowers in February are something of a rarity; hellebores were included in a bouquet that's just come to an end and now our only local flowers are our Valentine Tulips. In just a few weeks the business will welcome ranunculus and cherry blossom back into our designs and that always starts the countdown to peony season for me. My favourite design for valentines is the Amore bouquet - it's exquisite
“We start a revolution with each of our daily choices. ”
ANY TIPS ON KEEPING A BOUQUET FRESH FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE?
Treat them like a baby! Well, not exactly but you have to keep them clean, nourished and away from too much heat.
Always clean the vase and fill it with fresh water, flower food (which can be somewhat replicated by mixing 2tsps of sugar, 2tsps of lemon juice and a tiny amount of bleach in each litre of water) before removing all leaves or foliage that might come into contact with the water, trimming your stems with a clean sharp cut and then rinse the stems before arranging them in the vase. Repeat that process every couple of days and you'll have given your flowers the very best chance of an extended stay in your home
NOTHING MAKES ME MORE SAD THAN HAVING TO THROW AWAY FLOWERS ONCE THEY FADED? ANY TIPS ON GIVING YOUR BOUQUET A SECOND LIFE? MAYBE TIPS ON HOW TO DRY FLOWERS? OR COMPOST THEM?
There are so many ways to preserve flowers by pressing or drying but one that I taught my daughters and (I think) they really enjoyed was flower pounding embroidery. It felt like a lost art when we first embarked upon it but it's deeply uncomplicated and can be almost therapeutic. We have tutorials for this and lots of other ways to enjoy your flowers in new ways online
WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS FOR ARENA FLOWERS?
This feels incongruous, but we're intending to do more. We're growing rapidly and that's wonderful because it means more trees will be planted, more vulnerable women & children will be protected and supported directly by the donations we're able to make. More carbon will be sequestered, more green waste will be salvaged and more communities in need of support will get more of the things they need. We'll also be helping more people to share important, emotional moments through our service and offering them more ways to meaningfully personalise these connections. Our technology is incredible and it will support some amazing things for our concierge customers; if you let us know that you don't like a certain colour or are ill-disposed to a specific variety, we can ensure that you never receive that in a delivery again. Moreover, if we know that you adore a particular flower and would like to be among the first to receive it when it arrives in season, we can take care of that too. These are great examples of a customer focussed outcome that also reduces waste. This, in its essence, is sustainability.
