For Immediate Release
Alexandria, Virginia – July 16, 2025 A newly released survey led by North Carolina State University (NCSU) and funded by the American Floral Endowment’s Sustainabloom program reveals promising trends in sustainability across the floral industry—and outlines opportunities for growers, wholesalers, florists, and suppliers to build greener, more profitable businesses.

“Across all floral industry sectors, we’re seeing strong interest in sustainability,” said Dr. Melinda Knuth, assistant professor at NCSU and faculty lead on the project. “And by communicating their efforts and tapping into consumer values, floral businesses can turn sustainability into a competitive advantage.”

The 2024 Floriculture Sustainability Survey gathered input from over 100 floriculture businesses from the grower and retail segment, as well as industry wholesalers and suppliers. While the responses represent only a small sampling of the industry—primarily from those who chose to engage on the topic of sustainability—the insights shared offer valuable perspective into the efforts, priorities, and challenges experienced by these respondents. These findings highlight important trends and provide a window into how some in the industry are approaching sustainability today and planning for the future—whether it’s finding alternatives to plastic, transitioning to energy-efficient vehicles, or improving customer outreach.

Some highlights from the survey: Floral suppliers were the most likely to have dedicated sustainability officers and to actively promote their efforts to customers. For growers, the most common sustainability practices include recycling, composting, and biological pest control. Looking toward the future, retail florists and wholesalers are exploring packaging reduction, water conservation, and electric vehicles. Cost, limited incentives, and lack of educational resources were common challenges to implementing sustainability practices, but also pointed to clear areas for targeted support.
Results indicate a widespread continued need for sustainability educational resources, like those created and shared by Sustainabloom. Sustainabloom provides free, research-backed guides, tools, and education on sustainable practices in the floral industry to help businesses of all sizes.
Read the Full Report Here
This survey follows a recent Floral Marketing Fund study that reported nearly 60% of consumers are more likely to buy from environmentally friendly floral providers—and many are willing to pay more for sustainably grown and packaged blooms.

“Our study is another line of evidence that many floriculture businesses are practicing sustainability, and many more are ready to make changes that benefit the environment and their bottom line—they just need the right tools and support,” said Amanda Solliday, NCSU doctoral student and co-author of the report. 

Of all the businesses surveyed with a current sustainability plan in place, those plans are new – implemented within the past five years. This suggests that the practice of sustainability planning is emerging in floriculture and well-suited for additional support provided by educational resources.

The research team concludes that future efforts should aim to ease the perceived financial risks businesses face when adopting sustainable practices, while also strengthening how these sustainability efforts are communicated to customers. Clear, consumer-focused messaging—once sustainability measures are in place—can enhance both credibility and business performance.

For additional next steps, the research team encourages future education efforts to focus on both the universal and specific needs of each segment based on the survey results. For instance, wholesalers and florists may benefit most from resources on electric and fuel-efficient vehicles, while growers are more likely to require information on peat-free substrate options. Interest in plastic alternatives and recycling spans all segments of the floriculture industry.

Floral professionals can explore emerging practices and connect with available sustainability resources through Sustainabloom.org.

For more information, contactinfo@sustainabloom.org.