Our Values
Behind the beauty of flowers, there can be problems.
Cultivate is committed to sustainable practices.
The old adage tells up to stop and smell the roses - but depending on where they are from, you might not want to! Challenges in the floral industry include the environmental and economic impacts of shipping flowers around the world, plastic usage, and the pesticides and chemicals present.
Why American Grown?
Only a small percentage of flowers sold in the United States are grown here. We want to support local farms and communities as much as possible. During the warm season, we use local flowers. During the cold season, we do have to source florals from outside of Montana, but we only provide American Grown flowers.
What’s up with the pesticides and chemicals?
When international flowers arrive to the US they must go through customs. In customs, if there are any bugs an entire shipment can be rejected. In order to prevent this, flowers receive huge doses of pesticides and chemicals. These pesticides are not monitored by the FDA as flowers are not edible. Studies have been done on the amount of pesticides florists come in contact with and the numbers are high!
International Flower Farms
These farms often have challenges with environmental and economic impacts in their communities. Great resources of water are used, and there are little controls over the chemicals. The workers may not be paid well, even while their natural resources are being drained.
Reduce/Reuse/Recyle!
We believe there are enough vases in the world - our containers are repurposed from a variety of sources. If you have a cupboard full of flower vases you haven’t used, come chat with us! We extend this thought to our other materials - floral foam is a product that although great for making flower arrangements look good, is terrible for the environment. We don’t use it! Most of our materials are recycled and we continue to work to improve on our footprint.
Additional Reading:
Florists Exposed to Pesticides
Sustainable Floristry Network - The Problems
Thursd - Sustainability Practices