Floral foam, usually referred to as Oasis is much loved by florists worldwide for its convenience.

Oasis is really appealing for any florist, those green blocks of sponge foam are brilliant for making arrangements from small to large designs as they are able to absorb and hold water.  This means that the floral design can be kept fresh up to 4 days without adding any extra water.

It is also simple to cut and mould,  is easy to transport and holds flowers tightly in place even for lengthy journeys in the van.

However, there are a few significant problems with the floral foam that are difficult to ignore.

It’s made from synthetic non-recyclable plastic and is created using a combination of carbon black, formaldehyde and phenol foam, which are all toxic both to humans and animals.

Each block of foam contains the same amount of plastic as 10 shopping bags.

But what is floral foam?

Invented by Vernon Lewis Smithers in 1954 it was a milestone for floristry and has become very quickly an essential tool in the floral industry for creating quick floral arrangements.

Each block holds up to 50 times its weight in water and keeps the blooms fresh up to 12 days.

Why is floral foam bad for the environment?

Floral foam is contributing to the growing crisis of plastic pollution. 

Thanks to its mossy texture, green hue and the fact that it's used with flowers, it can be easily  be mistaken as a natural product.

But in reality floral foam doesn’t fully dissolve in water or degrade in landfill or soil. Instead, it breaks down into smaller and smaller micro-plastics and can take thousand of years to completely revert into natural elements and are a real menace for the environment by contaminating our marine life and food chains.

Our Commitment:

Fortunately we live in a growing environmentally-conscious world.

We all got captivated, young and old by David Attenborough’s Blue Planet who bought our attention to the issue of plastics in the ocean and highlighting now more than ever it is important that we do our part for living in harmony with our Earth.

At The Hiden Collective we are floral foam free and instead we use either chicken wire or keizan (a metal spiky devices that sit in a vase or bowl and hold the flowers stems shown in the picture to the left).

Also we feel that it it is important that we voice our concern and that we try to raise the bar of the floral industry to a more environmental friendly place.

We are really happy to see that The Royal Horticultural Society has banned  the use of  Oasis from all its garden and horticultural shows from 2021.

Join now the floral foam free movement!

Sometimes life gets hard and it becomes difficult to see the light in the darkness around us.

To feel better, having a positive mindset is very necessary, but also the objects and beings that are around us are critical too.

Being surrounded by nature has long been known to boost our mood and ease stress, but what if you could mimic that soothing vibe at home?

Having flowers at home could be the secret to improving your health, reducing stress and helping us to find peace of mind.  

Multiple studies has shown that flowers have a brightening effect on the mood that can last for days, proving much more powerful than a bar of chocolate! 

Flowers Colour 

Red flowers such as tulips and roses, are connected to concentration and attention to detail, instead blue blooms such as agapanthus and delphiniums are great to promote free thinking and creativity.

Orange and yellow flowers such as dahlia and chrysanthemum are connected with happiness. By combining both orange and yellow you can promote a calming mood and by adding greens you can reflect feelings of peace.

Scented Flowers & Foliage

Of all the five senses, our sense of smell is one of the most powerful. Not only does it allow us to enjoy some amazing scents and appreciate our food, but it’s also an amazing trigger for memories. When you need to improve your mood or if you know of somebody who needs a bit of an emotional boost, consider sending some flowers.

Lilies are some of the most powerful smelling of all flowers and they have a way of lightening the mood.

Lavender helps soothe away that stress which makes way for a new, better mood.

Eucalyptus with its woody scent is great to energise you. 

The positive impact of flowers

Flowers are a perfect solution to communicate emotions when it’s hard to find the right words.

Also the simple gesture of gifting some flowers is a powerful sign of showing your friendship, love, your support and is so powerful that it can help to lift the receiver from a difficult place or low point.

Scientific Studies Confirm Benefits of Flowers

Flowers not only have the power of cheering us up when we are feeling down, but they also have many other properties such as helping us get a proper night of sleep, boosting our creativity, increasing our productivity, making our tolerance to pain higher, boosting our health, and even improving our attention span.

A study from the university of Texas have found that patients in hospital rooms decorated with flowers and potted plants needed less postoperative pain medication, had lower systolic blood pressure and pulse rates, were less anxious and tired, and generally were in a more positive psychological state than patients in rooms without flowers.

Another recent scientific study finds that nature can also hold the secret to business success.

The research demonstrates that workers’ idea generation, creative performance and problem-solving skills improve substantially in workplace environments that include flowers and plants.

Classrooms with flowers and plants in it have a bigger attention span, and students show more creativity, free-thinking skills, and overall satisfaction.

There’s too much carbon in the air

We love Ethical British Flowers! 

Our supply chain is very simple, trackable and energy efficient.

We order flowers either directly from the grower or from a British flowers wholesaler and in that way the grower will only cut the flowers that are preordered.

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