Get to know FloweRescue
FloweRescue is a community nonprofit organization with a mission to address and spark dialogue about the issue of flower waste; and to connect people through the beauty and joy of flowers.
FloweRescue harnesses surplus flowers from wholesalers and florists, repurposes them into beautiful bouquets, and donates them along to people who might not otherwise get to enjoy flowers — people in hospitals and elderly homes, as well as to other charities and community art projects.
At FloweRescue we're working to make sure that no flower goes to waste before first sparking joy for someone.
Since our launch in December 2018 we have rescued over 14,000 stems of fresh flowers and greens and donated them to 14 different organizations around the Helsinki metro area.
But is flower waste really such a big issue?
Flowers after all are symbols of abundance and luxury, so it's no surprise that few of us think about waste when we pick or give or receive a bouquet of flowers. But like with other perishable goods, waste is a huge problem in the floral industry.
A commonly-cited statistic suggests that 40% of the flowers produced globally will go to waste before reaching the hands of consumers.
FloweRescue isn't (yet) attempting to solve the logistical challenges which create waste along the flower supply chain; instead we tackle the issue of waste at the consumer end of things. We work with florists and wholesalers to identify and gather their surplus or waste flowers.
Exactly what is a rescue flower?
There are a few different scenarios which create "rescue-able" waste: on the wholesaler end, because their flowers are sold in bulk, if a few flowers from a large package go bad, the entire package has to be thrown away. FloweRescue receives these packages and separates the good ones from the bad.
On the florist end of things, waste usually occurs if they have over-ordered for an event or special holiday and are unable to sell off the surplus. We can also reclaim flowers from events and weddings which would otherwise get thrown into the bin after the gathering.
As the old adage goes, "one person's trash is another person's treasure", but we take care to ensure that people receiving the rescued flowers don't feel like they are getting somebody else's trash. As we process and sort the flowers, we make sure that anything we repurpose into donation bouquets will be beautiful for at least a few days after being received.
Who's behind FloweRescue?
FloweRescue is a community effort. During our first year, 80 people have come on board to process and sort the donated flowers, turn them into beautiful bouquets, and donate them along. These volunteers include florists and designers — who donate their time not only to rescue the flowers but to host flower arranging workshops at elderly homes and community centers — and also dozens of folks who simply love to spend time with the flowers.
It doesn't take any previous flower experience to create the rescue flower bouquets, only a curious mind and a willingness to get your hands dirty (processing flowers can be a messy business).
See this post for a detailed look at how we create the rescue bouquets each week.
FloweRescue currently donates about 45 bouquets each week to one or two recipient organizations, usually an elderly home or hospital in Helsinki, Vantaa or Espoo. At these locations, the bouquets are either distributed to individual resident rooms, or to the common areas for everyone to enjoy.
FloweRescue also partners with organizations such as Punainen Risti, Helsinki Missio and others to provide flowers for youth and senior engagement activities.
Our criteria for choosing recipients is simple: we aim to get the flowers into the hands of people who wouldn't otherwise have the resources or access to enjoy them.
And our work is possible thanks to Kukkatoimitus, one of Finland's largest wholesalers, which provides the lion's share of the rescue flowers as well as the space to process and prepare bouquets.
Getting involved
FloweRescue is active on social media through Facebook and Instagram.
You can get involved as a volunteer by joining us to make rescue bouquets (we currently meet each Thursday) or by helping to drive the flowers to recipients.
We are also happy to hear from florists who want to contribute their time, or their leftover or event flowers.
If you would like to contribute, or know of a hospital or organization that would like to receive flowers, please get in touch by social media or email, admin(at)flowerescue.org
Welcome aboard, the flowers await you!
