At Interiorscapes, every day is earth day and our crew is committed to finding ways we can improve on creating less waste and reducing our carbon footprint.
As mentioned, we’ve installed solar panels on our rooftop, collect rainwater to reduce rain runoff and to water plants, provide a fleet of hybrid vehicles and compost as much material as possible, among many other things! We strive to find another use for something ‘old’ and are conscious of new items we bring in. We fix old tools and sharpen our pruners so we can reduce the number of new ones we buy. Actually, we have one in house expert who sharpens for us!
We are not perfect, but we know our efforts are better than nothing! We also know that our impact on the environment is better executed when we all participate so, we’ve done some searching and found this great list of the many ways you can shop for houseplants sustainably.
Remember, many tropical plants are imported from out of the country! This means, lots of costs and resources (ie. labor, transportation, fossil fuels & coal…) are required for your little Marginata!
1. Don’t become obsessed with your houseplant wishlist. – Sometimes less is more!
2. Buy from small businesses with sustainable practices.
3. Buy from local growers. 4. Buy from growers that care about sustainability
5. Swap plants with people in your community. – A fun way to meet new people who are passionate about houseplants! 6. First, look at the “as-is” section of your local plant store – I especially like this one. It gives you an opportunity to test your green thumb. And when your plant bounces back all healthy, you will feel so proud!
7. Get plant containers from the thrift store. – A creative way to display your plant friends 8. Offer excess containers for free to a local nursery or garden center. – Or put them on the curbside for free! 9. Look for biodegradable containers. 10. Stay away from synthetic fertilizers. 11. Take care of your plants to minimize damage and loss. 12. If you order online, choose smaller plants or cuttings
Tips borrowed from https://www.greenwithpurpose.com/sustainable-houseplants-eco-friendly/
I don’t know how to place a order! I would like to buy some plants on your next online purchase day
Our next online sale is May 4th on our Facebook page @interiorplantscape. There’s an event listed there that will give you all the details of how to order and how the sale works. You can also go to the plant sale tab on our website to get more info. Happy shopping!
This list of tips is awesome. Any ideas for water conservation? I want houseplants but I’m trying to be more conscious of my footprint. Trying to do other things, too, like buy sustainable seafood (https://lummiislandwild.com/sustainable-seafood/ this one’s my favorite!!) and take faster showers. Love this site, thanks again for the tips!
Here at Interiorscapes we collect rain water from our roof in a 1000 gallon rain barrel and use that to water our plants in the shop. Here’s a great option to get a rain barrel for yourself! https://www.milwaukeeriverkeeper.org/2021-diy-barrels/
Another idea is to just watch your watering – over watering is the number one killer of houseplants. There are several varieties of house plants that like to stay “on the dry side” such as Sanseveria, Succulents, Aglaonema and Pothos.