SFN Membership Program

Benefits of membership

Quite simply, SFN Member Florists are better florists! They are leading the way globally with a new system for a more sustainable industry.

Display a SFN Member Florist digital badge

SFN Member Florists receive a digital badge to use on their website and email. The badge is a simple way to share your achievements and commitment, and it is easy for customers to verify and trust.

SFN Member Florists are listed on the SFN Directory, allowing customers to locate local florists committed to sustainability.

Contribute to a transformed industry

SFN Member Florists are setting a new standard for floral design — one based around sustainability principles. 

The more practitioners who work towards the principles, the further the industry can shift towards a sustainable standard of design and business operation.

Tackle greenwashing

‘Greenwashing’ – the practice of selling something as environmentally-friendly when it is not – is a big problem across all industries, including floristry. Any business can claim to be a ‘sustainable florist’.

SFN Member Florists adhere to a set design and business principles set by an independent, third-party and consider sustainability from a global perspective.

Support customers

Consumer demand for sustainable products is increasing year on year. SFN Member Florists have learnt to guide customers to more sustainable purchases. 

Learn from an affordable and practical industry sustainability program

The SFN educates individual floristry practitioners. The process of accrediting or certifying businesses generally involves compliance programs that can be expensive to run and manage. Given the income of the average florist and the many origins of floristry products, it is more affordable — and in many ways makes more sense — if we use education as a tool to raise industry standards.

The SFN makes no claims about a business’s credentials, given that one business may have many employees. We can only confirm if individual practitioners employed by a business are part of our membership program. Membership credentials can be verified through the member’s listing in the SFN Directory.

The Sustainable Floristry Pledge

Florists are ambassadors for nature. And nature is in trouble.

We are deeply concerned by the Triple Planetary Crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.

We want to see all people in the floristry supply chain experience fair and safe working conditions.

The SFN pledge supports greater global movements aiming to create a sustainable future for the planet and for people. We ask florists to join us in becoming an SFN Member and committing to the following:

The pledge

I support creating a more sustainable industry through the following commitments:

1. Choose better flowers.

I will learn about cut flower seasonal availability and use my knowledge to minimise floristy’s environmental footprint.

Where applicable, I will support certifications that keep supply chains fair, transparent and traceable.

I will support farms that are working to conserve resources and preserve biodiversity.

2. Design out waste.

I will not use plastic floral foam in my floral design and aim to eliminate the use of single-use plastics. If I am an educator working within an outdated training system, I will teach alternative design methods and lobby for change within the teaching program.

I will work towards zero-waste floristry and choose products and sundries that can be easily recovered, reused, remanufactured, recycled or returned to the earth at the end of their useful life.

I will create floral designs that support the end-user to avoid adding to landfill and enable easy resource recovery within domestic waste management systems.

3. Invest in ethics.

I will build a safe, fair and equitable workplace.

I will choose to engage with other businesses and suppliers genuinely working towards a more sustainable industry.

I will not engage in greenwashing or enable other businesses to.

4. Communicate with community.

I will share my decision-making process with others in the industry.

I will demonstrate the SFN Design and Business Principles to customers, colleagues and peers.

I will be honest and transparent about my own journey towards a more sustainable floristry.

Maintaining membership

Annual membership is maintained by completing a shorter series of education units each year. These units will expand on the previous year’s learnings and will keep florists up to date with the latest thinking in sustainability, with the objective of supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The first Foundation in Sustainable Floristry course will cover membership for two years between 2024–25.

SFN Membership agreement

The SFN Member Florist agreement can be accessed through the following link.