Words by Smiley Team
Many plant-lovers are also likely to be environmentalists. So for those who enjoy transforming their homes into indoor rainforests, it’s important to know where to find the most sustainable plants.
Because not all houseplants are environmentally-friendly. In fact, most are exported around the globe and sold in plastic pots. To make things worse, intermediaries between plant sellers and growers often make it difficult to find out where a plant comes from.
To guide you through the internet maze of plant retailers, here are some top suggestions for online sources of eco-friendly houseplants.
The absolute, topmost sustainable way to get houseplants is via a seed exchange. It involves neighbours sharing seeds from adult plants. This way you can be 100% sure of where your plant comes from.
To plant your seed, collect soil from a garden or park. Reuse an old pot or adapt items from your recycling such as jars or tin cans. You’re making use of seeds that would otherwise go to waste, and what’s more, seed exchanges are free.
Join a seed exchange such as Plant Exchange UK or find your local seed exchange on social media.
If you don’t have the patience to grow plants yourself, there are other great options. Plantkind’s sustainable plants are grown using coconut waste as compost and 100% renewable energy to heat its greenhouses. Additionally, its growers recycle rainwater to water the plants and sell them in eco-friendly coconut coir pots.
Discover more at plantkind.uk/sustainably-grown.
Another great shop for sustainable houseplants is The Conscious Houseplant Company. Created by indoor plant lover, Laura, the shop sells a variety of houseplants from baby succulents to impressive palms. Laura works only with ethical growers, avoids plastic and uses only peat-free compost.
Find her houseplants at theconscioushouseplantcompany.co.uk.
Dobbies is one of the largest chains of garden centres in the UK, but its commitments to the environment make it another eco-friendly option. It also grows plants in peat-free compost, it uses coconut coir pots, and customers can return old plant pots to be reused.
Find Dobbies houseplants at dobbies.com.
This plant shop is peat-free, plastic-free and runs on renewables. It’s a great source of delicate-looking air plants as well as big leafy varieties such as rubber plants.
Find Little Green houseplants at littlegreen.co.
For every purchase made, online plant shop The Stem plants a tree to replenish rainforests and gives back to 1% for the Planet. This project supports environmental nonprofits with 1% of the profits from their network of companies.
Find The Stem’s houseplants at thestem.co.uk/indoor-plants.
