Abstract
Environmental sustainability within the floral industry is becoming increasingly important to consumers as they are reporting more interest in how the products they purchase are designed, sourced, marketed, and branded. The purpose of this study was to compare the perceptions of environmentalism and the use of sustainable floral design practices currently being implemented by professional florists based on demographic background. A tested, reliable, and valid survey instrument with 36 questions measured the variables of interest, as well as demographics. When analyzing survey question responses based on the demographics of participants, it was found that the participants who appear to be the most interested in learning about sustainable floral practices and certifications are females and respondents with college and graduate degrees. Additionally, Asian and African Americans indicated a greater interest in sustainable floral design topics and programs. By understanding perceptions of professional florists and the particular group differences, the floral industry can better target educational courses and workshops, certification programs, and new sustainable floral products developed for environmentally friendly floral designs.
Floral consumers have indicated that the methods by which retail floral providers source materials and create floral designs are increasingly important considerations for them when they select a floral provider (Etheredge et al. 2024b). A previous study exploring retail flower shop owners’ perceptions of environmentalism found that most floral shop owners who participated in the study had a high level of environmental concern and would be willing to collaborate with local community programs, such as community gardens and Master Gardeners, if it meant that the waste produced at their shops could be composted (Etheredge and Waliczek 2020). Additional research found that 80.1% of professionals within the floral industry who participated in a study investigating perceptions of sustainability within the floriculture industry indicated that they were interested in learning more about sustainable floral design techniques and strategies (Etheredge et al. 2024a). However, past research has found that the likelihood of any individual adopting environmentally sustainable practices varies depends on the individual’s personal experiences and education in environmental sustainability (Piñeiro et al. 2020). Past research found that programs focused on environmental sustainability have a higher adoption rate when focused on how the adoption of sustainable practices are linked to short-term economic benefits rather than those solely focused on ecological benefits (Piñeiro et al. 2020). Past research also indicated demographic differences, with individuals with higher educations, households with children, and women participating most in environmentally sustainable activities such as recycling, conservation of energy, and waste reduction (Piao and Managi 2023).
Floral shop owners with the knowledge to incorporate environmentally sustainable aspects within their business have the potential to differentiate their floral shop from the rest and remain competitive through branding. Branding has been shown to increase profit margins and help to stimulate demand markets that have become saturated (Collart et al. 2010). Branding can increase profits by raising awareness and increasing demand among consumers through promotion (Collart et al. 2010).
Professional organizations in which individuals can receive certifications as professional florists within the floriculture industry, such as the American Institute of Floral Designers, require certificate holders to attend a number of floral educational workshops each year to maintain their certification (American Institute of Floral Designers 2024). Green awards and certifications can help improve a company’s environmental practices by establishing performance goals and through the implementation of systems that are more environmentally sustainable (Darnall and Sides 2008; Lee et al. 2019). Green or environmentally sustainable awards and certifications are known to trigger environmental improvements such as saving water and energy, using eco-friendly purchasing policies, and reducing and/or better managing waste (Lee et al. 2019). A study investigating consumers’ perceptions of luxury and utilitarian products with environmental claims found such assertions enhanced buyers’ perceptions of products, especially when the content of the claim emphasized global environmental benefits (Steinhart et al. 2013). Environmental claims may also improve consumers’ perceptions of luxury items, thus giving them a justification to indulge in such products (Steinhart et al. 2013).
By understanding florists’ perceptions of sustainability and differences within the overall group, including those based on demographics, floral educational organizations will better understand those who would be most receptive to target when promoting sustainable floral educational programs. The purpose of this study was to compare the perceptions of environmentalism and the use of sustainable floral design practices currently being implemented by professional florists based on demographic background.
Materials and methods
Sample
A volunteer sampling method was used to collect survey responses (McDowell 1982; Orozco et al. 2021). Respondents were drawn from an e-mail list of individuals identified as being professional florists involved in the floriculture industry. The e-mail list included 3414 professional florists’ e-mail addresses and was compiled through searches of two membership directories of professional organizations within the floriculture industry: the American Institute of Floral Designers and the Society of American Florists. A link to an online survey was e-mailed to the list of professionals asking for their participation in the study and informing them of the gift card incentives. The link to the survey remained active for 4 weeks. Reminder e-mails were sent to each person on the e-mail list once weekly to encourage survey completion.
Incentive
A $500 Visa gift card incentive was randomly awarded to each of three respondents who completed the survey. Incentives have been found to encourage individuals to participate in surveys and boosts response rates (Sammut et al. 2021).
Instrumentation
The survey instrument consisted of 36 questions within two different sections. The survey instrument was used in past research exploring perceptions of environmentalism and the use of sustainable floral design practices within the floral industry (Etheredge et al. 2024a).
The first section of the survey included 29 questions and investigated professional florists’ perceptions of environmental sustainability within floral design and the type of floral business they owned and/or in which they worked. Respondents answered different questions in a variety of manners including five-point Likert-type (Likert 1932) questions, multiple choice, and open-ended answers. Likert-type questions included answers of “strongly disagree,” “disagree,” “neither agree nor disagree,” “agree,” and “strongly agree.” Examples of Likert-type questions included “I am personally interested in learning more about sustainable floral design” and “I attempt to construct floral arrangements using more environmentally sustainable mechanics and materials.” Examples of multiple-choice questions included, “How interested would you be to participate in a sustainability certification program in which you/your business receive an industry-recognized sustainable certification.” Examples of multiple-choice answers included “very interested,” “interested,” “somewhat interested,” and “not interested at all.” Examples of open-ended questions included “Please list any barriers that are preventing you from incorporating sustainable business practices within your floral business or when creating floral arrangements” (Etheredge et al. 2024a; Wojtowicz 1995).
The second section of the survey consisted of seven demographic questions asking respondents to provide their age, education level, annual household income, gender, ethnicity, country in which they live, and US state in which they live, if a US resident. These were modeled on a reliable and valid instrument used in a previous similar study (Etheredge et al. 2024a).
Data analysis
Data from the survey were entered into IBM SPSS Statistics (version 28; IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) and analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc least significant difference (LSD) tests, as well as descriptive and frequency statistics.
Results and discussion
Survey response
At total of 453 (13.26% response rate, 100% completion rate) professionals who worked within the floriculture industry participated in the study. Overall respondents were female (68.0%), were Caucasian (76.6%), were between the ages of 55 and 64 years (33.3%), held a bachelor’s degree (37.1%), and resided within the United States (93.4%) (Table 1). A majority of respondents who completed the survey worked at traditional standalone retail floral shops (63.4%) and were the businesses owner (65.8%). The average amount of time respondents had worked in the floriculture industry at the time the survey was completed was 28.4 years. These findings are consistent with previous demographic data collected by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (2023), which found the most common owner of a retail flower shop to be Caucasian (90.6%) and a woman (78.3%).
Frequency statistics reporting the demographic differences in professional florists’ perceptions of environmentalism and the use of sustainable floral design practices within the floral industry.
Demographic data comparison
ANOVA tests were used to determine whether there were differences in responses to questions that were answered based on the gender, age, education level, ethnicity, and annual household income of respondents. Significant differences were found in all five demographic groups. Post hoc, LSD, and frequency tests were used to determine where these significant differences occurred within each demographic category.
Analysis based on gender
Significant differences were found in the way participants answered five of the survey questions based on their gender (Table 2). Female respondents agreed or strongly agreed with all significant questions when compared with male respondents. The statements in which differences were found were “I think it’s the environmentally right choice for professional workers within the floral industry to become more environmentally sustainable when creating floral designs,” “I think professional workers within the floral industry should learn about sustainable methods to create floral arrangements,” “I am personally interested in learning more about sustainable floral design,” “I attempt to construct floral arrangements using more environmentally sustainable mechanics and materials,” and “How interested would you be to participate in a sustainability certification program in which you/your business receive an industry-recognized sustainable certification?” (Table 2). Overall, females indicated a stronger interest in sustainable floral design and in the use of sustainable floral mechanics when compared with males. These findings support past research finding females to be more concerned about environmentalism efforts and also more willing to take the time to learn about and practice environmentalism (Etheredge and Waliczek 2020; Laroche et al. 2001).
ANOVA and frequency statistics indicating significant differences in the way professional florist participants responded to survey questions pertaining to their views on sustainability within the floral industry based on the respondent’s gender.
Analysis based on age
When comparing age groups, ANOVA tests found significant differences in the way respondents answered one question (Table 3). With the statement “I attempt to construct floral arrangements using more environmentally sustainable mechanics and materials,” post hoc analysis (LSD) indicated that there was a difference in the way participants rated the statement based on age groups. Individuals 25 to 34 years of age (72.8%) agreed or strongly agreed more often with the statement when compared with all other age groups, indicating this younger age group to be the most likely to currently be constructing floral arrangements using more sustainable methods. These findings support past research that found younger professional florists think there is a connection between their health and environmental hazards and that all members of society should help to solve environmental problems (Etheredge and Waliczek 2020). However, because the response rate was relatively low for individuals 34 years of age and younger (27 total participants), these results could vary if a larger population of individuals 34 years of age and younger were sampled (Table 1).
ANOVA and frequency statistics indicating significant differences in the way professional florist participants responded to survey questions pertaining to their views on sustainable attributes that could be included into a retail floral providers business based on the respondent’s age.
Analysis based on education level
The results of the ANOVA test found a statistically significant difference in the way respondents answered one question based on their education level (Table 4). When asked “How interested would you be to participate in a sustainability certification program in which you/your business receive an industry-recognized sustainable certification?,” post hoc analysis (LSD) indicated that individuals with a bachelor’s degree (42.3%) and/or a graduate degree (49.3%) rated themselves as being interested or very interested in participating in a sustainable certification program at a higher rate when compared with the other educational levels. These findings align with past research indicating that those with higher education levels tend to be more concerned for the health of the environment (Etheredge and Waliczek 2020). Additionally, past research found that people with college degrees are 25% more likely, on average, to adopt environmentally friendly behaviors compared with those without college degrees (Economic and Social Research Council 2011).
ANOVA and frequency statistics indicating significant differences in the way professional florist participants responded to survey questions pertaining to their views on sustainable attributes that could be included into a retail floral providers business based on the respondent’s education level.
Analysis based on race
Participants’ responses were compared based on race. A majority of all the participants (76.6%) in the study were white/Caucasian, and because the sample sizes for all other racial groups were small, results regarding racial groups other than white/Caucasians cannot be generalized to the population as a whole and could vary upon testing of a larger, more racially diverse sample. Significant differences were found in the way participants answered two of the survey questions based on their race. Asians/Asian Americans indicated being more interested in personally learning more about sustainable floral design (Table 5) compared with other racial groups. African American/Black respondents indicated being more interested in participating in a sustainable floral design certification program when compared with all other racial groups (Table 5). Prior research has shown that people of color, including African Americans and other non-White racial/ethnic groups are more concerned than Caucasians about climate change (Ballew et al. 2020; Lazri and Konisky 2019).
ANOVA and frequency statistics indicating significant differences in the way professional florist participants responded to survey questions pertaining to their views on sustainable attributes that could be included into a retail floral providers business based on the respondent’s ethnicity.
Analysis based on annual household income level
Significant differences were found in the way participants answered three of the survey questions based on their annual household income (Table 6). Because of the overall small sample size for several of the annual household income levels, generalizations about income groups could change with a larger, more diverse sample. The statements in which differences were found included “I think it’s the environmentally right choice for professional workers within the floral industry to become more environmentally sustainable when creating floral designs,” “I think professional workers within the floral industry should learn about sustainable methods to create floral arrangements,” and “I am personally interested in learning more about sustainable floral design.” For all three significant statements, individuals who earned less than $25,000 agreed or strongly agreed with the statement at a higher rate when compared with all other annual household income groups, while those making more than $150,000 agreed or strongly agreed the least when compared with all other annual household income groups (Table 6). Past research has found conflicting results regarding the annual household income level and consumers’ willingness to purchase sustainable products. Environmental concern is generally higher in poorer countries; however, research has found no relationship over time between economic development and people’s willingness to pay for environmental protection (Fairbrother 2013). Research showed that within specific countries, wealthier people are slightly more concerned about the environment, but only in some dimensions and not others (Fairbrother 2013). Additionally, research found that income has a weak relationship with the level of sustainability efforts (Alkadry et al. 2019).
ANOVA and frequency statistics indicating significant differences in the way professional florist participants responded to survey questions pertaining to their views on sustainable attributes that could be included into a retail floral providers business based on the respondent’s annual household income.
Conclusions
Environmental sustainability within the floral industry is becoming increasingly important to consumers (Etheredge et al. 2024b). Consumers are now taking more interest in the ways in which floral professionals source flowers, create floral designs, and market and brand their company. By using and promoting sustainable design practices for their customers, retail floral providers have the potential to boost economic performance and enhance profitability. As consumer trends change, so must the education of professional florists through the introduction of sustainable floral products and design methods into floral education curriculum. Additionally, as the introduction of environmental sustainability concepts continue to enter the sphere of floral design, the need for continued product development centered on sustainable floral design will continue. By understanding professional florists’ current perceptions of environmentalism within the floral industry based on demographic characteristics, those within the floral industry that teach floral education workshops and courses, such as university professors, extension professionals, and floral trade associations, can better understand how best to target and promote to various demographic groups within the floral industry when promoting educational sustainable design curricula, certification programs, and new sustainable floral products developed for environmentally friendly floral designs.
In this study, when analyzing survey question responses based on the demographics of participants, the demographic makeup of the participant most interested in learning about sustainable floral practices and certifications included females, younger florists, and those with college and graduate degrees. Additionally, Asian and African Americans indicated a greater interest in sustainable floral design topics and programs. Efforts toward promoting educational workshops focused on sustainability should be advertised in areas in which individuals within these demographics will most often encounter them. Universities with courses in floral design should consider updating their curriculums to include topics on sustainable mechanics and design techniques, while also focusing on the economics of sustainability within floral design, so that current and future florists have the skills needed to meet modern consumers’ needs (Etheredge et al. 2024b; Piñeiro et al. 2020). Overall, it was found male participants, older individuals, and higher-income earners were less interested in learning about sustainable design techniques. This would indicate that extra effort should be made to reach these demographic groups regarding the potential benefits that sustainable floral design can add to a floral business. To further understand professional florists’ needs as they relate to environmentally sustainable products, it is recommended future research focus in this area, especially including targeted groups with less representation in this study.
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