Interflora

How ethical and sustainable is Interflora?

Interflora is a brand of flower delivery that appears in The Good Shopping Guide’s Ethical Flower Delivery Companies Ratings Table. Although Interflora has not yet met our Ethical Benchmark, we hope to see the brand make progress in the future.

We would have extra confidence in this brand if it submitted itself to apply for Ethical Accreditation, whereby The Good Shopping Guide would make a further detailed assessment and recommendations for ethical improvement.

What does Interflora do?

A nurseryman and florist named Carl Englemann in Saffron Walden, Essex, and a florist named Joe Dobson of Leighton’s Seedsmen and Florists in Glasgow were aiming to expand their businesses in 1920. They applied to become international members of the Florists Telegraph Delivery Association, which had been around in the US since 1910 and is now known as Florists’ Transworld Delivery. The UK branch of the FTDA was established in 1923 with 17 members. Flowers by Wire was one of the advertising catchphrases used at a time when florists were actually communicating with one another via telegraph. Later, requests for deliveries to be made in the recipient florists’ region were made via telegrams transmitted from member to member.

The oldest members might be identified by their telegraphic addresses in the first Interflora Directory that members used. The name Interflora would only appear once in a telegraphic address in that city. The telegraphic addresses for the founding members were Interflora Glasgow and Interflora Saffron Walden, respectively.

Which ethical standards does Interflora fall short on?

Despite Interflora’s progress, there is still room for improvement. Interflora was marked down under our criteria for Fairtrade, Organic produce on top of Political Donations, and Public Record Criticisms. These areas are a large cause for concern as until these issues are improved upon the brand is greatly limiting its potential growth into a more ethical and sustainable brand.

In what areas does Interflora score well for its ethics?

The brand was marked up under our criteria for Animal welfare, Nuclear power, Fossil Fuels, and Armaments.

How can Interflora brand improve its Ethical Rating?

The Good Shopping Guide score results from multiple ethical criteria, and Interflora’s score has been calculated from these criteria. To reach our minimum Ethical Benchmark and qualify for Ethical Accreditation, Interflora has many issues to resolve, including the lack of Fairtrade and Organic flowers.