What Is Foam-Free Floral Design?

Floral foam has been an industry standard since the 1950s when it was developed by Smithers-Oasis (one of the leading floral supply companies today). Floral foam makes designing easier, holding 40-50 times its weight in water, keeping stems in place in vessels of any shape and size, and preventing spills in the back of delivery vans during transport. 

But increasingly, floral designers, like myself, are turning away from floral foam because of its potential toxicity and negative environmental impact. Floral foam is a type of plastic, and is made of phenol and formaldehyde, both of which are known toxins to humans and animals. And because the foam doesn’t fully break down, it eventually degrades into microplastics which pollute our water supply and cause harm to aquatic life.

Foam-free floral designers use other mechanics to keep flowers in place and provide them with a water source, without the negative impacts of floral foam. Typically foam-free designers are also focused on sustainability, in general, and incorporate other practices like composting scraps or using local and seasonal flowers.

Elderflower Studio is a foam-free floral studio, dedicated to creating beautiful florals for weddings and events without the harmful environmental toll of foam. We use reusable mechanics like chicken wire and flower frogs (more on that below), and collect all of our flower scraps for compost.

If sustainability is important to you, ask your wedding or event florist if they are open to working without foam, and what other sustainable practices they incorporate into their work!

And if you’re looking to design with flowers yourself, below are a few foam-free mechanics designers use. Thankfully the list of options is growing, as more and more designers and companies see the importance of working without foam:

• Waterproof floral tape – Can be used to create a grid at the top of your vessel, or to keep other mechanics in place.
• Chicken wire – Look for coated chicken wire or floral netting. Pieces can be cut to whatever size you need, taped to your vessel, and reused in future arrangements.
• Pin frogs – Also called kenzans or flower frogs, these are often used in Japanese ikebana flower arranging. They’re usually made of stainless steel or brass and feature pins to keep stems in place.
• Holly Chapple Eggs and Pillows – A unique reusable plastic mechanic that provides a structure for centerpieces and bouquets. 
• Other branches and stems – Susan McLeary is a pioneer in sustainable floral mechanics, and shares many of her ideas in her book Flowers for All.
• New technologies like Oshun Pouch and Agra-Wool are being developed to replace floral foam. These are often expensive, and are used more often by event florists for installations and floral structures.

Take a look through some of our favorite seasonal, foam-free designs below!