garden bedding

How a garden company made EcoFlo work for packing live plants

How a garden company made EcoFlo work for packing live plants

The client

 

Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants is a Hampshire-based nursery and garden shop, stocking over 1,200 plant varieties. Through their online store, Hardy’s ships live plants to customers all around the UK.

“Our customers are very impressed with the fact that they can simply water the plants and EcoFlo® just washes off! Very eco-friendly.”

- Elaine, Hardy's Cottage Garden Plants

Summary

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The challenge

Packing plants without plastic

Upon launching an online shop, Hardy’s faced the tough task of shipping delicate live plants across the country.

The company needed reliable, high-performing and versatile void fill that would be as eco-friendly as possible.

EcoFlo® biodegradable loose fill fit the bill perfectly, but one question remained.

How to make water-soluble loose fill work with plants in moist soil?

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The solution

Compostable bags and EcoFlo® loose fill

To pack live plants, Hardy’s came up with a unique solution.

They decided to wrap the soil-filled pots in compostable bin liners. Then placed the plants in boxes, and filled voids with EcoFlo® protective peanuts.

That way the plants are kept safe in transit, and customers are not faced with excessive packaging upon receiving the order. According to Hardy’s, their clients have been “very impressed” by how easily EcoFlo® can be returned to nature.

The results

Customers impressed year after year

By now, Hardy’s has used EcoFlo® for many years. During that time, Greenlight’s EcoFlo® has provided:

 

  • Consistently high levels of protection for Hardy’s mail orders;
  • A positive eco-friendly surprise to customers that saves on disposal time and space;
  • A boost to the company’s environmental performance.

How exactly does Hardy’s pack their plants with EcoFlo?