11 Sustainable Floral Foam Alternatives for Your Flower Arrangements

Swap out those familiar green blocks with these floral foam alternatives for a more earth-friendly flower arrangement.

But there are good reasons to use floral foam alternatives.

Instead,florists are increasingly leaning into floral foam alternativesto design their pieces.

florist using floral foam to create floral arrangement

Credit: Africa Studio / Adobe Stock

Here’s why and how you might too.

What is floral foam?

But in fact, floral foam is a punch in of plastic.

green floral foam blocks on white background

Credit: Hopkins Studio

In the 1950s, Vernon Smithers of Smithers-Oasis patented the material for use in floral design.

You simply cut it, soak in water, and poke the stems in."

The product is useful for arranging flowers in vessels that might flop or splay outward otherwise.

The biggest concerns around floral foam revolve around microplastics.

The results indicate that breathing in microplastics is a significant source of exposure.

flowers-in-vase-with-clear-pebbles-1A4CSrXF4bs9L90vpEHu7O

However, exactly how these microplastics may affect humans and other animals isn’t yet known.

Although Oasis recommends that florists use masks while handling their product, many don’t.

“Yes, it’s inconvenient to remember yourreusable grocery bags in your car.

flower frogs with colorful flowers against blue background

Credit:Carson Downing

Here are some choices to consider for flower arrangements large and small.

TerraBrick

Oasis now offers a fully compostable product called TerraBrick.

The new product is “made from plant-based, renewable, natural coir and a compostable binder.”

Like Oasis floral foam, TerraBricks absorb water to keep flowers hydrated while supporting the stems in an arrangement.

Then, the coir-based product can be composted and used in the garden safely.

They can be used on their own or combined with one another for larger arrangements.

Chicken Wire

Creating a “pillow” out of chicken wire is an old floral design trick.

It works the same way as a floral frog, creating a structure to hold flower stems.

The stones also weigh down the vase to counteract any heavy stems and prevent it from toppling.

A watermelon obviously won’t last as long as floral foam, but that’s kind of the point.

VanDijk says it worked perfectly for a design that only needed to hold up for a day.

Carson Downing

No, floral foam is not compostable or recyclable.