“Surprising insights from our footprint calculation”

Blooms out of the Box, which supplies unique green promotional gifts, is compensating their full CO2 emissions by planting bamboo in Uganda. The company decided to do this because it wants to work as sustainably as possible and wants to reduce their impact on the environment to zero, Erna Ebbinge says. “The story of Bamboo Village Uganda appealed to us directly.”

Blooms out of the Box was founded by Simon Speelman and Erna Ebbinge. The two came up with a concept in which plants are packaged and sent in wooden wine boxes. Not only do the plants arrive at their place of destination undamaged, the boxes can also be used as a flower pot. The buyer receives the box by mail, then slides the lid off and removes the plants. The watertight BloomsBox can then be filled with water. After the lid with a few holes in it has been pushed back onto the box, the plants can be hung in the lid. “The BloomsBox can stand for three to five weeks without the need for further care of the plants,” says Erna.

Personal conviction

So it is a sustainable concept that fits well with the wishes of companies looking for sustainable business gifts. Currently, three variants are available: with air-purifying ferns, with Italian herbs , and with Christmas trees. “In addition, we want to start focusing on the consumer market and we are working on coffee and tea plants, among other things.” Simon and Erna aspire to be as sustainable as possible. “From personal conviction, we want our impact on nature to be zero percent. Of course, firstly, we sell a box of plants. Plants purify the air from harmful substances and convert CO2 into oxygen. We have consciously chosen to focus on a mix of highly air-purifying ferns. All the paper that we use is made from agricultural waste, which means it has a 47 percent lower environmental impact than ‘regular’ FSC certified paper. The boxes that we use are made from FSC certified pine. We are looking into whether it is possible in the future to make the boxes from bamboo, preferably from the bamboo that is now being planted in Uganda through our footprint compensation!

Development in Uganda

“The story of Bamboo Village Uganda actually appealed to us straight away,” says Erna. “Because in addition to compensating for your CO2 emissions, the planting of bamboo also contributes to the socioeconomic development in Uganda.” Through Greenhouse Marketeers, Blooms out of the Box had their footprint calculated, which yielded surprising insights. “Our plant pots are made from Chinese bamboo and we initially thought that transport would have a major impact on our footprint. But because the weight is low, a lot of pots can be shipped in one container at a time. Ultimately, the greatest impact turned out to come from the plants themselves, as much as fifty percent. A big surprise for us. ”

“One hundred percent behind our product”

The company has now fully compensated its own CO2 emissions via Bamboo Village Uganda, which means they can use the official logo. Erna indicates that Blooms out of the Box is going to do so proudly. “The logo is on the card that is in the boxes and we also want to mention it on our webshop. We want to make it clear to everyone who buys a BloomsBox that they are buying a sustainable product. In addition, we will promote it through advertisements and explain it on our website.” Erna expects that customers will react positively to this step. But she also has a good feeling about it herself. “We can now sell a product that we fully support. We are very happy and proud that we have done this. ”