Smithers-Oasis responds to Church motion to ban floral foam

KENT, Ohio USA – 3 February 2026 – Smithers-Oasis, a worldwide leader in the floriculture and floral design industry, has issued a response to the upcoming Church of England General Synod Motion to ban floral foam and require flowers used in designs to be locally grown.

“Since the Church of England has not reached out to us to discuss our products and sustainability plan, and the only brand named in the Motion was ours (OASIS^® Floral Foam), we feel obligated to publish a response to the Motion, as it includes misinformation and omissions. Our products and the UK floral industry deserve advocacy,” said Denise Patterson, Chief Brand & Communications Officer.  

While the Motion was correct in stating that Smithers-Oasis invented floral foam in 1954 under the brand OASIS^®, it omitted the company’s innovations in floral foam and design media, particularly over the past 12 years. The company launched OASIS^® degradable floral foam in 2014 to support landfill disposal, which is widely used around the world, and OASIS^® TerraBrick^® Floral Media in 2021, which is certified OK compost Home and Industrial.

Perhaps the largest omission was OASIS^® Renewal™ Floral Foam, a plant-based floral foam free of dyes and colorants and achieving TÜV Austria’s highest biobased rating. Introduced in 2025, OASIS^® Renewal™ Floral Foam has a carbon footprint 56% lower than OASIS^® petroleum-based floral foams, and when incinerated for disposal with energy recovery, is carbon neutral.

“We invest more than 70% of our product Research into areas of sustainability,” said Paulo Meneghetti, Chief Technology Officer and Director of Polymer Research. “Ethics are a core value of Smithers-Oasis, and we back up our claims with third-party testing and certifications.”

The Motion includes false claims about OASIS^® Floral Foam, specifically regarding the danger of dust when cutting OASIS^® Floral Foam and that OASIS^® Floral Foam is toxic. Smithers-Oasis provides Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) for each of their floral foams, which are required to conform to UK REACH Regulations. An SDS requires manufacturers to provide information on handling and storage, personal protection, and ecological information.

The Motion also requires the use of locally grown flowers, which represent approximately 15% of the flowers used in the UK today. The first reaction is to assume locally grown flowers are more sustainable. The reality is far more complex. A key reason flowers are grown along the equator is the climate, which provides steady sunlight throughout the year. To grow enough flowers to meet the year-round needs of the UK - the remaining 85% of flowers currently used - greenhouses would need to be built, which would come with high carbon footprints.

There are more than 12,000 florists in the UK who have expertise and design skills that minimize waste. The floral industry contributes £1.6 billion to the UK’s economy. Requiring florists to use only locally grown flowers and avoid using floral foam is impractical and will impact their livelihood - resulting in more expensive florals, more time to complete designs, and higher labour costs. It will also impact the Church of England’s worshipers who, in times of celebration and grief, will be forced to either pay higher costs or forgo flowers.

To read the complete response and supporting materials, go to www.oasisfloral.co.uk/yes-floral-foam.

About Smithers-Oasis

Smithers-Oasis Company’s global expertise in the plant and flower business stretches from propagation to presentation. With operating units, research facilities, and sales and marketing teams in 29 countries, Smithers-Oasis has customers in more than 130 countries and on every continent. Smithers-Oasis manufactures and markets floral foam and floral media, postharvest products, growing media, floral sprays and dyes, and flower arranging supplies for the floriculture and horticulture industries. OASIS^®, FLORALIFE^®, and DESIGN MASTER^® are three of the company’s most recognized brands founded in 1954, 1938, and 1961, respectively. The company’s driving purpose is Improving Lives Worldwide. Smithers-Oasis, a privately owned company, is headquartered in Kent, Ohio, USA.