No more plastic – InnoGreen develops even more sustainable greenery

Greenery and sustainability often go hand in hand in our minds, but is that really the case? InnoGreen wants to modernize the green industry and develop even more sustainable green decor solutions that respect both nature and people. First the company launched the domestic Koivu plant pots to provide more ethically and sustainably produced planters. Now InnoGreen gives up the sale of plastic plants and brings stabilized plants to its selection.

InnoGreen’s mission is to improve the quality of life through nature. We want to promote comfort and well-being with greenery by bringing nature closer to people both indoors and outdoors. While working towards our mission, we want to ensure our greenery solutions are good for not only people, but also nature and the world around us.

InnoGreen gives up plastic plants and replaces them with stabilized plants

Silk plants, or plastic plants, have never been at the core of our business, but they have been a reasonable choice for some spaces. Fake plants are used in so-called challenging spaces, where there might not be enough light or water for living plants, or where maintaining plants would be a safety hazard, for instance. However, selling plastic plants was not completely in line with our values and we decided to give up selling them starting 1 January 2023. We are taking a step towards something new and taking on the challenge to find a more natural alternative.

“Removing plastic plants from our selection is a significant step towards more responsible green decor for both us and our customers. We want to reduce the use of plastic and unnecessary waste in the green industry, and create more sustainable alternatives that respect nature, the environment and people. “With sustainability, we think you can never be done. There are always better solutions to be found”, says Mikko Sonninen, head of the Product Development team at InnoGreen.

The year 2022 was dedicated to more sustainable product development. When the Koivu plant pots were put into production after long preparations, we started looking for alternatives for silk plants. Our focus turned to stabilized, i.e. preserved, plants. The stabilization process uses glycerin, and the treated plants are recyclable and biodegradable.

Sustainable is always trendy

“The use of stabilized plants has increased in Europe, and we also have years of excellent experience with trendy decorative moss. That’s why we wanted to see if we could take stabilization even further. Stabilization creates new possibilities and broadens our variety of plants significantly. We believe that more sustainable solutions will be increasingly important for our clients in the future”, Mikko explains. 

Currently the stabilized plants in InnoGreens selection are produced in Europe. In the future the selection will also include plants stabilized by InnoGreen. So far the method has been tested with tropical plants and InnoGreen continues testing it on as many kinds of different plants as possible. New plants will be added to the selections for customers to order in stages as the research progresses.

The Koivu plant pots showed that there is demand for domestic products. Many people enjoy elements of the northern nature, and with the help of stabilization, we could make domestic conifers and shrubs a part of green decor indoors in the future. What’s more, stabilized plants and moss can retain their shape and true color for decades and they usually don’t require maintenance. Of course, in a public place, for example, many people might want to touch the plants out of curiosity, and in that case even stabilized plants might require occasional repair. 

Did you know that InnoGreen works together with World Land Trust? 

In addition to developing new innovations, InnoGreen continues protecting the rainforests with World Land Trust. InnoGreen preserves a thousand square kilometers of rainforest for every square meter of green wall sold, and our customers get an official certificate to document this. By the end of 2022 we have already protected 1,600,000 square meters of rainforest together with our customers.

Our sales team is here to support you with all things green: sales@innogreen.fi