We see them everywhere in our day-to-day lives, adorning shop fronts, strung up on café ceilings and brightening up windowless bathrooms, fake flowers are now a decorative staple.
Regularly used on movie and tv sets, famously in series such as Bridgerton, to create the right atmosphere or alter the season and posted all over social media from the doorsteps of restaurants, it is hard to avoid false blooms.
False flowers aren't exactly a new trend. Early Egyptians and Romans used animal bone and metal to create garlands of false leaves and the discovery of silk in ancient China gave rise to the creation of intricate false blooms. In other words, humans have been mimicking plants through creative pursuits for thousands of years.
However, they do seem to have boomed in popularity lately. We dive into why they’re so popular and the nuances of different types of faux flower on the market today.
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Why are fake flowers so popular?
You would be forgiven for seeing a display of fake flowers and feeling frustrated – after all, why use plastic when you could use something natural?
The answer is pretty simple - they last longer and the plastic ones that are used most often are cheaper. “Many businesses have gained significant attention on social media thanks to Instagrammable floral displays,” says floral designer Hazel Gardiner. “This tool has now become a proven marketing strategy for building a business.”
Indeed, companies from The Stylist to Cosmopolitan have written articles rounding up ‘the most Instagrammable’ spots in London and beyond. The same is true for Paris, New York and pretty much any other city you can think of.
With the prospect of drawing in customers just for the decor, it's understandable that businesses are pulling out all the stops to create impactful displays.
“Fresh floral installations typically last only 5-7 days,” says Hazel. “In contrast, artificial stems offer longevity and require minimal maintenance, resulting in substantial cost savings."
Fake flowers are clearly an easy fix for a business that wants a permanent display and something colourful to draw people into their shop at all times of year.
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How big is the fake flower industry?
According to Grand View Research, in 2022 the global artificial flowers market size was estimated at 2.84 billion USD and is forecast to reach 4.5 billion by 2030.
These figures include false blooms made out of all materials from paper to silk to plastic - with polyester being one of the leading materials used to create the flowers. Interestingly, in commercial settings the study claims demand is shifting from plastic to textile-based products to create more versatile and eco-friendly designs. In practice however, plastic still leads the way and is what most of us see when interacting with fake flowers in our day-to-day lives.
We took to social media to see how our readers feel about fake flowers. On Instagram, 69 per cent of people who responded had seen false flower displays in their area and 80 per cent said that it wasn't something they liked.
One respondent said that fake flowers were a "waste of the world's resources," adding that "flowers should add biodiversity and improve nature." Another person said they were "ugly and awful for the environment."
Not everyone was so horrified by the proliferation of false plants though, with one person saying that indoors they "can be impactful and inspiring, especially in 'impossible' places."
Fake flowers being used in difficult places is something that Hazel also touched on, saying that "many commercial spaces struggle with a lack of natural light, and historical venues often prohibit the use of water—both issues that faux stems can easily solve.”
“Since founding the studio in 2016, we have consistently received requests for faux floral displays,” she says. “Over the years, we’ve dedicated time to researching the carbon footprint of both imported cut flowers and single-use plastic flowers, both of which present layered and complex sustainability challenges. The key is that we always source ethically and, importantly, reuse the same stems repeatedly, maintaining a large permanent collection.”
On Instagram the hashtag 'flowerwall' has been used on 806,000 posts, and a company specialising in flower walls has almost a million followers. Although many baulk at the idea of using fake blooms, they're undeniably popular and the industry is still set to grow.
Not all fake flowers were created equal
“As with most products, quality can vary greatly," says Hazel. "Inexpensive options, often made from non-recyclable plastics, are usually poor imitations of the flowers they aim to replicate. In contrast, silk flowers or those made from recycled materials, offering a more life-like, sustainable option, are rightfully more expensive.”
Unfortunately, many businesses are not able to splash the cash to create a display with these more sustainable false blooms, but there are ways to minimise the impact of using fake flowers.
“Artificial blooms should never be treated as single-use plastics,” suggests Hazel. “Save them for future projects or rehome them on an online marketplace and consider buying pre-loved blooms. Invest in the highest quality faux stems you can afford, focusing on those produced responsibly.”
What are the alternatives?
There are plenty of options besides the cheapest plastic flowers. Some establishments opt to grow climbers around their doors or keep potted shrubs outside. Others will use houseplants to great effect or use dried flowers.
At The Garden of Easton, an independent restaurant in Bristol, plants fill the space and clamber around the doorway too.
"We use plants because, having chosen the name "The Garden of Easton" (perhaps with a bottle of wine), we started propagating bits and bobs. With plants being fun, one thing led to another. Customers made nice comments and things started to get out of hand," say the owners.
About five per cent of the decoration in their restaurant is fake plants. "Fake plants on their own look a bit silly, dusty and sometimes dead or isolated from life," they say. "We've decorated in three layers: first, we've painted foliage on the walls and furniture, second added a few fake plants and third grown lots of trailing, climbing and standalone plants."
Maintaining their displays takes about three hours in the summer months, and half that time in winter. It's certainly worth the effort, as the impact leaves an impression on customers. One reviewer on Google said "The restaurant is so green, so many plants, window boxes, hanging from the rafters, it was amazing." Another said: "The atmosphere is like nothing else in Bristol - I could stay here for hours looking at all the plants."
Of course, not all businesses have a suitable space to maintain large collections of living plants, but natural options don't end there.
“Other alternatives include dried stems, paper flowers, and natural materials like twisted willow or birch branches, which we use to great effect,” says Hazel.
"Personally, I'm always drawn to natural displays that are full of life, fragrance, provide oxygen and have a tactile quality," she adds. "However, as a large floral studio, we also work with brands that require permanent floral displays. There is a middle ground, such as using high-quality faux stems that are responsibly crafted to realistically mimic fresh flowers in colour and texture and wired for realistic manipulation. I believe that education, rather than judgment or criticism, is more effective in creating positive change."
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