ReBloom was founded in 2014 by Kalynn Crump and is Canada’s leading innovator in repurposing and composting event florals and greenery that would otherwise end up being improperly thrown out.

Kalynn Crump never saw a flower she didn’t love. After being a bridesmaid one too many times, it broke her heart to see the flowers being thrown out immediately after an event. She felt she had no other choice but to bring the abandoned flowers home. Subsequently, her house was becoming a jungle. “At one point, regardless of how many florals I gave away, I just had too many,” Crump says. The oversaturation of flowers was her impetus to create ReBloom.

ReBloom makes flower recycling and composting simple. After an event has ended, the ReBloom team picks up the florals. They pack up the flowers in their van and return to their studio where the magic begins. ReBloom repurposes the flowers, using them to produce fresh, smaller bedside table arrangements and then delivers them to non-profits or charitable organizations. After the arrangements have brightened more people’s lives, ReBloom recollects the flowers for composting. Two weeks later, the company donates the soil that’s been created to local community gardens, farmers and landscapers. To date, ReBloom has diverted 43 tonnes of floral waste from landfills and delivered more than 30,000 floral arrangements to charities across Canada.

Crump started ReBloom with the sole agenda to repurpose and properly compost event florals and greenery that would otherwise end up in landfills. However, along the way there have been many challenges. When she started out, people and corporations were used to throwing flower arrangements in the garbage. And when Crump first explained ReBloom’s mission in those early days, there was some resistance. “They talked a good game about wanting to change and be more environmentally conscious, but when you presented them with a cost for recycling their flowers, we got a lot of ‘not right now’ and ‘no thank you,’” Crump explains. “Things have significantly changed thanks to the awareness around the ongoing harm of single-use and straight-to-landfill items.”

Even the general public and big businesses who were apprehensive about the idea at the beginning are now changing their philosophies. “We are being hired not only by wedding couples, but also by large national and international companies such as Samsung and Telus, as well as commercial properties such as Soho House and the CrossIron Mills shopping centre.”

After being in the business for more than six years, Crump feels the most rewarding part has been bringing the repurposed flowers to people in seniors’ homes, hospitals, hospices and shelters. “We get a chance to brighten up their day, even if just for a moment. The smiles coupled with the disbelief that you see on their faces that someone has done something kind for them will fill your soul.”

www.rebloomflowers.ca
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