Running a Sustainable Business: Moose Plant Shop Interview

Maria Ansell is the owner of Moose Plant Shop, a sustainable shop selling houseplants based in Newark, Nottinghamshire. When she’s not restocking rare pothos, tracking down tradescantia or preparing peperomia, Maria is thinking up new ways to make her business even more environmentally friendly.

What began as a passion for rare and attractive plant species quickly grew into a successful retail operation. Sales boomed over the pandemic, when lockdowns gave rise to a renewed interest in appealing interior design, with a strong focus on houseplants. Thanks largely to social media, where Moose Plant Shop has 10,000 Instagram fans and 4,000 Facebook followers, Maria hurried to keep up with the growing order list.

But, as a nature lover, Maria was mindful of the potential impact her growing business could have on the planet. Together with her boyfriend Sam Cant and French Bulldog Moose (after whom the shop is named), Maria has taken a number of steps to ensure the shop is sustainable ecologically – as well as financially.

Here’s what she told us about the journey.

30 Seconds With… Maria Ansell of Moose Plant Shop

1. What are the biggest challenges your business is facing right now?

Packaging and postage prices have been steadily increasing since we launched three years ago. Some items are now more than 30% more expensive, and I expect them to continue rising.

We have been absorbing these increases rather than raising our postage prices, but eventually this may no longer be possible, and we will have to have a price rise, which is something we are trying to avoid for as long as possible.

2. How will you overcome these challenges?

The only way we have to combat this at the moment is through business growth, increasing shipping quantities and buying in bulk which drastically reduces the cost per item for packaging goods.

We will be moving to a larger location later in the year with more storage capacity and the option to collect orders in person – it is very much a case of racing inflation at the moment!

3. How do you see the workplace changing over the next five to 10 years?

As a mail order business, I think the idea of standard working hours or business days is gradually changing with more couriers offering weekend and late-night deliveries, and customers expecting a faster turnaround.

I do occasionally get emails asking why a parcel hasn’t arrived on a Monday when it was ordered the Sunday before.

4. Why did you choose to “go sustainable” in your business?

People love the idea of sustainable shipping practices and it’s been pointed out as a reason why customers decided to purchase from us in the first place.

Our packaging has always consisted of recycled, recyclable or biodegradable materials from the start of the business. I think having this approach from the very beginning helped a lot, as I haven’t experienced the alternatives, so there was never a big shift or change to packing processes.

We consistently have overwhelmingly positive feedback, specifically around our packing and presentation.

5. How did you ensure your business logistics were sustainable?

There’s lots of little things which I think add up to make us a more sustainable business. For example:

• Excess plant waste is composted on site
• We only use peat-free soil in our mixes
• Leftover nursery pots are reused for our home-grown section

We also ship with Royal Mail, which has the lowest reported carbon emissions per parcel of any major UK delivery company.

6. What difficulties did you face when it came to sustainability?

Moisture control has been the biggest issue which is specific to our industry. As we don’t use any plastic in our packaging, there is a real balance with making sure a plant’s soil is moist enough that it’s not going to dry out in transit, but not so wet that it leaks through the wrapping and weakens the box.

Other companies use plastic baggies around the pot to keep soil and water in place, so we’ve just had to get creative and be quite rigid with our watering schedule.

Read our next interview, where we learnt how sustainable marketing can boost your business.

This interview is part of a series of conversations we’re having with small business leaders in the UK today. Look out for the next one on our Business Insights page.