About
Where America's Flowers Begin
Every rose sold at a flower shop in Chicago, every bouquet used at a wedding in Seattle, and every carnation sitting on a kitchen table in Boston probably passed through Miami first. That is because Miami is known as the flower capital of the United States.
More than 90% of the fresh-cut flowers sold in the country come through Miami. Every day, flowers are flown in from farms in Colombia, Ecuador, and other countries. Each year, about 8 billion flower stems, worth almost $2 billion, land at Miami International Airport before being shipped to flower shops, grocery stores, and event planners all across the United States and Canada.
The whole process is pretty impressive. A flower can be cut on a farm in Colombia and end up in someone’s vase in the United States just a few days later. But because flowers do not stay fresh forever, every step of the process is also a race against time.
The Problem: Beauty on a Deadline
Fresh-cut flowers do not stay fresh for very long, which makes them one of the most perishable products in the world. Once flowers arrive in Miami, there is only a short amount of time to sell, pack, and ship them across the country before they start losing their freshness.
Unfortunately, not every flower makes it in time. Some studies estimate that about one-third of cut flowers are wasted somewhere along the supply chain before they ever reach a customer. With the huge number of flowers that come through Miami, that could mean hundreds of millions of stems and millions of dollars' worth of flowers being thrown away in South Florida every year. Many of these flowers are not dead or ruined. They are simply too old to survive another long trip across the country.
The sad part is that these flowers can still be beautiful, smell good, and make someone happy. They just might not last long enough to be shipped somewhere far away, like Ohio. Because of that, for years many of them have simply ended up in the trash.
A Second Life for Miami's Flowers
Every flower we rescue gets a second chance. Instead of becoming waste, it can become something meaningful that brings people together and makes someone’s day a little brighter.
Billions of flowers pass through Miami every year. We believe that flowers that are still beautiful should not end up in the trash when they could be given to someone who would truly appreciate them.
Our Answer: Forward, Not Away
Flower-Forward Foundation started with a simple idea: just because a flower can no longer be sold does not mean it has to be thrown away.
A flower with only a few days of freshness left might not last through a long trip to another state, but it can still make someone nearby smile. Instead of letting these flowers go to waste, we collect them from flower importers in Miami and give them to people in local communities who do not usually have access to fresh flowers.
We bring flowers to retirement homes, where a colorful arrangement can brighten up a room and make a resident’s day a little better. We also work with hospitals, where patients can use flowers during physical and occupational therapy. Cutting stems and arranging flowers can help patients improve their hand movements, concentration, and confidence.
We also donate flowers to shelters, hospice programs, and other community organizations. Sometimes, even a small bouquet can send an important message: someone cares about you and was thinking of you.
Flower-Forward Foundation — giving Miami's flowers a second life, and giving joy to those who need it most.
Meet the Founder
Ethan Cordisco founded Flower Forward as a junior in high school with the goal of limiting the flowers that are thrown away to instead bring beauty, connection, and healing to those who need it most.
"I was fascinated to learn that my hometown of Miami is the flower capital of the United States, thanks to its closeness to growers in Central and South America. But I was shocked to discover that millions of flowers are thrown away when they become too old to ship, even though they still have plenty of life left.
Importers are willing to donate these flowers. Community organizations would love to receive them. They just need someone to connect them, and that's why I created the Flower-Forward Foundation. My goal is to build a network of volunteers so that no flower goes to waste, turning what used to be a lot of trash into immeasurable amounts of joy."
Ethan Cordisco — Founder & President
