It’s the biggest day of the year for Britain’s flower sellers, but one Islington florist is using technology to sell their flowers at a cut rate in a bid to reduce waste this Mother’s Day.
Jennifer Panxhi, who founded Jen’s flower shop on St Paul’s Road in Islington, decided to reduce the waste from cut flowers that don’t sell in her shop by signing up to the app Too Good to Go.
Too Good to Go is a service with a mobile application that connects customers to restaurants and shops that have extra unsold goods and food.
Mother’s Day is one of the UK’s biggest flower-buying occasions, but Business Waste management reported in 2025 that most cut flowers sold for it are discarded within 1–2 weeks due to their short lifespan, contributing significantly to seasonal floral waste.
Due to the high demand, florists buy more stock, often resulting in left-over flowers going to waste.
Panxhi uses the app to sell flowers at a reduced rate at the end of each day.
She said: “We have started using the app Too Good to Go in order to be more sustainable and reduce our waste, so many flowers get thrown away during busy holiday’s and we want to change that.”
Other florists in Islington have also started reducing waste in other ways.
Gail Smith, founder of Gail Smith flowers, located on Liverpool Rd, has been sending unbought flowers for to the charity Floral Angels, who recycle and reuse from retailers and create bouquets for people who don’t usually receive them.
