Popular Industry Trends for Spring 2020 and Beyond

Garden Media, a garden communication and consulting organization, recently compiled data on the industry trends for spring 2020 and beyond. For growers, gardeners and more, this information is invaluable as societal and environmental changes continue to alter our day-to-day familiarity. Here’s a sampling of their report.

Supporting circular economies
In his book The Circular Economy, A Wealth of Flows, Ken Webster says, “The circular economy gives us the opportunity to build a system that can run in the long term, and the time is right for it to reach scale.” As the subject of climate change continues to be a hot topic of conversation, many businesses and consumers are looking for ways to minimize waste, while exhausting the possible uses of resources.

Sustainable products, which won’t adversely affect the environment, are one of the most popular industry trends for spring. As the popularity grows, studies indicate consumers are even willing to pay more to make more of an impact. For the gardening industry, this mean turning to more biodegradable growing containers, which can either be left in the ground to decompose or recycled with your local municipalities paper programs.

More green collar jobs
Gardening is expected to become an almost $50 billion-dollar industry by the year 2023 and more skilled workers will be needed to satisfy demand. However, while the industry is blooming, the number of college graduates in the field of horticulture is not. Jobs in horticulture are expected to outnumber college graduates two to one.

As the cost of four-year colleges continues to skyrocket, the industry hopes to pull qualified green collar candidates from community colleges, vocational programs and even baby boomers who are retired but looking for a new opportunity.

Greening up urban areas
Over half the world lives in a city, which means there’s incredible value (to society and the environment) to better planning of our urban landscapes. From Iowa State University, “Greening cities is considered a great way to connect with nature, reduce storm water issues, mitigate heat island effects and increase property values.”

City planners are beginning to educate themselves on plant and tree species which are more tolerant of the conditions unique to urban environments and are incorporating more “green spaces” whenever possible. Municipalities are also implementing more circular economy practices by utilizing more drought tolerant plants, xeriscaping and biodegradable fiber hanging baskets and planters for lampposts and common areas, hoping to inspire it’s residents to do the same.

We’re seeing a turning point as the industry trends for spring show us how more and more businesses and consumers are taking their environmental impact into account.