After each event, Yasunaga became more aware of how much "floral waste" existed.

"At first, I had no idea about the scale of floral waste," she said. “I was drying flowers in a corner of my house before reusing them, but this became overwhelming as they accumulated, so I formed the Japan Sustainable Flower Association with some like-minded friends."

The organization is one of several working to raise awareness and address this longstanding, yet overlooked, issue. Collected flowers are given new life through Rebloom-branded candles and potpourri, hands-on candle-making workshops, artist training focused on salvaging discarded flowers, a certification program, and more. Through these activities, the organization is raising awareness about floral waste and highlighting the untapped potential of flowers that might otherwise be discarded.

A partnership blossomed between the Japan Sustainable Flower Association and SMEJ after Kaoru Kamiyama, Manager of SMEJ’s Sustainability Promotion Department, noticed the organization at a trade show.

"At these events, we were looking for engaging ways to spark interest in sustainability," Kamiyama noted. " We began thinking about what those of us in the entertainment industry are uniquely positioned to do, and whether there was a meaningful initiative for SMEJ to support. Discovering the Japan Sustainable Flower Association and seeing how they address floral waste immediately resonated with us. We hoped that with their assistance, bouquets at concerts and other music events might be reused, which would be meaningful for SMEJ as an entertainment company."

Kamiyama had only recently joined the Sustainability Promotion Department at SMEJ, and as someone new to the industry, he had never heard of floral waste. "I visited the organization’s studio to learn more about floral waste and their work," he said. “The scale of the issue was surprising, and it strongly motivated me to work with them."

Yasunaga recalls her excitement at finding this new approach to the problem. "I was grateful for the opportunity to speak with SMEJ," she said. “That conversation was invaluable in helping us connect with the entertainment industry. By working together, we can reduce floral waste while ensuring proper handling and coordination."

Bouquets are a familiar sight at concerts and other live events. These flowers are gifted to the artist to wish them a successful event, and reusing them allows that act of kindness to continue. As Kamiyama notes, "While the flowers are still at their best, we collect them and find new uses for them instead of throwing them away. In doing so, we might say that this act of kindness is passed along to others."

Yasunaga agrees. "Flowers represent the time, effort, and intention of the people who give them and the florists who arrange them, and reusing them respects that work rather than letting it go to waste."

The result of the initial conversations between the Japan Sustainable Flower Association and SMEJ is the Rebloom Flower Project. The project team works directly with event organizers to reuse flowers after events have ended.

Kamiyama says these conversations reinforce the importance of the project. "We reassure organizers that our team won’t disrupt their events," he said. “Then we explain why this work matters, when the flowers are collected, and how they're reused. That's often when people admit they’ve long felt current practices were wasteful. We hear this from event organizers, venue staff, and the artists themselves."

Project operations follow a defined workflow. With the organizer’s approval, team members move quickly after events to collect the flowers, handling them carefully and typically without sorting them on site.

The collected flowers are taken to the Japan Sustainable Flower Association’s studio, where they are dried before being reused in event decorations, candles, potpourri, and promotional items. Kamiyama recalls seeing some incorporated into decorations and displays at Sony Group offices.

"Dried flower arrangements were used to welcome visitors to the Sony Pictures Entertainment office in Tokyo and added color to movie posters displayed in their theaters," he said. “This drew interest from people both inside and outside of the company. That’s when I realized that the Sony Group could not only help identify collection sites, but also increase the number of places where the flowers can be reused."

Now, reuse efforts have expanded to more locations, and concert flowers are sometimes collected for fan events.

As Kamiyama recalls, "Fans responded positively when flowers from a performance by Kessoku Band were reused at an event held in April 2025," he said. “The flowers were incorporated into event decoration and a potpourri workshop featuring fragrances blended by the band members themselves. The reactions were touching. Some fans who couldn't go to the concert were happy to see the concert flowers at the event, and others liked having such a special keepsake. This showed us that reusing the flowers can rekindle the feeling of a concert and the ambiance of the venue."

Yasunaga has noticed greater public awareness of these efforts since the project began. "It's gratifying to reach people who had no way of knowing about floral waste," she said. “Public awareness will grow, and I also hope we can interest more people in the project itself."

Kamiyama is motivated to do even more. "I'd like to work with others in the Sony Group and bring Rebloom flowers to a wider audience, particularly in ways that resonate with artists and their fans," he said. “There is more we can do, and I want to keep the project going as we look to expand it."

Yasunaga adds, “It'd be nice if one day, throwing away flowers that are still usable becomes a thing of the past. Flowers can lift our spirits in many different ways. So, why not make the most of them?"

Even after their original purpose has passed, flowers still carry meaning and emotional value. As the Rebloom Flower Project continues to grow, it aims to show just how much is possible when flowers are given a second life.