Creating a Sweatfree World Fairness in Flowers
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You don't wear them or eat them, but 'organic' flowers are growing
International Herald Tribune
February 5, 2008
Bonny Doon Garden, a flower kiosk here, had signs posted all around it last week for Valentine's Day, but the sales pitch wasn't just about romance.
A bucket held red and fuchsia anemones that were "organic." Ecuadorean roses the size of baseballs were "certified." Roses from a nearby farm were "locally grown."
Was the kiosk selling flowers or lettuce?
Pesticide contamination does not usually come to mind when someone is ordering long-stemmed roses for Valentine's Day. But that is precisely what flower shops like Bonny Doon are asking their customers to think about.
Teresa Sabankaya, the shop owner, said that when she opened in 2003, "some people would look at me like, 'Are you nuts?' "
Now, at least, "people become engaged," she said. "Forty percent of people will say: 'That's nice. Why would it matter? We're not eating them.' "
True, flowers are rarely eaten. They are not worn against the skin like organic cotton, or rubbed on the body like soap. Perhaps that is why organic flowers have not been a big business, especially compared with organic fruits and vegetables. The Organic Trade Association says there was a total of $17 billion in sales of organic food and beverages in the United States in 2006. Flowers - a $21-billion-a-year industry - brought in $19 million in organic sales.
That may be changing. The environmentally correct flower is now sold on Web sites like organicbouquet.com, by small florists like Sabankaya and by big retailers like Sam's Club and FTD, the floral delivery network, which last year introduced a line of sustainably grown irises and lilies from California and roses from Ecuador.
As in other industries with increasing demand for green products, the floral industry is debating what is environmentally correct. Should flowers be organic - that is, grown without synthetic or toxic pesticides? Or should the emphasis be on fair trade, meaning that the workers who grow and cut them are safe and well paid? Or should consumers favor flowers grown locally, not flown or trucked over long distances? In other words, what, exactly, is a green flower?
Of the cut flowers sold in the United States, 79 percent are imported, mostly from countries with mild climates, like Colombia and Ecuador, while Kenya is a leading supplier to Europe. Only a few flower farms have adopted environmentally friendly methods, like banning toxic chemicals for pest control, said Nora Ferm of the International Labor Rights Forum, an advocacy organization where she is the program director of a "fairness in flowers" public education campaign that began a few years ago.
And few of those farms, Ferm said, bother with occupational health and safety measures for workers, who can suffer pesticide-related illnesses like headaches, rashes and birth abnormalities among their children.
Ferm said that "just using less toxic pesticides would be much better for the environment and the workers."
Whether consumers can be roused to passion about these issues is a challenge that distinguishes the fledgling green-flower movement from other campaigns for environmental awareness. But big U.S. environmental groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council have added flowers to their agenda and are encouraging the public to look for floral eco-labels that can now be found in flower shops, grocery stores and other flower retailers.
Otherwise, florists say, organic and sustainably grown flowers are indistinguishable from those conventionally grown. (Durability and fragrance depend more on the variety and breeding than how the flowers are grown.) And unlike organic fruit and vegetables, they usually cost about the same as, or only slightly more than, pesticide-laden versions.
The most environmentally conscious flower buyers are bothered by buying flowers flown and trucked over long distances, no matter how sustainable. Amy Stewart, author of "Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers," said buying local flowers should be the first choice.
But she said workers should also be supported. When she visited South America, she said, she found that "life on any certified farm is better - it doesn't matter which certification it is."
Besides, she noted, it is difficult to assess what is greener: large loads of flowers transported over long distances efficiently or a smaller number grown locally but requiring a heated greenhouse and a trip to a farmers' market in a pickup truck.
"How do I compare the energy efficiency per flower?" she asked.
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Video
This interview was done in November 2006 in Colombia by the US Labor Education in the Americas Project. Stella is a flower worker at a Dole plantation just outside of Bogota.