What's the cost of cut flowers?

I know it's seems crazy that something as natural and beautiful as flowers could be so bad for people and for the planet...but sadly it's true. The entire process of picking, arranging, and getting flowers delivered leaves a pretty big carbon footprint (and often, moral stain).

I wanted to write about this topic given that this Sunday is Valentine's Day, one of the most popular times of the year for Floriculture. Each year about 500 million tons of flowers will be shipped to the us and about 250 million roses will be sold. There is no way the US farms alone could meet this number. Almost all of these roses will have been flown in from Latin America, specifically the sunny, mountainous regions of Colombia and Ecuador, the world’s second- and third-largest exporters of cut flowers after the Netherlands.

Here is a concise summary of the journey of the infamous Valentine's Day red rose:

Roses are doused with a toxic cocktail of fungicides, insecticides, and herbicides to keep disease and vermin at bay. Twenty percent of those chemicals are so dangerous they’re actually restricted in the US or Europe, according to a 2007 study by the now named International Labor Rights Forum. That’s especially unfortunate for the unprotected workers (mostly women, sometimes children) who are suffering everything from respiratory distress to higher rates of miscarriage to neurological impairment as a result of exposure.

Might want to rethink that rose petal bath, huh?

Once the roses are harvested, they’re stored in an energy-eating chilled warehouse, transported to the airport in a gas-guzzling refrigerated truck, flown via cargo plane to the US and then shipped yet again via refrigerated truck to their destination.

There, they wait in — you guessed it! — a refrigerated display case, until someone snaps up a dozen to take home and surprise his honey. But the journey doesn’t end there: Once the flowers fade in a week or so, they’re tossed in the trash (unless you compost) and sent to the landfill, where they decay and emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Jennifer Grayson, Huffington Post

I know that really taints the image of a beautiful red rose for Valentine's Day. But it's better to understand all of this so you can be an educated consumer and make informed decisions and thereby help change the industry into a sustainable* one.

*Sustainable trade is when the commercial exchanges of goods and services generate social, economic and environmental benefits in accordance with the fundamental principles of sustainable development.

Sadly the flower industry is not sustainable. Here's why:

Location

Importing flowers creates a giant carbon footprint. The owner of a wonderful sustainable florist in NYC, writes a blog and her recent post was incredibly informative. In general, "about 90% of the flowers purchased in the US (at bodegas, supermarkets, and flower shops) are grown abroad: ~78% come from Ecuador, Colombia, and Mexico. The rest hail from Ethiopia, South Africa, Kenya, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. Vietnam’s flower export game is comparatively small, and in fact Vietnamese-grown flowers more routinely make it to China, Japan and Taiwan."

There are a couple reasons the US imports flowers from abroad.

For one, not all flowers can be grown in the US year round. In the same way that fruit and vegetables are flown in to give you more than a few weeks of strawberries and rhubarb each year, the flower industry has transitioned from a traditional model based on local production to an international one that leverages warmer climates and significantly lower labor costs in southern countries. This practice is really detrimental for the environment and to local economies. I'll write about this more in a future post.

Another reason is that labor abroad is cheaper and therefore the flowers are cheaper. In 1991, at the height of Colombia’s war against cartel boss Pablo Escobar, Congress passed the Andean Trade Preference Act, which lifted duties on certain imports from Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru. The Andean flower industry began to bloom, crowding out domestic growers who found it difficult to compete with their Andean counterparts who could produce flowers not only more cheaply but also year-round. This is bad not only because it makes it difficult for U.S. growers to remain competitive, but also because the welfare of the workers is questionable.

Exploitation in the supply chain

Historically, the industry is a patriarchal structure (male-owned/women-operated) that employs tens of thousands of people, mainly women. And unfortunately, for many (men, women and children), it is an abusive system where the working conditions are not fair, safe or legal.

The charity War on Want reported that in Colombia women work, usually on insecure temporary contracts, for up to 15 hours a day earning just over £24 a week (less than half a living wage), which doesn’t cover their living costs. These women are routinely subjected to sexual harassment and also forced to breathe in toxic pesticides, leading to above-average rates of miscarriages and children born with birth defects, as well as frequent health problems such as fainting spells, chronic asthma, eye and breathing troubles, skin complaints, allergies and headaches. Additionally, flower workers account for one in three cases of carpal tunnel syndrome from the physical nature of the work. Conditions were found to be mostly the same in Kenya too, although Kenyan workers earn even less, barely taking home £5 per week. Even if countries claim to pay a minimum wage, this is not enough. The minimum wage in agriculture in Kenya is €1.25 per day, in Tanzania it is €0.96 and in Ethiopia it is even lower. Uganda doesn’t have minimum wages at all.

Fair trade labels and other certifications have been shown to improve working conditions but it's no where near fixed yet.

Pesticides & Water Pollution

"There are no limits on the amount of pesticide residues on these plants," says Richard Wiles, vice president for research at the Environmental Working Group, which sponsored the tests. "The result is a highly toxic workplace and a highly toxic rose."

Sadly, the flower industry is one of the biggest consumers of pesticides in the world. Every country has different standards and regulations. Some countries still use chemicals such as DDT which is banned in the US.

In February 2018, the NGO Greenpeace conducted a survey on very common flowers.  The researchers found up to 43 different pesticide residues in Dutch bouquets:

Every country has different guidelines for pesticide use but overall, there are fewer regulations since we don't eat the flowers. However working with these chemicals daily is the same as eating them. Workers often face awful illnesses, cancer, neurological problems, reproductive illnesses, respiratory problems, and neurological diseases. It's truly horrendous.

So not only are the working affected by these carcinogenic pesticides, but also the land itself and surrounding ecosystems.

The run off from pesticides can end up in waterways, like in Kenya's Lake Naivasha. These pesticides can even evaporate into the air directly, or just stick to the stems and leaves, and travel hundreds or thousands of miles, polluting the air. And if you are someone who likes to compost, throwing your pesticide ridden roses into the mix, actually isn't great for the soil. Then again, the lesser of two evils perhaps, is do that rather than contribute to a landfill?

Waste

An estimated 40% of flowers are never sold. And for flowers that die or are so damaged in transport that they cannot be sold, average around 15% for supermarkets and up to 20% for wholesalers. Knowing this, and knowing the journey these flowers went through to get there, I feel even worse when I walk by rows of flowers at deli's. My suggestion for these stores to avoid waste and make more money, would be to lower the price the longer the flower has been on the shelf which would encourage people to buy them; and also to buy fewer flowers to begin with.

Then there's the issue of packaging. It pains me so much to see beautiful bouquets wrapped in cellophane. While originally, a cellulose-based material made from wood, nowadays “cellophane” is actually plastic wrap made from petroleum-derived PVC, which does not biodegrade. If millions of roses are imported each year for Valentine's Day, and each bouquet is wrapped in plastic, that's an insane amount of waste. And that's just for the holiday, not including the daily flowers people buy. Not only is it bad for the environment, it doesn't look nice. Don't you think kraft paper, or any paper, or even newsprint looks chicer?!

Some florists also use this awful substance called 'floral foam' to keep flowers in formation. It is a non-biodegradable, oil-derived plastic material that is made with carcinogenic chemicals such as formaldehyde, phenol, heptane, barmium sulfate, and carbon black. This floral foam is always sent to landfill, and will only ever break down into smaller pieces of plastic. It's toxic, wasteful and unnecessary.

Much like with shopping for...anything and everything, I always have a moral dilemma. On the one hand, it's good to support your local corner deli and florists. But on the other, it's horrible knowing that these flowers are part of bigger problem, an industry that contributes to environmental and human harm.

So what should you do?

The GREENEST option is buying local (and if possible, organic) flowers. Granted organic is less common given the certification is expensive, the second best is locally grown flowers which might actually be grown without pesticides, they just aren't "officially organic." This is a photo of bouquet of wild flowers I bought from a green market in NYC, and I brought them home as is, no wrapping, and placed them in a vintage pitcher. How amazing does that look?! Do you research and find where you can buy local flowers. Here are some sustainable florists I've found in NYC:

Molly Oliver Flowers: An amazing local NYC florist that sources local flowers grown within 200 miles of nyc!! Overall they’re super sustainable: they compost, use reused vases and packaging, send plastics to @terracycle and don’t use any foam or synthetics in their designs. Also they donate portions of sales to the Women’s Media Group Education fund. 

Hometown Flower Co. : Long Island's first flower truck and digital florist, offering fresh, local varieties from Long Island delivered right to your doorstep in their signature "flowers in a bag" style. And they provide access to locally-grown varieties in places where our farmers are typically unable to consistently reach. Most of their farmers are wholesale-only and are not open to the public.

Plant Shed: A local nyc chain of stores that sells and delivers beautiful bouquets in Kraft paper and sustainable packaging. Though I don’t know the source of their flowers, but the family has been in the business for 40 years. I’m going to email them and find out and will update this post accordingly. 

Petal by Pedal: This company takes sustainability even further by delivering local farm grown handcrafted bouquets in reused newspaper, by bicycle! They have lower carbon footprint per stem. They also are certified by Green America, American Sustainable Business Council, and the association of speciality cut flower growers. They list all the farms they work with on their website. 

Stems Brooklyn: They practice zero waste, composting, recycling and sustainable sourcing of flowers. They offer virtual arranging workshops and are selling bouquets for Valentine’s Day. They have beautiful paper packaging, hand tied bouquets, and mason jar vases. 

The GREENER option is buying sustainable flowers from a flower market or company that delivers in compostable packaging.

Some grocery stores (like Whole Foods) and deli's sometimes sell flowers that have a label of certification from Fair Trade America, Fair Trade, the Rainforest Alliance, the Florverde Sustainable Flowers brand, the Organic Soil Association, the Veriflora certification or BloomCheck certifications. These certifications mean that the farm meets the standards of healthy and safe conditions for their workers and protects the surrounding ecosystem. Flowers without such labels do not necessarily come from farms where workers are exploited, but the labels can provide customers some guarantees of fair labor conditions.

Luckily there is The Floriculture Sustainability Initiative (FSI), a market-driven initiative that brings together members of the international floriculture supply-chain. FSI members are collaborating to improve practices and drive positive change towards the sustainable production and trade of flowers and plants. Hopefully we will see more mainstream changes in the near future.

Here are some sustainable delivery services that deliver nationwide:

Farm Girl Flowers: they provide beautiful, designed flowers at a reasonable price, allowing to support amazing farmers and small businesses while minimizing waste and environmental impact. They also use burlap wrap, #upcycled from biodegradable coffee bean bags donated by local roasters. And locally, they deliver by bicycle and scooter.

The Bouqs: The flowers are grown in Ecuador or America under strict sustainable practices. When you order flowers they are cut same day and shipped directly, no middle man. Flowers arrive in Kraft paper too. 

Poppy Flowers: a female-founded flower company on a mission to deliver quality flowers at fair prices. They source flowers from the best, eco-friendly farms in the world. They partner with like-minded farmers and wholesalers, ones that are fair trade certified and rainforest alliance certified. 

Urban Stems: They work with @rainforestalliance certified farms. They deliver beautiful bouquets in cardboard boxes. 

The GREEN option is buying from your local deli, florist or flower market and refusing cellophane wrapping or any foam or plastic packaging.

For my mom's birthday (before I learned about the dirty side of the flower industry), I went to my local deli and bought a bouquet and I asked for no cellophane, just some lovely natural raffia ribbon. It was wonderful that they had raffia; if they hadn't, I would have bought the bouquet without any wrapping and wrapped myself.

There is also the flower district in NYC where you can buy wholesale flowers but I have never been myself so I can't say for sure about the sourcing of their flowers. Unfortunately I'm sure many of them aren't sustainably sourced. So if you go, ask!

Unfortunately, like with many purchases, it's easy to turn a blind eye and do what is easiest. But I encourage you, especially if you're American, to realize that we hold a lot of power as consumers in the flower industry. If Americans refuse to buy from a plantation that uses child labor, they can shut it down overnight. The problem, of course, is how to tell the difference. So if you're reading this post, hopefully you now want to learn more, find the flowers with certifications, support companies that buy ethical and sustainable flowers, and go out of your way to talk your local florists and even deli's about their sourcing. If we as consumers support and demand ethically grown flowers, we can eventually help change the system.

Please share your thoughts, experiences, and favorite flower shops in the comments below.

xx

Hannah