1-800-Flowers to Offer Fair Trade Line, Lead Industry in Ethical Sourcing

by Amanda Kloer · 2011-02-10 13:38:00 UTC
Topics:

After receiving letters from over 50,000 Change.org members concerned about worker exploitation in the cut flower industry, 1-800-Flowers has responded with a slew of responsible practices. And in doing so, they have emerged as a leading company in ethical sourcing practices. Thanks to everyone who participated in this campaign.

1-800-Flowers told Change.org today that they are working on the launch of a Fair Trade certified line of arrangements, which will be available on their website by Mother's Day.  The company had offered Fair Trade flowers in the past, but canceled the offering due to slumping sales. They hope the incredible response of Change.org members to the campaign is a sign that customers really do want to buy Fair Trade certified flowers that support and empower workers.

1-800-Flowers also agreed to regularly publish information about where they source their flowers, and what certification systems are used in that process. You can currently find that information in a brand new section of their website. 1-800-Flowers thanked Change.org members for pointing out they hadn't communicated their sourcing information to customers, including their strong track record of supporting high environmental standards.

And finally, the company is in the process of developing a supplier code of conduct, which will prohibit the use of forced and child labor and guarantee safe conditions for workers. 1-800-Flowers has agreed to work with labor rights' organizations to ensure the code of conduct they develop is strong and enforceable, and to help cement their image as a company that is working to protect workers' rights at every level.

In making these changes, 1-800-Flowers has done what none of their competitors have -- created a plan to tackle exploitation in the cut flower industry from all sides and offer customers flowers that are completely untainted by labor abuses. They are truly industry leaders in the ethical sourcing of cut flowers.

You can thank 1-800-Flowers by commenting on their Facebook wall, or by tweeting them @1800Flowers. And of course, continue to support the rights of cut flower workers and proactive, responsive companies like 1-800-Flowers by shopping their Fair Trade certified line for Mother's Day.

Photo credit: lightmatter

Amanda Kloer is a Change.org Editor and has been a full-time abolitionist in several capacities for seven years. Follow her on Twitter @endhumantraffic

RELATED PETITION

Ask 1 800 Flowers to Offer Fair Trade Flowers That Aren't Picked By Exploited Workers
VICTORY!
54,228 People
PREVIOUS STORY:
Tell Kay and Jared Diamonds: No Forced or Child Labor for My Valentine
NEXT STORY:
Today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, how are you going to take action?

COMMENTS (3)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.