Fairness in Flowers

by Zarah Patriana · 2009-02-11 07:56:00 UTC
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Valentine's Day is just around the corner and all the flower shops around me are really amping up their V-Day displays. Red, heart shaped balloons with a stuffed teddy bear inside, surrounded by roses. That's love.

But, ever since I saw this video on the human cost of flowers by the War on Want, who are fighting global poverty, it's hard to feel the love. The cut-flower industry is rough with workers working long hours for poverty-level wages in hazardous working conditions. On top of that, workers rights are often not recognized and women have been reported to suffer from sexual harassment. The video below gives a good overview of the working conditions of flower workers.

Now, I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer in the morning, especially as a day of love approaches, but guess what, there's some hope. Organizations such as USLeap and the ILRF have been fighting hard for worker rights in the flower industry. TransFairUSA now has Fair Trade Certified options for flowers for us to choose from, ensuring that the rights of these flower workers were recognized and they were working in safe conditions for a fair wage.

There are alternative options out there where the flowers that you get for your loved one can reflect your values. What needs to be done is more education around the issue and letting the wider flower industry know your concerns for workers picking those flowers. The ILRF has a handy, downloadable guide full of resources about the flower industry and also ways you can get involved and teach your community about the issue. Bring some fairness into your flowers.

Check out my guide to other ways to get in on the Valentine's Day action for more ways to fair up your Vday. Also, don't forget about TransFairUSA's Valentine's Day pledge. When you pledge to buy Fair Trade this Vday, you get 15% off your next purchase for Fair Trade flowers at 1-800-Flowers. Stumped on who to get flowers for this Valentine's Day? Um, there's always me.

Zarah Patriana
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