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Every day, consumers are becoming more and more aware of how to protect the environment and how to live a better life. People are recycling more, eating a healthier diet, conserving energy and purchasing environmentally friendly products such as organic foods, chemical-free cosmetics, electronic cars and more.
Fresh cut flowers are also falling into this mix. Over four billion* flowers are imported into the United States on an annual basis, most of them coming from Colombia (59%*) and Ecuador (23%*). An increasing number of proactive growers from Colombia, Ecuador and all over the world are becoming environmentally and socially conscious, protecting the land in which the flowers grow, the ways in which the flowers are grown and the workers who handle them.
*(Source: USDA Ornamental Crop Reports 2003)
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How? Through strict guideline and/or label/certification programs (see below) that require flower farms to meet set standards and requirements on workers' health/treatment, pesticide and chemical usage and by practicing eco-friendly activities that offer the best, most environmentally and socially friendly flowers for consumers to buy.
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