Answers to these questions were hard to find. At the time, the
USDA’s National Organic Program was still under development.
Chiriboga thought his roses might need a minimal dose of chemicals
to pass agricultural inspections in the United States and Europe, but
he wasn’t sure. Just one bug or one spot of disease could get his
entire shipment rejected. And when a grower makes just a few cents
of profit per rose, there’s not much room for risk.
But Chiriboga was determined. “My decision was to work toward
a sustainable production system, both environmentally as well as
socially,” he says. Chiriboga established a 37-acre farm just south
of Ecuador’s capital, Quito, called Ecoroses SA. Within nine months
of planting, he was harvesting his first crop of roses. Chiriboga also
tried to do right by his workers by offering them free meals and
transportation, extra medical care, and donating computers to their
children’s schools. But it would be five years before he received any
kind of environmental certification for his practices—and he’s still
waiting for the market to reward him for having a conscience.
A
hundred years ago, most flowers were grown within
a few miles of the flower shop where they would
be sold. During the 20th century, flower farming
moved west as growers realized they could ship their
products by refrigerated truck and rail car. Denver was known
for its carnation farms, and California dominated the rose market.
But in the 1960s, flower farming began to move to Latin American
countries like Colombia and Ecuador. The region offered several
competitive advantages that American growers couldn’t beat:
low wages, cheap land, less regulatory scrutiny, and a perfect
year-round climate for growing staples like roses, carnations,
and chrysanthemums. Ten years ago, when Chiriboga founded
Ecoroses, Americans were importing 60 percent of their f lowers.
That figure has since risen to 78 percent.
With the rise in imports came heightened attention and criticism
from journalists and advocacy groups. Unlike produce, flowers
are not tested for illegal-pesticide residues when they come into
Behind the Labels
Farms selling flowers in
the United States may
be certified through
an alphabet soup of
environmental and labor
programs—one wholesaler
even guessed that boxes
of flowers might start to
look like NASCAR vehicles
plastered with logos.
Here’s a guide to some of
the major labels out there:
74 | february-march 2008
“My flowers do cost more to
produce, and we do not get
a higher price for that. We
hope at some point in the
future that we will.”
the country. The logic behind this decision—people don’t eat
flowers, so who cares how they’re grown?—didn’t satisfy groups
like the International Labor Rights Forum. In 2003, they launched
the Fairness in Flowers campaign to bring attention to a host of
problems on flower farms: pesticide exposure, sexual harassment,
child labor, and the inability of workers to organize. “There have
been tangible results in other sectors, with other green or Fair Trade
products like coffee and chocolate,” the project director, Nora Ferm,
says. “We can hope for similar positive impacts [for flowers].”
From the beginning, however, the goal has not been to shut
the flower farms down. Rather, activists have sought means by
which farmers could improve their practices. One strategy is to
create a certification program that audits environmental and labor
standards. “Workers are often found in rural areas where there are
few employment alternatives,” says Ferm. Instead of calling for
boycotts, the goal is to use market pressure to encourage “safe,
stable, and fair working conditions.”
A similar discussion had been taking place in Europe since the mid1990s in response to conditions on flower farms in Africa. As a result,
several European countries developed their own eco-label programs
for flowers. Those independent efforts produced a patchwork terrain
of eco-labeling programs, some with stricter standards than others.
Germany’s Flower Label Program (FLP) is one of the best. That’s how,
in 2003, Chiriboga’s farm came to be certified, even though only 10
percent of his roses are sold to Western Europe.
Fair Flowers Fair Plants
A program that certifies flowers and plants
grown around the world for sale in Europe.
fairflowersfairplants.com
Fair Trade
An international label for flowers and other
products. Farms selling their flowers in
the United States are certified through
the nonprofit TransFair USA, ensuring
that flower workers in developing nations
receive fair wages, childcare, paid leave,
and protective gear. Growers receive an
additional 8 to 12 percent from each sale,
and those funds go directly to the workers
for a community development project of
their choosing. Workers also get training to
help implement these programs, which can
include education training, microlending,
and gardening to feed their families.
transfairusa.org
FlorEcuador
A program developed by Expoflores, the
Ecuadorian flower growers’ association.
Independent, third-party inspectors certify
that farms are complying with environmental
and labor requirements.
expoflores.com
Florverde
A label developed by Asocolflores, the