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Spend a few seconds thinking about Valentine’s Day and roses instantly come to mind. They are a powerful symbol of love. And, from your local store to specialty florist, you’ll come across their hue more than once when the holiday of love is around the corner. But, much like fast fashion, floral bouquets have a less than rosy picture when it comes to their environmental impact. Both the fashion and horticulture industries rely heavily on using natural resources, flying products thousands of miles and even unregulated labor. And as gifts that fade and become trash within days, one could say that roses during the holidays has become a fast flower culture too. Yet, if you’re someone who loves to give the gift of flowers (or receive them) you might be wondering how we can shop for eco flowers?
$55 Billion Worth Of Flowers Fly Hundreds Of Miles
It really comes as no surprise that the US is the largest consumer of cut flowers. Every year, holidays like Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day generate $55 billion from floral sales globally. In the U.S most of these bouquets aren’t homegrown. Instead, we import them hundreds of miles from Colombia, Kenya, Ecuador and Ethiopia where they are grown in tailored greenhouses that can span 500 acres. Throughout the year they are shipped on planes that are going in the direction of the U.S. But, during the Holidays cargo planes can ship more than 15,000 tons of flowers within one month.
According to the International Council on Clean Transportation the cost of flying out flowers for the holidays burns 114 million liters of fuel that emits 360,000 tons of CO2. And, these numbers are only growing. But, as the world attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is it really worth to cost the planet all for a floral bouquet?
A Single Rose = 10 Liters
Flowers are thirsty crops. In countries like Kenya, one of the largest exporters of cut flowers, the lack of regulating water use in the horticulture industry threatens the livelihood of other communities. Run-off water from farms that contain chemicals and pesticides to keep the flowers vibrant and healthy-looking pollute lakes and fish populations that communities live off of. And, despite the fact that an estimated 17 million people living in Kenya don’t have access to clean water, a single rose grown in Kenya takes about 10 liters of water to produce.
As an industry that brought in nearly $1 billion in 2019, horticulture is integral to Kenya’s economy. One solution to help mitigate the environmental impact of water use and pollution while still maintaining gainful employment for the 500,000 throughout the supply chain is to use sustainable water management techniques. Some projects have used water recycling systems to reduce water use by 58%. And farmers have pursued environmentally-friendly and natural alternatives to some pesticides to reduce chemical use.
How To Buy Eco Flowers
Choose Slow: Roses aren’t the only gift that you can give to your SOS to show them that you love them. Take pleasure in the diversity of flowers that are local to your area. Choosing locally-grown domestic flowers not only helps to minimize the CO2 emissions that it took to travel from farm to vase, but local plants are hardier and usually require fewer extra resources like water or chemicals to help them grow. This is founding pillar of the slow flowers movement. Take the guess work out of what flowers are local or who sells them, there are sites like Slow Flowers that offer a directory of nurseries and florists that grow and nurture local varieties of flowers. You might even fall in love with a new floral bouquet.
Look For Certifications: If roses are your one true love, seek out florists or retailers that offer organically grown roses. These bouquets are sourced from farms that don’t use pesticides or other chemicals on their flowers and might engage in water-recycling models to conserve resources. Alternatively, you might also be able to find certifications like FairTrade, American Grown or Rainforest Alliance that offer further assurance that the flowers you’re giving have an environmental and social impact that is as beautiful as their blooms.