Flower-powered partnerships with Fairtrade

On 29 March 2023, at the Garden Museum in London, Fairtrade launched “an event to inspire collaborative action on sustainability in the flower industry” — Ruth Goudy has the details for FCI in the May 2023 edition.

Fairtrade Certificate is recognised globally. At the moment, there are only 74 Fairtrade-certified flower farms globally. Courtesy of AIPH

What Fairtrade Flowers set out to do is to extend that compassion throughout the supply chain. Kerrina Thorogood, Partnerships Director at the Fairtrade Foundation, explained that behind each bouquet of flowers is an industry severely affected by climate change and growers, usually women, who may face discrimination, poor wages, and even human rights abuses. It is this dichotomy that Fairtrade wants to set right.

Working in a challenging climate

Flower farms are working in environments like never before. They have faced hardship with loss of trade during the pandemic but are also severely affected by climate change.

The area most conducive to flower growing is along the equator and notably lacks water. Add to that the consumer concerns about plastics, waste, carbon footprint and agrochemicals. When farms may be short on funds and are dealing with lower yields, they face a need to pay better wages and require investment to meet environmental concerns.

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Header Photo: Wenedemeneh Engida (left) and Gonzaga Mungai explained how much Fairtrade has really helped. Courtesy of AIPH

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