With February 14 right around the corner, it’s time to think about what to get your own Valentine. Flowers are the traditional choice and about 110 million roses are sold each year to celebrate Valentine’s Day. But are cut flowers an ecologically-responsible gift?
According to Sustainablog,”Nearly three of every four cut flowers sold in the U.S. are imported, and a large chunk of those come from South America.” That’s quite a carbon footprint for that pretty bouquet. In addition, many cut flowers are grown in countries like Columbia and Costa Rica where few pesticide regulations exist.
Luckily, an emerging eco-friendly florist industry is turning the tide on harmful flower arrangements. Many now come with eco labels like USDA Organic, VeriFlora Certified and Fair Trade. These differ from traditional florists because the flowers are grown without the use of harmful pesticides and many receive organic certification.
To lessen the carbon footprint of your bright bouquet, seek out local florists who sell organically-grown flowers and pick them up instead of having them delivered. While shopping local is usually best, especially if your florist can point you in the direction of the organically-grown section, there are plenty of online retailers to fulfill your eco-friendly flower needs for Valentine’s Day.
Organic Bouquet
The online retailer Organic Bouquet sells organically-grown flowers that they say are gentle on the earth and safeguard ecology. They use biodegradable packaging for all their products.
The company says it offers a “unique online collection of stylish” arrangements that meet environmental standards. Their flowers and gifts have been certified by third-party organizations such as the USDA, Fair Trade and the Rainforest Alliance, the company reports.
And Organic Bouquet is a socially-conscious company. They work to improve the lives of their growing partners and are working with 55 charitable organizations to “ensure our company [will do] good while doing well.” Organic Bouquet has also partnered with the Carbonfund.org to offset the carbon footprint created from shipping the flowers and gifts.
Local Harvest Connects with Local Farmers
The web site Local Harvest has a search tool which enables customers to find the best, organically-grown cut flowers in your area. While the site does lean heavily toward local farmers, there are dozens of listings for cut flowers and gift-worthy plants.
Local Harvest also works with California Organic Flowers.com, what they call “the Internet’s first organic flower shipping website operated by a family farmer” which sells “fresh, beautiful, organically-raised flowers.”
FTD’s Go Green Living
The mammoth online florist FTD now offers a small selection of certified, sustainably-grown bouquets.
While they state that the flowers aren’t certified organic, the company claims that they’re grown with workers’ best interests in mind. There are also options like a biodegradable vase.
By Maggie Marton
Image credits: Organic Bouquet, FTD and California Organic Flowers.
