Be My Valentine: Flowers for the Eco Warrior

EcoWomen.net

So you want to buy your True Love flowers for Valentine's Day? Aren't you sweet! How about being even sweeter and buying organic flowers?

Why?

The majority of cut flowers are grown in Latin America and equatorial Africa in an industry in which the employees (mostly women) work for low wages and without benefits. When the holidays roll around and flowers are in demand, the workers are required to labor overtime.

The flowers themselves are grown in greenhouses or under broad tents – not to keep weather or insects out, but to keep pesticides in. Growers in other countries frequently use pesticides banned in the U.S. Heavy application of pesticides in confined areas has significant impacts on both the environment and workers. The chemicals get on workers' clothes, in their skin and lungs, and are carried out of the greenhouses to their homes. Pesticides also contaminate the soil and seep into water supplies. Studies in Costa Rica have indicated that 50% of floriculture workers show symptoms of pesticide poisoning, and rates of miscarriage and birth defects are higher in areas surrounding flower farms.

Certified organic flowers are grown without the use of dangerous pesticides – making a safer environment for floriculture workers, their families, and their homes. Fair Trade flowers are grown by workers who are paid a more reasonable salary than otherwise.

Where can you get organic and Fair Trade flowers

Check with your local florist to see what they carry. Also, try your local organic grocery store. Whole Foods, for example, carries eco-friendly flowers.

If you are sending flowers to your True Love from afar, try one of these online florists:

Diamond Organics
Organic Style
California Organic Flowers

Tell the Eco Women: What's your favorite flower to receive for Valentine's Day or another time?

Sustainable Flowers Make The Perfect Gift For All Occasions

Organic Bouquet is the largest online provider of eco-friendly and organic floral gifts. All of our flowers are grown in a manner that is not only environmentally friendly but also provides outstanding resources for farm workers and artisans. Organic Bouquet partners with select flower farms in California, Ecuador and Colombia. All of our flower farms follow stringent growing practices which are monitored by multiple certification agencies and associations. When you purchase flowers from Organic Bouquet, you are helping to improve the life of a flower farm worker, their family and the local floral community.

Our eco-friendly flower arrangements include roses, calla lilies, tulips, gerbera daisies, hyacinths, sunflowers, alstromeria lilies and blue iris. In addition to a complete line of flower arrangements, we offer gift baskets, fruit baskets, nut baskets, gourmet chocolates, gourmet cookies, plants and wreaths. All of these products are certified eco-friendly and/or provide for environmental benefits through our participation in Carbon Offset programs.

Whatever the occasion, our flowers make the perfect gift- birthday celebration flowers, anniversary flowers, holiday flowers, or floral arrangements simply to say thank you. Sending flowers from Organic Bouquet says that you care not only about the person receiving the flowers, but also about the environment. All of our gift items are shipped nationwide to all 50 states. So whether you need to send flowers to Florida, New York, California, or Colorado, we can guarantee overnight delivery to ensure they arrive fresh and ready to put a smile on someone’s face.

Whether you are purchasing online, or through one of our customer service specialists, you can be assured you are ordering the freshest quality of flowers and environmentally friendly gifts.