I also got a sneak peak at Amy’s new book, Flower Confidential. In fact, I found my nose stuck in the book while dragging my suitcases through an airport, onto a shuttle, onto a train, then through the city square, and miraculously finding my way to TransFair USA’s (the Fair Trade certifier) Oakland offices where I work, without hardly looking up. It’s rare to find such informative books that actually draw you into the story so well.

With Valentine’s Day creeping up on us, I thought I’d share a little bit about what we’re thinking re. Fair Trade flowers and some of the things I’ve seen/learned over the past couple months of floral exploration. Fair Trade flowers are a different story than coffee, since cut flowers for export are grown exclusively by growers that depend on significant amounts of hired labor.
I had the chance to visit a couple Fair Trade flower farms in Ecuador in December. I got to poke around and see the results of the many, many pages of standards with which growers have to comply to maintain certification. Workers on Fair Trade farms have better pay, protective gear, health care, and protection from all sorts of discrimination—sexual harassment, pregnancy testing, etc. Growers are not allowed to use the most toxic agrochemicals and must constantly show improvement in their pest management and water conservation practices. One farm I visited showed me how they intercropped chamomile to deter pests, then harvested the chamomile and made organic pesticides from it and from chili peppers. I’d encourage anyone with a few minutes on their hands to look over the Fair Trade standards for flowers to see what it’s really all about. They include both the generic standards http://www.fairtrade.net/fileadmin/user_upload/content/Generic_Fairtrade_Standard_Hired_Labour_Dec_2005_EN_01.pdf and the flower-specific standards http://www.fairtrade.net/fileadmin/user_upload/content/Generic_Fairtrade_Standard_Hired_Labour_Dec_2005_EN_01.pdf

Workers receive a premium from Fair Trade sales of an extra 12% of the grower’s selling price which they use for community and environmental development projects. Workers have to assess their own development needs, decide on the best use of the money, implement and manage the projects and give a detailed accounting of the spending to fellow workers, management and inspectors. For a worker that previously had little more responsibility than clocking in, removing thorns or packing roses, and clocking out, the premium represents a significant empowerment opportunity.

At one farm (Agrogana), the workers (not the owner) proudly showed me the photo album of their community projects and the financial statements of the premium use. They recounted the learning process they have been through, in figuring out how to organize democratically, how to get the necessary training in accounting and project management, and how to keep all their projects on track. They took me to visit houses of the workers that had benefited from the projects funded by the premium. Quite a few had pigs that were subsidized by the premium (the workers generally have to pay a small portion of the cost, through a very low interest (1-2%) loan from the premium fund.) They started with two pigs, then either sold the offspring for cash or saved it for self-consumption. Many had new gas-powered hot water heaters which saves them $15/month in electricity (more than one days wages). The worker organization had bought the hot water heaters wholesale, subsidized part of the cost and offered low interest loans for the rest of the cost, which wasn’t much. Others were proud to tell me they now had their own house thanks to the housing loans and subsidies. While the flower industry is a classic example of using comparative advantage (cheap labor being the most important one) in developing countries to produce luxury goods for Europeans and Americans, Fair Trade is making sure those luxuries are giving something back—that these communities will be better off, rather than worse off, for their participation in the global economy.

More important than the actual projects the workers have put in place is the results of those projects on the self-esteem and confidence of the workers. I complemented one of the women on the leadership skills I saw in the group and how far they’ve come, and she said to me, “More than anything, this is what we now have to offer our children—the pride and confidence that we’ve gained from doing this all ourselves.”

Fair Trade Certified flowers will be coming to a store near you in 2007 (but alas, not in time to fulfill every green girl’s fantasy on Valentines Day)…especially if you get out and start asking your supermarkets and florists for an alternative. (By the way, I’ve been in meetings with top dogs at big supermarkets where these dogs come out and say, “you know, we DID get a request for Fair Trade bananas through our webpage. And I heard some lady walked into a Seattle store asking for them, too.” Your voice really does get heard!)

If you already grow your own or already buy local and seasonal flowers…don’t change your ways (unless your girlfriend demands Fair Trade roses). But for all the other millions that buy imported flowers anyway, your activism can get a better alternative in front of them and change the way this industry works.

As for flowers, I’d rather grow my own than buy them.