With Mother’s Day approaching, you can honor the true spirit of the holiday by supporting families that work in the flower industry. Floral companies have become a key part of many local economies—for example, in Kenya flower production has become the second largest source of foreign exchange, behind tea and ahead of coffee. You have the ability to tip the scales towards a remarkably better lifestyle for workers in these communities. When you buy sustainably grown flowers, you’re sending a direct message to the market that there is value in supporting fair labor practices on farms. There are a host of flower-related ecolabels to choose from, each demonstrating the efforts of companies to support workers and their communities. Some of the labels you’ll see include Rainforest Alliance, California Grown, Fair Trade, and VeriFlora (which the author helped develop), among others.

Each of the labels address different aspects of sustainability and some are more rigorous than others, so consumers should do their homework and decide which program they wish to support. The Rainforest Alliance, for example, focuses primarily on environmental protection for a range of plantation crops. California Grown focuses on supporting a local flower trade for California purchasers. Fair Trade and VeriFlora both have very strong prescriptive standards for hiring, discrimination, and workplace training but differ in their financial models. Fair Trade puts a price premium on products. A portion of the premium goes towards supporting development and community projects while some funding goes towards spreading awareness of the program. VeriFlora requires that employers work towards paying a wage that is higher than the industry standard with the intention that wages then stay within the community.

You can find these labels on flower packaging at local florists, online retailers, and national retailers like Safeway, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. VeriFlora also has a “preferred retailer network” that spotlights retailers that carry the certification.

If you don’t see these flower ecolabels at your local retailer, be sure to ask for them -- simply raising awareness is another very effective way to support floral workers. A growing number of consumers and retailers are aware of highly toxic pesticides on flowers, but many are still unaware of the struggles that workers face throughout the supply chain. When you tell your florist about labor issues, they can pass the message on to their customers and throughout their supply chain. You can also raise awareness by sending a bouquet of certified sustainable flowers on holidays --like Mother's Day-- and telling your loved ones that the gift supports improved labor practices.

RosaPrima, an Ecuadorian rose producer that we certified under VeriFlora, is an example of a company that has benefited from implementing fair labor practices. During our audits I saw improved pesticide use practices, which led to an overall reduction in pesticide use and reduced potential for worker exposure. RosaPrima trains its workers to detect when individual plants need targeted pesticide application instead of employing the widespread spraying they used in the past. I also saw children of employees attending an onsite school and a free medical clinic that serves RosaPrima’s 400 employees and their families. All of these efforts resulted in high employee satisfaction and low turnover since the workers knew their employer had their best interests in mind.

How exactly do these ecolabels programs ensure worker safety and benefits to the community? VeriFlora sends auditors to conduct on-site inspections, document audits and in-depth interviews, and we follow up annually to confirm conditions are the same or better. When on-site, our auditors look at pest management techniques to promote integrated pest management and reduce dependence on pesticide. They also look at safe storage, handling and disposal of chemicals and examine company policies for hiring and to confirm local purchasing is encouraged.

Many flower farms start out as family-operated businesses with leaders who are passionate about flowers and giving back to their communities. As they grow larger, ecolabeling programs can help those entrepreneurs develop efficient practices that enhance their businesses and help them stay true to their values. We’ve seen the demand for ecolabels grow in the industry as growing flower companies express a desire to get credit for their sustainable practices and fair labor efforts in a standardized way.

The flower industry has the potential to make a big difference for worker communities by providing a safe and healthy livelihood, and you, as the consumer play an important role. “Every time you drop a dollar, yen, yuan, euro, rial, or pound on the shop counter you’re voting to support a type of product, service, or business, and to set in motion a stream of consequences, in your business and the world,” writes Gil Friend in The Truth about Green Business. Giving the gift of sustainable and fair labor flowers ensures safety for you, your loved ones, workers and the planet.

Dr. Michael Keyes is Scientific Certification Systems’ Manager of Sustainable Agriculture and was a principal architect of the VeriFlora certification.

Reprinted with permission from Scientific Certification Systems