Hollywood Free Clinic Rose Giveaway

Silverlake’s Hollywood Sunet Free Clinic received Fair Trade Certified roses from One World Flowers to participate in the Valentine Peace Project by giving out poems on love and peace from individuals around the world as a community themed Valentine expression.   The clinic’s mission is to provide quality health care, mental health services and required ancillary services to the homeless, poverty level and low-income residents of Silver Lake, Echo Park, East Hollywood and neighboring communities of Los Angeles. These communities are in most desperate need; the majority is at the 200% or below Federal Poverty Level. Each rose that was given away came with a poem from the Valentine’s Peace Project. Staff at the clinic celebrated the holiday by giving these out to fellow staff members, visiting patients and close neighbors from February 14-18.
 
Teresa Padua, director of the clinic said they had “loads of fun” sharing the beautiful roses and moving poems, noting people’s surprised expressions, cheering up work colleagues and individuals who might even have forgotten that it was that time of year!
 
The Valentine Peace Project works on community activities on love and positive peace in February and in September around the United Nations Peace Day and is working with ethical trade merchants to assist with the developmet of post-conflict region agricultural products as well as peace education, awareness and global community celebration.

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

Dear Fair Tade Flower Customers,

Back in 2002, when our first farms obtained the Fair Trade certification, nurseries and child care centers in the farms had limited resources. Now, all of our roses that are sold with the Fair Trade logo earn an extra 10% of the selling price. This extra money is paid to the workers to invest in social projects related to education, health, small businesses, loans and many other initiatives to improve their lives.

Little by little, our workers on our farms have made investments in improving the nurseries. They now look much cozier and provide a better environment for children to grow and learn.

The Fair Trade Premium has also supported education by providing school materials and uniforms to workers and their children. Generally, this type of support is given as a reward for good grades and regular school attendance.

Our farms also support many local schools by providing furniture, school materials and building facilities. We strive to give children the best possible learning environment to ensure their educational success. In some cases these schools rely on the Fair Trade premium for basic equipment like windows and desks. This has made the scope of influence of Fair Trade in our farms much broader than only the workers and their families.

By the beginning of 2008, our workers received health benefits, but they didn’t have easy access to hospitals and doctors. Sometimes workers had to travel several hours to reach the hospital. Nowadays every farm has a doctors’ office, and specialists visit the farms on specific dates to undertake several types of preventive medicine.

The Fair Trade Premium has also helped provide loans to workers for home improvements and for starting new businesses. Interest rates are very low, and payment conditions are favorable to the worker’s situation.

We are happy to share these accomplishments with our friends all over the world who support Fair Trade and buy our roses. These are top quality roses, harvested with faith in this fair system.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

~ Ecuador Fair Trade Association

A woman collects roses at a farm in Ethiopia, Africa's second-largest flower exporter after Kenya. Photographer: Jose Cendon/Bloomberg News

Fair Trade Certified^TM flowers were first introduced to the US market in 2007 when TransFair USA (now Fair Trade USA) began licensing importers for the program. The addition of Fair Trade flowers to the US market was an incredible accomplishment for the producers and licensees who chose to participate in the program. It presented a great opportunity to grow sustainable sales in a new market and make an even bigger impact for floral workers worldwide. The Fair Trade flowers program has seen a good amount of success since its beginnings, but has not yet been able to win the wide-scale market awareness and producer participation as other products such as Fair Trade coffee, fruit, and tea.

Toxic Perfection

One industry analyst correctly observed that consumers are perfectly willing to accept an apple with a spot or two, and coffee is never seen in its raw form, but consumers demand flawless, perfect flowers.  The result of this demand is increased use of pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals to produce faultless flowers.

A 2009 case study from the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization found that over 120 chemicals are used in Ethiopia’s floriculture industry, 15 of which the World Health Organization classifies as carcinogenic. This number is not much higher than what is found in other major floral-producing countries such as Ecuador, Colombia, and Kenya, where local governments often turn a blind eye to the use of harmful chemicals and pesticides that have long been banned in the United States.

Insecticide Use on a Non-FT Farm

The Fair Trade flowers program bans the use of over 100 of the most harmful agrochemicals and requires farms to learn entirely new growing practices. This is no small task to teach. The benefits of these changes cannot be overstated, but they do create a ‘barrier to entry’ for farms that consider transitioning to Fair Trade Certified^TM growing practices. This limits the reach of the program in many areas where chemical-induced production is seen as the norm.

 On the Move

In addition to wanting perfect flowers, consumers want their bouquets to last for many days. One of the unique challenges to Fair Trade flower importers is the logistics and timing of importing a highly perishable product.  Unlike coffee, tea, clothing, or even fruit, flowers must be hydrated and kept cool for their long journey into the country and even up until delivery to the final consumer.

From the perspective of a licensed importer, this can be a challenging task. Many importers bring Fair Trade flowers in to large warehousing facilities where they are hydrated, cooled, repackaged, and then shipped to a florist or final customer. This method can cut 3 to 5 days off the lifespan of those flowers in a customer’s home or office.

Other companies like One World Flowers have developed a direct-ship logistics solution to getting flowers to customers. In this case, flowers are cut and hydrated at the farm, and they arrive directly to the consumer within 48 to 72 hours later. There is a significant cost associated with direct shipping in this way, but the benefits include a much longer lifespan for the flowers and a higher quality product that hasn’t experienced as much interference as warehoused flowers.

Logistics of Flower Shipping

Despite these challenges and many others, Fair Trade flowers in the US have made a great impact and resulted in many changes on floral farms, especially in South America. The importers and producers that are committed to the program continue to see Fair Trade sales rise, even in the depths of America’s economic woes. Take a moment during Fair Trade Month to help the Fair Trade flower movement grow while brightening someone’s day at the same time.

“Now listen you rich oppressors, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you… Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the Lord Almighty. “ ~ James 5:1,4

The Bible is clear that God detests injustice and oppression. This verse from the book of James speaks of unfair treatment of workers who have earned their wages through hard work but are not paid. Unfortunately, this is an injustice that is happening all over the world, even today. Agricultural workers are not paid for their hours, they are forced into unpaid overtime, or required to reach outrageous harvest quotas before getting minimum pay. In many cases, women suffer physical or sexual harassment and abuse. The environment is polluted with harsh chemicals and fertilizers, and workers are not given proper protection from these harmful agents.

In contrast, Fair Trade is a powerful and practical model to help build economic justice, promote human rights, and support responsible stewardship of the earth. Fair Trade ensures that workers are paid a living wage, which is far beyond the minimum wage in most countries. Human rights are protected and guaranteed. Workers are able to report abuses and receive remediation through an overseeing human rights organization. In addition, the most harmful agrochemicals are banned from use and replaced with integrated pest management. In the event that a chemical or pesticide must be used, workers are provided with protective gear to prevent chemical poisoning, and proper precautions are taken to close the fields until it is safe to enter.

Fair Trade is a way to do business God’s way; showing compassion and respect while enjoying products grown with love and care for people. The values and principles of Fair Trade business fit so perfectly into a Christian life. True Christianity is a committed lifestyle of identifying with Christ – not merely a Sunday morning religion. So, Christians of the true kind will strive to apply biblical values to every area of their lives and in each role that they play. One of the most overlooked but powerful roles that we all play is that of consumers.

Many of us do not realize the power we hold when we make decisions at the grocery store or when shopping for the home. We have in our wallets the power to make a difference for workers around the world. If you are a Christian seeking to apply Biblical principles of living into every area of life, it is important to reflect on the choices we are making with our money.

By purchasing Fair Trade Certified™ products, we are making a statement that we agree with the values behind the label – justice, sustainability, stewardship, and the value of human life. All of these things are pleasing to Christ and reflect His character. Fair Trade is a practical way of taking Christian beliefs to the marketplace, and a means of “putting your money where your mouth is.” Fair Trade is not a substitute to a saving relationship with Christ, nor is it the answer to all of the world’s woes, but it is one more way of reflecting Him to the world around us.

Here’s what you can do:

• Purchase Fair Trade Certified products when you shop—look for an expanding product line including coffee, tea, chocolate, fresh fruit, sugar, vanilla, rice, and flowers. Fair Trade flowers and chocolates can be sold at church fundraisers for Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day.

• Serve Fair Trade coffee, tea, and cocoa at coffee hour, congregational meetings, and events—make justice a part of fellowship.

• Give Fair Trade items as wonderful gifts.

• Host a Fair Trade House Party and include a Fair Trade products tasting.

• Share the Fair Trade story with family, friends, and coworkers— publish an article in your church newsletter.

• Celebrate Fair Trade Month every October and World Fair Trade Day every second Saturday in May—special times to promote Fair Trade.

 “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” —Micah 6:8