News & Events
April 15th, 2011 |
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Fair Trade Farm Employees
About 80% of cut flowers sold in the United States are grown internationally in Latin America, South America, and Africa. Over 300,000 women are employed by flower producers all over the world. More often than not, they are exploited to keep costs low for American and European consumers. These women are often subjected to sexual abuse, human rights violations, exposure to toxic agrochemicals, and extremely dangerous working conditions. In many cases they are not paid for overtime hours, and are lucky to be paid fairly for regular hours worked. Fair Trade changes all of that!
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Tags: Fair Trade Certified Flowers, Fair Trade Flowers
December 29th, 2010 |
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As 2010 comes to a close, we would like to share this great report with you from the Ecuador Fair Trade Association about the positive impacts that Fair Trade Certified flowers have made for workers, their families, and the community. The EFTA is made up of seven flower farms from across the country that together employ more than 1,500 workers. One World Flowers looks forward to working with this group in 2011 to continue growing and expanding the Fair Trade flowers program.
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Tags: benefits of fair trade, Ecuador Fair Trade Association, Fair Trade Certified Flowers, fair trade certified roses, Fair Trade Flowers, fair trade roses, wholesale fair trade flowers
October 15th, 2010 |
No Comments The following post was submitted by Alaina Paradise, owner of One World Flowers, as part of Fair Trade USA’s Fair Trade Month awareness campaign. Click here to see the original post on Fair Trade USA’s blog.
A woman collects roses at a farm in Ethiopia, Africa's second-largest flower exporter after Kenya. Photographer: Jose Cendon/Bloomberg News
Fair Trade CertifiedTM 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.
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Tags: benefits of fair trade, challenges of fair trade, Fair Trade Certified Flowers, fair trade certified roses, Fair Trade Flowers, fair trade roses, flower logistics, flower shipping, insecticides on roses, One World Flowers, wholesale fair trade flowers
October 10th, 2010 |
4 Comments Sustainability is NOT an environmental concept only. Sustainability also includes people and profitability. If companies are not making money, they cannot be sustained. Also, if people and societies are leached of HUMAN resources, no business is sustained. Fair Trade is the best possible sustainable option for consumers when buying certain products. This post is in response to an article about Fair Trade vs. Carbon Footprints written by Graeme Wiser on the EbioAnt blog. Click here to see the original post.
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Tags: carbon footprint vs. fair trade, carbon vs. fair trade, Fair Trade Certified Flowers, Fair Trade Flowers, wholesale fair trade flowers, Wholesale Flowers
June 11th, 2010 |
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The following article was featured in the Floral Marketing section of The Produce News, June 2010. Click here to view the original article.
BY JOHN S. NIBLOCK
Alaina Paradise is happy to go from zero to 90. That’s the number of customers her One World Flowers import and distributing company has attracted with its Fair Trade offerings in its first two years. The economic skies were cloudy when Ms. Paradise began operations in May 2008, but as she put it, “we could only go up.” Not only were times hard, but she was beginning a new company with a premium product yet to find a reliable niche in retail markets.
One World Flowers is a licensed importer of Fair Trade flowers from Ecuador and Colombia. The company sells them nationwide to supermarkets, co-op grocers, and retail florists who have customers looking for more than just green options in the floral department. “More consumers are becoming aware of the human rights issues surrounding the products they buy,” said Ms. Paradise, “and they’re learning to look for labels that take care of people as well as the environment.”
The Fair Trade label is what Ms. Paradise calls a “complete sustainability” label. It guarantees not only environmental protection, but also human rights standards. Components include controls on pesticide use, safe working conditions, and fair wages for workers. “A big part of the Fair Trade program is direct and long-term relationships between the farms and importers,” Ms. Paradise stated in a phone interview. “We work together in marketing initiatives, sales efforts and in daily operations.”
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Tags: Fair Trade Certified Flowers, fair trade events, Fair Trade Flowers, fair Trade in the U.S., fair trade in the United States, green flowers, One World Flowers, The Produce News, wholesale fair trade certified roses, wholesale fair trade flowers, wholesale fair trade roses, Wholesale Flowers, wholesale roses
May 31st, 2010 |
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Customers got free Fair Trade roses at City Market
The City Market / Onion River Coop in Burlington, Vermont recently delighted customers with an in-store promotion of Fair Trade Certified™ Flowers. By teaming up with One World Flowers, City Market gave away 100 free Fair Trade roses to customers who came in to shop. The roses each had a custom tag on them that educated customers about the benefits of Fair Trade for flower farms in developing nations.
“The promotion helped raise awareness of the Fair Trade flowers that we carry,” said James, City Market’s Produce Manager. “It’s a great way to promote a socially sustainable product around big floral holidays.” The increased awareness of the flowers translates into higher and more consistent sales at the store.
One World Flowers routinely supports Fair Trade flower promotional activities at retail customers’ locations to educate consumers and raise awareness of the availability and benefits of Fair Trade Flowers. For more information about special promotional activities, please contact the Marketing department at One World Flowers: (505) 489-1117.
Tags: Fair Trade Certified Flowers, Fair Trade Flowers, wholesale fair trade flowers, wholesale fair trade roses, Wholesale Flowers, wholesale roses
January 7th, 2010 |
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When you buy Fair Trade Certified products, you help families like this one, member of the CECOVASA co-op in Peru, hold on to their land.
You already know that buying Fair Trade is good for farmers and good for the earth, but here’s yet another reason to feel good about your Fair Trade purchases: by making traditional small-scale agriculture in the developing world more profitable, Fair Trade helps farming families stay on their land. As big commercial companies encroach on the land that was once farmed exclusively by small family operations, it becomes extremely difficult for these families to compete.
Fair Trade helps small farmers successfully participate in the global market by facilitating direct trade relationships. Importers purchase from Fair Trade producer groups as directly as possible, eliminating unnecessary middlemen and empowering farmers to develop the business capacity necessary to compete in the global marketplace. Additionally, Fair Trade provides farmers with the market information necessary to be savvy producers. The Fair Trade minimum price gives farmers market information, financial stability, and access to credit, all of which contribute to farmers’ market success.
With each Fair Trade product you buy, you help a family hold on to their home. What better reason do you need?
This post is reprinted from TransFair USA, www.fairtrademonth.org.
Tags: Fair Trade Certified, Fair Trade Certified Flowers, Fair Trade Farmers, Fair Trade Flowers, wholesale fair trade flowers
November 16th, 2009 |
4 Comments By Alaina Paradise
“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.
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Tags: Fair Trade Certified Flowers, fair trade certified roses, Fair Trade Flowers, fair Trade in the U.S., fair trade in the United States, Faith and fair trade, green flowers, wholesale fair trade flowers, wholesale fair trade roses, Wholesale Flowers, wholesale roses
October 26th, 2009 |
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One World Flowers is pleased to announce the opening of the Fleurish Florist floral design studio in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia, specializing in sustainable floral design and “green” weddings. Fleurish Florist will be the first florist in Philadelphia to use Fair Trade Certified flowers, which will be supplied by One World Flowers. The company is a wholly woman-owned business founded by two sisters, Jane Cespuglio, owner and design director, and Susan Cespuglio-Bigler, owner and business manager. Fleurish Florists’ mission is to make the decision of going green a simple choice for clients hosting fair trade, eco-friendly events or fundraisers. Cespuglio commented, “As an architect, I have developed an in-depth awareness of issues of sustainability.”
Sustainable Design Principals
Fleurish Florists‘ design principles are based on the belief that customers do not need to sacrifice creativity, drama or excitement in exchange for choosing sustainable floral arrangements for weddings, events or corporate needs. Fleurish Florists employs eco-friendly techniques, ranging from the company’s choice of flowers and floral supplies, to its business structure and marketing strategy. Said Cespuglio, “I started Fleurish because I wanted to have a job that was a more hands-on approach to design, while having an outlet of self-expression that was both useful and ethical.” To this end, Fleurish Florists purchases only certified Fair Trade Certified, USDA organic, VeriFlora and local flowers to offset the impact the cut-floral industry has on the environment and people in third-world countries. Cespuglio-Bigler commented, “First and foremost, we feel it is the right thing to do to reduce our environmental impact and support a healthier and safer flower industry, but we also believe it makes good business sense.” In addition, Fleurish Florists never uses floral foam, which can be very harmful to the environment, and uses recycled-glass vases and ceramic containers created by local Philadelphia artists.
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Tags: Fair Trade Certified Flowers, fair trade certified roses, fair trade events, fair trade florist, fair trade florist in philadelphia, Fair Trade Flowers, fair Trade in the U.S., fair trade in the United States, green events, green florist in philadelphia, green flowers, green weddings, philadelphia florist, Veriflora, veriflora vs. fair trade
August 20th, 2009 |
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by Alaina Paradise
Fair Trade Certified flowers have been available in the United States for only two years, and are still not offered by most florists, grocers, or wholesalers. A large reason for this is the lack of understanding on what Fair Trade actually means, and how it’s different from the many different “green” labels that are currently available.
The Problem
Most of the Roses and other flowers sold in the United States come from outside our borders. In fact, over 70% of the cut flowers sold in the US come from Africa and South America. Workers on these floral farms are typically women and are often abused, paid unfairly, and forced to work outrageous hours to meet production quotas and keep their jobs. In addition, they are rarely given any protection from the many harmful chemicals and pesticides that are used on most farms. Because of these factors, the negative environmental, social, and economic impacts of the floral industry in developing countries are astounding.
Tags: environmentally friendly flowers, Fair Trade Certified Flowers, Fair Trade Flowers, fair Trade in the U.S., fair trade in the United States, green flowers, Veriflora, veriflora vs. fair trade, what is fair trade, wholesale fair trade flowers, wholesale fair trade roses, wholesale roses
