The BBC News website recently wrote an article on flower gangs in Cornwall. Workers were being paid £50 a week to pick flowers such as daffodils from fields and roadsides. These workers, mainly from Poland and Lithuania, would spend half the year in Cornwall and the other half in Scotland. (Read it here)
Exploitations is not rare in the flower industry. While this was a tragic occurrence, we also know that in Britain, ploys such as this one are often quickly discovered by the authorities and a ban put on the offenders. We know that on the whole, 99.5% of the flowers sourced in Britain are indeed ethically sourced, with fair wages being paid for all workers along the supply chain.
These aren’t the only ethically sourced flowers we can get here in Britain though. Fair Flowers Fair Plants (FFP) provide ethically sourced flowers from around the world. These flowers are taken to Holland and distributed at auction to buyers from the UK, Europe, and even parts of North America.
FFP accredited flowers are grown under strict regulations. Each stem comes with an individual tag with a unique serial number that can be traced straight back through the supply chain to the grower.
We love FFP flowers; these provide solid documentation proof that the flowers we are holding are not the result of hard-working, exploited farmers. The only problem we have is the carbon footprint that is involved with importing these flowers. These flowers are taken from places such as Kenya and Costa Rica, flown to Holland, and then driven/flown to their final destination. This puts a huge toll on our environment.
When weighing the two against each other, we find that British flowers are the clear winner- due to the reduced carbon emissions involved in transportation. British law is strict and clearly states and enforces many of the same requirements FFP growers must adhere to. British law also is strict on the use of pesticides and only certain, tested pesticides are allowed to be used on cut flowers. While as we can see, exploitation does still exist in Britain, it is clear the amount of exploitation is minimal when compared to many other countries.
Someone somewhere is always trying to cut their costs to gain more- and exploitation is rife where it is allowed to appear invisible- but what is important is that Britain has the strength of the media and government-funded, effective policing (such as the Gangmates Licensing Authority) to readily combat and make visible any horticultural and agricultural injustice that may occur within Britain.