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Fair Trade Certified Flowers:TransFair Canada Background Document

Conventional flower production

“For workers, the flower industry represents the total erosion of labour standards...”

 – Deceptive Beauty: A Look at the Global Flower Industry  

− A present of flowers is a beautiful and popular way to celebrate special occasionslike Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, graduation, a birthday, a wedding, or “justbecause I love you.” Many people admire the beauty of a red rose without thinkingabout where the cut flower was produced, or under what conditions. In fact, flowerproduction is a labour and chemical- intensive process that often puts workers andthe environment at high risk.

− The Netherlands produces 50% of world flower exports, and countries in the GlobalNorth control most of the relevant technology and expertise. However, a growingportion of cut flowers are produced and exported by countries in the Global South,where labour and environmental standards are much lower. The majority of flowers

sold in Canada are imported from Latin America, especially Colombia and Ecuador.− Work in the flower industry is a very important source of income to people without job

training from regions where agriculture no longer brings in a living wage. However,the work can be unstable and dangerous and many workers do not have the freedomto speak out against their conditions because to do so could mean losing their jobs.

− Jobs in the flower industry are often insecure, with short-term contracts offering lowwages and no benefits. Hours can be long, up to 60 hours a week.  In Colombia,flower workers can work up to six hours in overtime per day during the peak season.Relatively few workers belong to unions, which would allow them to collectivelynegotiate better working conditions. Instead, many flower companies work toactively prevent the establishment of unions. In an Oxfam study, 88% of Colombianflower workers either believed they would be fired for joining a union, or did not wantto discuss the issue.

− One of the most serious issues in the production of flowers is the exposure ofworkers and the environment to highly toxic chemical pesticides, fungicides, andfertilizers. Flower-importing countries only accept flower shipments if they are totallyfree of diseases and insects, so the majority of producers use huge quantities ofthese poisons. The flower industry uses more pesticides per hectare than any otherform of agriculture. In Colombia, an average of 200 kg of pesticides per hectare isused, which is double that of flower production in the Netherlands and about 75times more than conventional agriculture in industrialized countries. Out of the manychemicals used in flower production in the Global South, one-fifth have been bannedor restricted in Europe and North America and are proven to cause cancer. Such

chemical vapours can build up in great quantities inside the warm, poorly ventilatedgreenhouses.

− Exposure to these pesticides has a very serious impact on the health of workers.Most workers are not provided with sufficient protective clothing, training, andcleaning facilities to minimize their exposure to the chemicals. The resulting healthimpacts can be very serious: “[N]early two-thirds of Colombian flower workers sufferfrom one or more floriculture-related health problems, including headaches, nausea,impaired vision, conjunctivitis, rashes, asthma, stillbirths, miscarriages, congenitalmalformations and respiratory and neurological problems” (VIDEA, 2002).

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− The chemicals used in flower production do not stop at causing harm within thegreenhouses, but make their way into the local ecosystem. Their use and improperdisposal lead to contamination of soil and water sources in the region. It makes itsway into the food chain, including cattle. This in turn poisons the people whoconsume the contaminated water and food products coming from the land.

− Despite the fact that 65-70% of flower workers are women, on average they are paidless than men and given jobs considered to be low skill. They are also more likely tobe hired on a temporary instead of permanent basis. Women experience otherforms of discriminatory treatment, including sexual harassment, and pregnant andnursing mothers are often offered no special protection against chemicals exposure.

− Workers experience a variety of other serious physical harm from flower productiondue to long hours spent in awkward positions, extreme changes in temperature, longworking hours, etc.

Fair Trade Certified flowers

− Fair Trade Certified flowers are consumers’ guarantee that the people producingtheir flowers are being paid a fair wage and enjoying good working conditions. At alllevels of the supply chain, operations are monitored to ensure the international FairTrade standards of just and sustainable production conditions set by the internationalumbrella organization Fairtrade Labelling Organizations (FLO) International arebeing followed. In Canada, TransFair Canada is the only national independent, thirdparty certifier of Fair Trade products. TransFair Canada monitors and licensesCanadian processing companies that sell Fair Trade products.

− Canada’s Fair Trade Certified flowers are imported mainly from Kenya. FLO certifies28 producer organizations supplying Fair Trade Certified flowers from Colombia,Ecuador, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and India. Cut flowers are new to Fair Tradeand have been certified by FLO since 2004.

− The Fair Trade minimum price for flowers is fixed in contracts with regard to the

expected market developments. In addition to this minimum price, there is a FairTrade Premium, additional income to be spent on community development projectssuch as infrastructure and social services as decided by worker’s representativeswith input from management. The Fair Trade Premium for flowers is 12% of theFOB1 price for individual flowers and 8% for bouquets.

− In order to be certified Fair Trade, flower production must follow FLO’s set ofstandards for products reliant on hired labour, as well as additional standardsspecific to flowers. FLO requires that the International Labour Organization’s (ILO)Conventions be followed. There can be no forced or bonded labour. Childrencannot be hired under the age of 15 or compulsory school age, and those aged 15 to18 are protected from work that is hazardous or interferes with their education.

− To become Fair Trade Certified, a detailed set of safety regulations specific to flowerproduction must be followed. These limit the use of agrochemicals and prohibit theuse of banned pesticides. Workers must receive safety training and pregnantwomen are offered special protection.

− All workers must have freedom of association and collective bargaining. Workersmust be organized, usually in unions, to negotiate a Collective Bargaining Agreement

1 Free on Board: The point of sale between seller and buyer is at the point of shipping (e.g. the producer is

responsible for bringing the flowers to and loading them onto the export vessel)

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(CBA), improved conditions beyond the Fair Trade minimum standards. Workersmust have fair employment conditions, including salaries that are at least at the levelof the national minimum wage to be increased over time, set working hours of up to48 hours per week, regular breaks, paid overtime (to a maximum of 12 hours), atleast 3 weeks annual leave plus sick leave and maternity leave, and benefitsincluding maternity loans, social security and other provisions agreed upon in the

CBA.

− Fair Trade Certified flowers have just been made available in Canada in 2005 andthus far are only available in British Colombia. The response has been very positive.With consumer awareness and demand, Fair Trade Certified flowers have greatpotential for growth.

Main references:

Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International. www.fairtrade.net

FLO International. Fairtrade Standards for Cut Flowers for Hired Labour.http://www.fairtrade.net/pdf/hl/english/Cut%20Flowers%20HL%20October04.pdf

Victoria International Development Education Association (VIDEA). “Deceptive Beauty: A Look At

The Global Flower Industry.” Global Citizens for a Global Era 1(5). 2002.www.videa.ca/resources/deceptive_beauty_ch1.pdf

Laura Holt. “Rose Trade and Ecuador.” TED Case Studies 10(1). 2000.www.american.edu/TED/rose1.htm

Oxfam. Trading Away our Rights: Women Working in Global Supply Chains .

oxfam.org/eng/pdfs/report_042008_labor.pdf

(For complete referencing please contact TransFair Canada)