A 10-minute PBS documentary distributed online by PBS Frontline World, says that the U.S. market is ready to pay more for flowers in order to push for more fair trade practices.

Filmmaker Courtney Hamilton traveled to Ecuador, which is known for its tall, straight roses, to speak to industry officials about where the rose industry once was and where it is going.

"The story of roses hasn't always been a pretty one," Hamilton explains. "A nasty reputation for labor and environmental abuses has plagued the industry from the very start."

Hamilton goes on to say that environment is changing because of farms such as Nevado Ecuador of Latacunga, Ecuador, which is making efforts to improve conditions for workers and implement more environmentally friendly practices, Hamilton says.

Video footage and interviews with farm owners and employees highlight practices such as paying a living wage, strictly regulating pesticide use, recycling water and plant parts and contracting with a slaughterhouse to use animal waste for fertilizer.

Hamilton also talks to Michael Conroy, board chairman of TransFair USA, a fair trade certifying agency for the U.S., who says fair trade certified flowers could have as much impact on the flower industry as fair trade coffee did a few years back.

"Fair trade certification changes the nature of conditions faced by workers on flower farms, "Conroy says.

Jennifer Sparks, vice president of marketing for the Society of American Florists, says the documentary is an example of a recent "shift" in the media's coverage of the industry's growing practices. "We have seen a shift in news coverage of late, with the majority of stories focusing on the positive advantages of certification programs and sustainable practices in the floral industry," Sparks says, "rather than making negative claims about the treatment of workers and the environment. This story is a great example of that shift."

--Kori Kamradt
kkamradt@safnow.org

 

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