Top: Treesinstead.com's original home page. Bottom: Treesinstead.com's new and improved home page after talking with SAF.

A company that sells trees to commemorate special events has removed negative floral references from its Web site after being contacted by SAF.

SAF e-mailed Treesinstead.com July 14 about the company's prominent tagline, "MEMORY TREES - - Instead of Flowers." The company sells "memory trees" to mark special occasions such as birthdays and weddings. The site also offers "sympathy trees" that can be planted in memory of loved ones.

In the e-mail, SAF pointed out that member florists were concerned about being singled out in the tagline and asked that the negative reference be removed. A representative for the Web site called SAF 20 minutes after receiving the e-mail. He agreed to remove the "Instead of Flowers" language from the Memory Trees section of the site.

Treesinstead.com also removed negative phrases from its FAQ page, including "Why trees instead of flowers? Flowers die at the moment the stem is cut from the root producing waste while decomposing; on the other hand, planting a tree will preserve the environment."

"We want to work with florists," the company representative told SAF, "not compete against them."

Alert SAF to negative floral references by faxing (703) 836-8705, e-mailing jstromann@safnow.org or calling (800) 336-4743.

 --Morgan Schimminger
mschimminger@safnow.org

 

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