As part of this two week Fairtrade awareness campaign run by the Fairtrade Foundation, I’ve been looking at some different consumer items where there is an option to buy Fairtrade and in doing so supporting the Fairtrade ethics of fair prices and working conditions for producers. It is not to say that other suppliers or supermarkets are not doing these things but buying Fairtrade is a guarantee of these standards. Last week was about Fairtrade wine and this week flowers, two of my favourite things….perhaps I might complete my Fairtrade fortnight blog series with a post about Fairtrade chocolate next?
As consumers we have the power to choose how and where to spend our money. According to the UK flower Industry:
The UK fresh cut flower and indoor plant market is worth £2.2 billion at retail level. To put this in perspective, the UK music industry is worth around £2 billion. This represents an average spend per person per year of £36 (£28 on flowers and £8 on plants).
With this in mind, it is clear there is a lot of buying power in a bunch of flowers. I have recently discovered that the supermarket Aldi is the only British retailer that is committed to buying and selling flowers with the Fairtrade logo. As part of their support for Fairtrade they run a project called ‘Dignity for All’ , to which the supermarket has pledged £200,000 over four years. The community project helps 11,000 flower farm workers in Ethiopia. This project delivers training to workers on women’s empowerment and equality in the workplace, as well as equality for those with disabilities. Buying Fairtrade flowers is supporting these projects.
Aldi have a good selection of flowers with the Fairtrade logo, like the bouquet of bright pink roses from a farm in Kenya I purchased earlier this week. Good quality flowers at a reasonable price, I definitely will look to choose these over other supermarket flowers and looking for the logo. With mothers day coming up soon, its is an opportunity to buy some Fairtrade flowers and support the farming communities.
For other mothers day little eco gift ideas, check out my other posts. Face Scrubbies, Beeswax wraps, shampoo bars, Raffia Bag, Origami flowers.
Little Eco Gifts 