TransFairUSA

I just want to share with you the most significant organization committed to Fair Trade in this country: TransFairUSA. Be sure to visit their website (http://transfairusa.org) and access their many resources - from basic FAQs to in-depth academic position papers, to activist tools, the TransFair website has it. There is also a fairly complete listing of stores, coops, and web commerce sites for fair trade goods, including flowers. We will hopefully be included on this list soon. (There is a vetting process to ensure that retailers are on the level.)

Take a look at their site, including this Flash presentation:

http://transfairusa.org/content/feature.php

It is great to know TransFairUSA is out there. Check them out, and don't forget to make a donation!

(The photo on the right is shown courtesy of TransFairUSA.)

If you're in Bergen County, stop by one of our shops - Tiger Lily on Cedar Lane or Encke Flowers on Queen Anne Road and talk with us about Fair Trade.

Where to Find Organic Flowers (in Teaneck!?)

There's always the Thursday Farmers Market. Farmers Markets are, of course, seasonal and the selections (if there are any) are hit-and-miss. Sometimes you can score some righteous sunflowers, or sweet william, black-eyed susans, lavendar, and of course, herbs. Most times there are no flowers to be found. We love our local growers (Encke Flowers began as grower in Bogota, NJ back in 1906...) but for us, the closest source of organic flowers is Lawrenceville, NJ - just outside Philadelphia. That's a four-hour drive round-trip from Teaneck with the A/C running full blast in the back of the van.

If I can't/won't do this kind of floral beer-run on a regular basis, I can order from organic wholesalers such as EcoFlowers, based in California. I applaud their foresight and efforts. They've been sowing organic cut flower seeds for a few years, and I hope they reap the benefits. I have one big issue, though, which is if I order their cut flowers, they are cooled, boxed, and sent FedEx Overnight by jet and van, with a hefty delivery charge per box. I have to pass this on to my customers as a sort of "organic" fuel surcharge. See the contradiction?

Here's the problem: with the exodus of flower cultivation to Colombia, Ecuador and other places with 365-day growing seasons and exploited labor, folks like us who are interested in buying and selling organic cut flowers and plants have very few sources. Wholesalers in the US haven't caught up to their European counterparts. We're going to make this a personal mission.

I'm challenging my local wholesalers to find us some Veriflora certified, organic and Fair Trade certified lines of flowers. Aside from being the right thing to do on so many levels, I think it will be profitable for them in the very near future. We're working to educate our customers, and it will be a matter of time before a demand exists for "green" flowers in the US. I wrote to my wholesaler today, and I will share his response.

Meanwhile, you can find organic flower and fair trade gifts at our two shops: Tiger Lily Flowers on Cedar Lane, and Encke Flowers and Gifts on Queen Anne Road in Teaneck, NJ. Visit us on the web at www.enckeflorist.com

Why Buy Organic Flowers?|Organic Alternatives|Green Weddings

There are many reasons to buy organic flowers and plants when you can. Let's take a look at some of them:

1. The same reasons you would buy organic milk or vegetables applies to flowers. Maybe even moreso. Along with the reduction in toxic pesticides in the food chain (and our bodies), organic cultivation practices reduce the amount of petroleum based inputs used in farming. Petroleum is the primary source for pesticides and fertilizers.

2. Organic flowers address the core purpose of organic production: to enrich the earth rather than deplete it. Your purchase of organic flowers and food encourages more growers to convert to organic practices and to reduce toxic chemical usage in the world!

3. Pesticides and other toxic chemicals used on flowers can affect the health of farm workers and florists. Without the proper protection, the toxic chemicals can spread onto the clothes and into the bodies of farm workers which in turn can increase exposure to their children. Cut flower workers in Colombia and Ecuador (the principle floral export countries) are subjected to toxic doses of pesticides on a routine basis. Lax environmental and health controls in these countries is part of what makes their export business profitable. Florists on the other end of the producrtion chain who handle non-organic flowers have been known to develop dermatitis on their hands.

4. Buying organic flowers helps support local organic farming communities and organizations, which often have charitable, philanthropic motives for selling their flowers.

5. Organic flowers, according to many people, are more fragrant and last longer than non-organic ones.

6. The toxic chemicals used on flower farms can poison groundwater and the soil. These chemicals also become part of the food chain, as animals such as birds will eat the sprayed plants.

7. Through evaporation, toxic pesticides and fertilizers that are sprayed on flower farms end up in the atmosphere. They then travel to other global areas to fall as rain or snow.

8. Every flower counts: Increasing sales of certified organic flowers gives the market notice that more organic flowers need to be grown, which makes more flower farms convert to using organic agricultural methods.

A Green Wedding?

If you are planning your wedding, why not make it a "green" wedding? Make it organic! If you're in New Jersey or the New York City area, we would be happy to consult with you on how to do this. Call us at 201.287.1800 or visit us on the web at http://www.enckeflorist.com/.

Fair Trade and Flowers

Most of us don't associate flowers with exploitation. Or environmental degradation.

Unfortunately, the cut flower industry has a lot to answer for in this regard, having drawn its profitability from exploiting workers in Latin America and elsewhere for many years (low wages, poor working conditions, no labor organizations, toxic exposure to pesticides and herbicides...). However, the Fair Trade movement has changed the face of floral wholesale and retail in the European Union, and it is gaining a foothold stateside.

So what does Fair Trade mean? What can it mean for those of us in the US who want to design and sell cut flower arrangements without participating in the abuse of workers and the environment in the developing countries?

The Fair Trade movement was initiated by activists in Holland in 1988, responding to a plunge in international coffee prices. While European and American coffee drinkers enjoyed the benefits of cheaper coffee, small farmers in developing countries were devastated. Concerns for their welfare led to the establishment of a system of Fair Trade certification to ensure that coffee and other economically vulnerable agricultural workers were not exploited. However, Fair Trade certification is not just about paying farmers and workers fairly. It is also about promoting education and developing more sustainable trade ties with other nations. Fair Trade certification involves voluntary cooperation with a certifying organization and usually reflects an international effort between companies and their suppliers. Today, coffee and cacao are the two most commonly certified crops, because both industries traditionally exploited their workers. However, any crop or product could be Fair Trade certified.

What does Fair Trade certification mean? Is it just about prices? To be Fair Trade certified, a company must guarantee that their suppliers do not use child or slave labor, that workers are paid a fair living wage, that employment opportunities are available to all workers and that everyone has an equal opportunity for advancement, and that healthy working and living conditions are provided for workers. In addition, producers must agree to support the educational and technical needs of their workforce, while promoting active and healthy trade agreements and being open to public accountability. Fair Trade certification also often involves environmentally sustainable production and harvest practices, encouraging a stable market and a healthy Earth. Fair Trade certification also usually involves a respect for cultural heritage and encourages cultural exchange between nations rather than the smothering of traditions. Many Fair Trade products include information about the people who grow them and the world they live in, making every cup of coffee an education.

Who determines whether products meet Fair Trade standards? Most Fair Trade certification is governed by Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (FLO), a group of 20 Fair Trade labelers around the world who have set mutual standards and agree to certify and enforce them. In the United States, TransFair USA represents FLO, and numerous companies work with TransFair to achieve Fair Trade certification. Fair Trade products are sometimes more expensive on the shelf, although they probably cost less in terms of human suffering and environmental damage than conventional products. As more companies are working towards Fair Trade certification, the cost is beginning to come down, encouraging consumers to make ethical, healthy, and sustainable choices about the source of their food.

TigerFlower's First Posting

Welcome to TigerFlower. We are based out of Tiger Lily Flowers and Encke Flowers in Teaneck, New Jersey (right across the George Washington Bridge from NYC). Tiger Lily is a new shop with a new concept - merging innovation in floral design (or floral sculpture) with a commitment to Fair Trade and environmental sustainability. (This is the attitude part of "Flowers with an Attitude.") You can find us on the web at: http://www.tigerlilyflowershop.net/ and at http://www.enckeflorist.com/.

We are first and foremost artists, coming to the trade out of different design backgrounds (fashion and graphic design). We come to flowers with a sculptural sensibility but we also understand the importance of helping people celebrate their lives' great events and rites of passage. We are privileged to participate in our community's customs, their celebrations, courtships and reconciliations, illnesses and mourning. We genuinely enjoy the role we play in our customers' lives, however fleeting or tangential. It has become a rare thing for artists to enjoy this kind of daily direct role in such intimate rituals. It's not "retail". We're not just part of some abstraction called the "service sector." We dig it. It's got a different kind of glow altogether.