Cut flowers that must be imported from another region are often grown in suboptimal conditions.
Many people like to celebrate important holidays with lavish bouquets of cut flowers. As a result, the flower industry is booming, shipping hundreds of tons of flowers around the world to be sold in supermarkets and florists. Consumers spend millions each year buying flowers and taking them home – and most consumers don’t think about the environmental and social aspects of the industry. Several studies conducted in the late 1990s suggested that cut flowers had a serious environmental impact.
Cut flowers are usually grown in a greenhouse or nursery.
Most cut flowers are grown in South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia in large greenhouses with poorly paid, non-union workers. The greenhouses are carefully climate controlled to produce the best flowers and are also heavily sprayed with pesticides, fungicides and herbicides. Because flowers are grown in countries with more flexible environmental laws, many banned substances are used in flower production, including DDT and methyl bromide. These substances have a profound impact on the health of workers: many suffer from health problems such as skin diseases, respiratory problems, visual impairment and birth defects due to their exposure to these chemicals.
Studies suggest that the chemicals used in growing cut flowers are harmful to the environment.
In addition to harming workers, these chemicals are also extremely harmful to the environment. Methyl bromide has been linked to the depletion of the ozone layer, for example, while the use of DDT throughout the world has caused serious problems for many animal and bird populations. Most greenhouses that produce cut flowers dump chemicals on their crops in large quantities. These chemicals then enter the bodies of workers, flowers, and groundwater. Water pollution around commercial greenhouses harms animal and fish populations and also affects human life by reducing the amount of drinking water.
Pesticides used in the treatment of cut flowers can harm the health of florists.
Once the flowers are grown, they still need to be shipped to a final destination, which is a major contributor to global pollution. Some cut flowers can be transported thousands of miles, adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere every step of the way. At the florist, flowers are arranged and prepared for sale, and some florists complain of skin and other health problems from prolonged contact with cut flowers. Ultimately, the consumer brings the flowers home, perhaps inadvertently tossing them into a shopping cart loaded with organic produce and other fair trade foods.
The serious environmental impact caused by the cut flower industry began to gain attention in the early 21st century, when consumer protection organizations began educating people about the problems of cut flowers. Typically, flower stories peak around Valentine’s Day in an attempt to convince consumers to buy organic, locally grown flowers that don’t cause a huge environmental impact with them. Local seasonal flowers can be just as beautiful and even more unusual, especially when combined with other thoughtful gifts.