Fairtrade Information

Flowers carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark have met the internationally agreed Fairtrade standards covering social, environmental and economic development. The Mark is an independent product certification label which guarantees that workers on flower farms are getting a better deal.

Flower farms must meet minimum labour and environmental standards, including payment of a fair wage, the right to join trade unions or worker committees to represent their interests, and must commit to ongoing improvements which are regularly monitored by the independent Fairtrade certification body. Workers also receive a Fairtrade Premium which can be used for community and/or economic development projects.

Fairtrade flowers currently come from certified flower farms in Kenya, Sri Lanka, Ecuador and Colombia which have been certified as complying with Fairtrade standards, which can be examined at www.fairtrade.net

There are over 10,000 workers currently employed on these flower farms who will benefit from Fairtrade certification. They are able to participate in Fairtrade because they are organised (generally into unions) and because the company that they work for is committed to an improvement process which results in higher working standards and to developing a partnership which promotes the economic and social development of the workers.

A Joint Body, comprising management and democratically elected representatives of workers, has been established on each of the farms with the purpose of deciding how the Fairtrade Premium is used. All groups of workers, including temporary and seasonal workers are able to participate in the election process and composition of the Joint Body.

A variety of projects have already been implemented using the Fairtrade premium received as a result of sales of Fairtrade flowers. Community development projects include: creation of adult education facilities; drilling of boreholes in local villages to supply water; purchase of equipment for farm créches; purchase of books, desks and chairs and repair of windows at local schools; donation of books, pens and bed linen to a local children's home; increase of stock for the community hire shop which enables workers to hire items at reduced cost; and purchase of equipment for disabled community members. Future projects include the purchase of swings and slides for the children of farm workers; contribution to the building of community bridges; and donation of bed linen to local hospitals. These examples demonstrate that the Fairtrade Premium is already helping to improve the lives of workers, both on and off farms, as well as the amenities for the benefit of the wider community.

Golden rules for selling Fairtrade flowers

1. All flowers in a bouquet must be 100% Fairtrade flowers.
2. If, in a bouquet or an arrangement, some Fairtrade cut flowers are mixed with other flowers the product cannot be displayed and sold as Fairtrade using the FAIRTRADE Mark.
3. Without the FAIRTRADE Mark the flowers cannot be sold as Fairtrade flowers.
4. All uses of the FAIRTRADE Mark must be approved by the Fairtrade Foundation.
5. Every product that carries the FAIRTRADE Mark requires a licensee to have overall responsibility for compliance with Fairtrade standards. Your licensee is J&E Page (Distributors) Ltd.
6. Fairtrade flowers are a little bit more expensive that other conventional flowers because their price includes the Fairtrade Premium and a license right for using the FAIRTRADE Mark. Consumers are aware of this, and as a consequence accept to pay this higher price.

A wide range of materials including posters, leaflets, point of sale, promotional merchandise and the "Fair Comment" newsletter are available from the Fairtrade Foundation. Further information is available at www.fairtrade.org.uk.