VIEWPOINT 2/2020 Business Spotlight 35Fotos: iStockphoto, barbol88, Jan Treger/iStock.com
VIEWPOINT
IT’S PERSONAL“Flowers grown beyond
our own backyard should
be a luxury”
Wir schmücken unser Heim mit Blumen. Doch sollten
wir uns nicht nur an ihrer Schönheit erfreuen, sondern
auch die Menschen wertschätzen, die sie unter teils
prekären Bedingungen für uns anbauen und pflücken.
ADVANCEDPLUSadvocate for sth.
[(ÄdvEkeIt fO:]
, für etw. eintreten
backyard [(bÄkjA:d] US
, Garten (hinter dem
Haus)
bloom [blu:m]
, Blüte
bump into sth.
[)bVmp (Intu]
, auf etw. stoßen
carbon footprint
[(kA:bEn )fUtprInt]
, CO 2 -Fußabdruckchair sth. [tSeE]
, etw. leiten, moderieren
commission sth.
[kE(mIS&n]
, etw. in Auftrag geben
decent [(di:s&nt]
, angemessen
emphasis [(emfEsIs]
, Betonung
greenhouse gas
[)gri:nhaUs (gÄs]
, Treibhausgas
notably [(nEUtEbli]
, insbesondererife [raIf]
, weit verbreitet
scarcity [(skeEsEti]
, Knappheit
scheme [ski:m]
, Programm
sprig [sprIg] , Zweig
supply chain [sE(plaI tSeIn]
, Lieferkette
sustainable [sE(steInEb&l]
, nachhaltig
venue [(venju:]
, VeranstaltungsortELISABETH RIBBANS
is a British
journalist and
editorial consul
tant.Á
Contact: eribbans@W gmail.com
hile preparing to chair a talk
for the Rainforest Alliance
— starting with learning
about the ethos of the venue
— I bumped into the phrase
“sustainable flower arrange-
ments”. What exactly is a
“sustainable flower”? Is it
about the carbon footprint of a beautiful
bloom from South America that is flown
across the globe to die slowly on my cof-
fee table? Or is it more to do with pesti-
cides, land use, water scarcity and the lives
of the people who grow them?
I found it involves all these things.
It’s also complicated. For example, the
Fairtrade Foundation commissioned a
2018 study that found the greenhouse
gas emissions from the production of
Fairtrade roses in Kenya were 5.5 times
lower than those grown in the Nether-
lands. The Kenyan production also used
6.5 times less energy, even when their air
transport to Europe was included in the
calculations.
Schemes such as these run by Fairtrade
and the Rainforest Alliance aim to ensure
decent working conditions for those em-
ployed in this more than €90 billion global
industry. But for the many people picking
and packing our flowers, the garden re-
mains far from rosy, as poverty and health
problems are rife.
A bunch of flowers is such a familiar
sight — Germans, Americans and Britons
are the biggest consumers — that it’s easy
to overlook where they’ve come from.Those working to promote an ethical industry have long under-
stood this, but, closer to home, the concern has also given rise to
the “slow flower movement”. The term, echoing the “slow food
movement”, is attributed to Debra Prinzing, the Seattle-based
author of the 2013 book Slow Flowers. Prinzing describes the
movement as “a response to the disconnect between humans
and flowers in the modern era”. In her weekly podcast, she advo-
cates for flowers that are “safe, seasonal and local”.
The movement is now trending, notably in the UK and Aus-
tralia, where the “grown not flown” mantra is leading small pro-
ducers to grow flowers in harmony with nature and the seasons.
The emphasis on shortening supply chains and reducing chemi-
cals means our idea of beauty may be challenged. Interior design
magazine Elle Décor has noted how “slow” is already having an
impact on professional flower design, with unusual sprigs and
glorious imperfections creeping into arrangements.
The balance between the local and the tropical may be as del-
icate as the flower itself. The flower-growing industry can help
support some of the planet’s poorest people if the flowers are
produced ethically. But I can’t help thinking that any flower
grown beyond our own backyard should be a luxury. It is we who
should pay the price, not the environment and certainly not the
person who grows it for us.+ PLUS
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