Worcestershire woman from Fairtrade highlighting importance of ethical flower production globally
It's ahead of Mother's Day this Sunday (15 March) which sees an increase in flower sales
A Worcestershire woman working for the Fairtrade Foundation is highlighting how research by them has revealed a majority of UK adults don't know where their flowers come from.
It's ahead of Mother's Day where millions of flowers are set to be purchased, with a new survey commissioned by the foundation revealing only 4% of those that responded are aware that most of the flowers sold at this time of year come from East Africa.
Data also showed more than three quarters (76%) of people in the UK aren’t aware that most flower growers working in East Africa earn below the living wage for their work.
Figures from the foundation suggest 80% of flowers sold in the UK are imported, with around half grown in East Africa, 12% in the Netherlands and 9% in Colombia.
Senior sustainability manager for the foundation Becky Forecast, who's from Worcestershire, said it is about showing the importance behind flowers being produced ethically and fairly for those workers involved and why it needs to happen.
"People deserve to know where their flowers are coming from but what life is like for those who grow them," she said.
“Many people that we spoke to in our research didn’t even know there is an ethical option, so there’s a real consumer blind spot around what goes on in flower chains particularly in East Africa.
“There’s a number of challenges (workers face), poor working conditions, longer hours for workers, very low wages, the average flower farm worker in Kenya earns less than two pounds a day, there’s no minimum wage in the flower sector in Ethiopia, there’s challenges around no sick pay, no maternity and also physical health challenges.”
It's believed last year in the UK, florists saw a more than fivefold transaction uplift on the Friday before Mother’s Day.