[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/flowers-higher-price-tag-realize\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/flowers-higher-price-tag-realize\/","headline":"The hidden cost of flowers","name":"The hidden cost of flowers","description":"If you aren't buying from a company who does their research, your flowers might come with a higher price tag than you realize, including harm to the farmers.","datePublished":"2017-02-10","dateModified":"2017-02-23","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/emilyrochotte\/#Person","name":"Emily Rochotte","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/emilyrochotte\/","identifier":5619,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2f3a3d93cba6196f7aeb50eff060379dae87a7bab7b12983b5dbf60b5cc535f4?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2f3a3d93cba6196f7aeb50eff060379dae87a7bab7b12983b5dbf60b5cc535f4?s=96&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Equally Wed","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","url":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","width":218,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Do-your-flowers-come-with-a-higher-price-tag-than-you-realize-6.jpg","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Do-your-flowers-come-with-a-higher-price-tag-than-you-realize-6.jpg","height":667,"width":1000},"url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/flowers-higher-price-tag-realize\/","video":{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"VideoObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UrJoT7vNIQo#VideoObject","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UrJoT7vNIQo","name":"Whole Trade\u00ae Guarantee Flowers -- Help Real People","description":"Whole Trade flowers sales help to fund first homes for families, children attending school, community art programs, medical and dental treatments and an overall improvement in the quality of life of workers, their families and their community.\n\nOur friends over at Dark Rye recently visited employees of Elite Flowers in Colombia, documented a day in the lives of three families and created this beautiful short film. It's awesome to see firsthand how the employees and their children are affected by the Whole Trade\u00ae Guarantee program. \n\nhttp:\/\/www.darkrye.com\nhttp:\/\/blog.wholefoodsmarket.com\n\nSUBSCRIBE: http:\/\/bit.ly\/179claK\n\nAbout Whole Foods:\nWho are we? Well, we seek out the finest natural and organic foods available, maintain the strictest quality standards in the industry, and have an unshakeable commitment to sustainable agriculture. Add to that the excitement and fun we bring to shopping for groceries, and you start to get a sense of what we're all about. Oh yeah, we're a mission-driven company too.\u00a0\n\nConnect with Whole Foods Online:\nVisit the Whole Foods WEBSITE: http:\/\/bit.ly\/18gKv7J\nLike Whole Foods on FACEBOOK: http:\/\/on.fb.me\/179cxqt\nFollow Whole Foods on TWITTER: http:\/\/bit.ly\/15eklAG\n\nWhole Trade\u00ae Flowers -- Help Real People \nhttp:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/wholefoodsmarket","thumbnailUrl":["https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/UrJoT7vNIQo\/default.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/UrJoT7vNIQo\/mqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/UrJoT7vNIQo\/hqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/UrJoT7vNIQo\/sddefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/UrJoT7vNIQo\/maxresdefault.jpg"],"uploadDate":"2012-05-04T15:09:59+00:00","duration":"PT10M28S","embedUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UrJoT7vNIQo","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCWpLiP-LlDGDO6zHQaBDNkA#Organization","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCWpLiP-LlDGDO6zHQaBDNkA","name":"WholeFoodsMarket","description":"Founded in 1980 as one small store in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market\u00ae is now the world's leading retailer of natural and organic foods, with more than 265 stores in North America and the United Kingdom. To date Whole Foods Market remains uniquely mission driven: We're highly selective about what we sell, dedicated to stringent Quality Standards, and committed to sustainable agriculture.\n\nHere are some guidelines for commenting on our videos. Please play fair and be nice! \n\n*Please stay on-topic. *No spamming. *No offensive language.  *No self-serving or flagrant promotion of goods, sites or services. We may remove any URL for any reason.  *No personal attacks. *No flaming. *Original material only. *No duplicate posting. *You must be over the age of 13.","logo":{"url":"https:\/\/yt3.ggpht.com\/ytc\/AIdro_lGlG-9sWRq4Z5E753tF7cdU5AdNkYl0WNeaotdMfHCBrU=s800-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj","width":800,"height":800,"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UrJoT7vNIQo#VideoObject_publisher_logo_ImageObject"}},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UrJoT7vNIQo#VideoObject_potentialAction","target":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UrJoT7vNIQo&t={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"},"interactionStatistic":[[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UrJoT7vNIQo#VideoObject_interactionStatistic_WatchAction","interactionType":{"@type":"WatchAction"},"userInteractionCount":17918}],{"@type":"InteractionCounter","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UrJoT7vNIQo#VideoObject_interactionStatistic_LikeAction","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":39}]},"about":["Flowers & Decor","Planning"],"wordCount":757,"keywords":[" farm","ethical","farmhouse","farms","flower","wedding flowers","wildflowers"],"articleBody":"Floral arrangements and bouquets. They’re\u00a0gorgeous to look at, smell beautiful and are perfect for decorating or giving as a gift. Flowers sometimes come with a high price tag, but there is an even greater price on them than meets the eye.\u00a0Many florists and local stores do not look into the practices and standards of the farms where their flowers come from. This means that your date-night purchase could end up supporting farms that use harmful chemicals or worse, physically harm their workers.\u00a0\u201cOften they [women workers] work for more than 16 hours a day under a very strict monitoring to keep productivity high, which not only means that they can hardly rest, but also that everything has to be done at incredible speed,” says Thomas Mortensen,\u00a0manager of the Cactus Corporation in Colombia.\u00a0Long hours and repetitive actions often result in injuries including tendinitis, carpel tunnel and extreme fatigue. Workers are typically unable to treat their injuries due to the significantly low wages they are paid in exchange for their hard work.\u00a0Before you swear off flowers completely, it is important to know that there are companies\u00a0who operate ethically and support the farms where their flowers come from. When purchasing flowers, look for companies that value environmental and humane ethics.\u00a0Photo via The Bouqs Company“We really work hard to find farm partners that use no red label chemicals, that have sustainable irrigation systems, they use feasible and recyclable water and that, as much as they can, use organic pesticides as opposed to chemical ones,” says Anna Wilhelmsen, from\u00a0online florist\u00a0The Bouqs Company.\u00a0“Our co-founder is a flower farmer by trade but he’s also a biologist and his specialty is finding some of these organic pesticide solutions and creating molds in order to combat any pests or any diseases from the flowers without hurting the flowers or hurting the environment.”Photo via The Bouqs CompanyThe Bouqs Company values\u00a0relationships. From emotional connections with their customers to strong relationships with farmers who share similar values, they are committed to empowering farmers to flourish while eliminating unnecessary waste from their process. Looking to shop online and send a bouquet to your long distance honey\u00a0or far away family member? The Bouqs Company ships to all 50 of the United States straight from one of their farm partners.\u00a0Shopping online is not the only option when it comes to buying beautiful floral arrangements that are ethically sourced. If you’d prefer to stop at a store to pick up a bouquet on the way to visit your sweetheart, Whole Foods Market is your place to stop.\u00a0Whole Foods Market offers fair trade products backed by its\u00a0Whole Trade Guarantee.\u00a0Photo via Whole Foods Market“In 2007, we created our Whole Trade Guarantee to highlight our commitment to ethical trade, working conditions and the environment, while also meeting our standards for high quality products,” \u00a0Whole Foods writes on their website. “Plus, every purchase funds community projects\u2014such as schools and health clinics\u2014determined by the workers themselves. “Photo via Whole Foods Market“We buy a lot of roses from Colombia and Ecuador,” shares Emily Wright, Global Public Relations Manager at Whole Foods Market. “Last year there was a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Ecuador and we donated $100,000 to the emergency construction program that helped displaced families during the earthquake because we have a long term contract with those farmers in Ecuador. As part of our commitment to them, and sourcing flowers from them, we wanted to help make sure that their farm workers and their community could get back on their feet.” Next time you purchase flowers for an event or as a gift, do some research into the farms where your flowers are coming from. Companies who use ethical practices are proud to share that information with consumers. If you are buying your bouquets at a retail location that consistently ethically sources their flowers, chances are the employees will be trained on how\u00a0to answer your questions about this process.If you are ordering an arrangement to be delivered on your behalf, do some internet research before clicking the order button. Read the About Us section of your favorite florist’s website. See if they have any photos of the farms where their flowers come from or stories from their farm workers.\u00a0Whether you give the gift of flowers to a loved one or to yourself, make an informed, responsible buying decision that supports those who have put the hard work into growing and designing your stunning arrangement.\u00a0"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"The hidden cost of flowers","item":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/flowers-higher-price-tag-realize\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]