Ninety-percent of all cut flowers come from Latin American rainforests. While this has helped create many jobs in developing countries, flower cultivation has very often come at the expense of healthy ecosystems — and the well-being of workers and surrounding communities.
Flower and fern growers tend to use liberal doses of agrochemicals — and because flowers are not food, governments do not impose restrictions on pesticide use. With only weak government controls, pesticide and fertilizer use on flower farms can threaten the health of workers and neighbors as well as local drinking-water supplies. In many cases, the governments of importing countries require extensive pesticide usage to ensure flowers are free of pests.
That is why Food & Thought sells only Rainforest Alliance Certified™ cut flowers. Through a four-year-long process of research, experimentation and field trials, the Rainforest Alliance and its partners in the Sustainable Agriculture Network, a consortium of leading environmental groups in Latin America, developed standards for responsible flower and fern farm management.
The standards protect ecosystems and wildlife habitats, conserve water and soil, promote decent and safe working conditions and ensure that the farms are good neighbors to rural communities and wildlands.
The next time you’re in our store, why not pick up some flowers for someone you care about? 
For more information, visit www.rainforest-alliance.org