Fast Facts

• U.S. market for flowers and plants = $19.5 billion in 2004 (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2004)
  
  
• U.S. sales of organic flowers grew to $16 million in 2005, an estimated 50 percent growth spurt from 2003. (Organic Trade Association)
  
  
• In 2008, Organic Style anticipates sales of more than 25 million stems of roses and flowers, up from 6 million in 2007.
  
  
• Seventy percent of all flowers sold in the United States are grown in Colombia and Ecuador (US Department of Agriculture)
  
  
• World pesticide amount used exceeded 5 billion pounds in 2000 and 2001. United States pesticide amount accounted for more than 20 percent of total worldwide pesticide amount. (United States Environmental Protection Agency)
  
  
• Worker exposure to pesticides is of particular concern in greenhouses, where up to 127 different chemicals are used in enclosed spaces -- increasing risk of exposure through the skin and by inhalation. (Environmental Health Perspectives 2002)
  
  
• According to one study, some flower greenhouses in Mexico use 36 different pesticides. (Environmental Health Perspectives 2002)
  
  
• In Ecuador, nearly 60 percent of floral workers surveyed showed poisoning symptoms, including headaches, dizziness, hand-trembling and blurred vision. (Environmental Health Perspectives 2002)
  
  
• Each rose grower in Ecuador on average uses three poisons to kill worms, four to kill insects and six for fungi, including several that are tightly restricted in the United States because of their threat to human health. (National Wildlife Federation's National Wildlife Feb/March 2005)