|
Frequently Asked Questions
How can flowers be organic?
Organic is a farming system that is applicable to all agriculture, including fruit, vegetables and flowers, too.
Organic flowers address the main purpose of organic production, which is to enrich the soil and produce crops in a responsible manner. Organic floral production encourages healthy stewardship of the earth.
How does buying organic flowers enrich the earth?
Buying organic flowers encourages more growers to convert to organic practices and to reduce toxic chemical usage. The toxic chemicals used on flower farms can poison groundwater and the soil. These chemicals also become part of the food chain, as animals such as birds will eat the sprayed plants. Also, through evaporation, toxic pesticides and fertilizers that are sprayed on flower farms end up in the atmosphere. They then travel to other global areas to fall as rain or snow.
Are organic flowers better for people?
Pesticides and other toxic chemicals used on flowers can affect the health of farm workers and florists. Without the proper protection, the toxic chemicals can spread onto the clothes and into the bodies of farm workers, which in turn can increase exposure to their children. Florists who handle non-organic flowers have been known to develop dermatitis on their hands.
Buying organic flowers helps support local organic farming communities and organizations, which often have charitable, philanthropic motives for selling their flowers.
Does Organic Bouquet work with small and/or local farms?
Organic Bouquet works with both small and large growers. It looks to smaller growers for higher end specialty products and to larger growers for common type varieties that are conducive to production on a larger scale.
Although Organic Bouquet strives to support small and local farmers, its primary mission is to protect the planet and improve farm worker safety by eliminating large quantities of toxic pesticides from agricultural usage. It is accomplishing this mission by establishing the national market for organic flowers. A necessary step in this process has been to encourage major flower growers to initiate organic production. Since 60 to 70 percent of U.S. flowers come from Colombia and Ecuador, it is working with growers from these countries to develop organic production.
Organic Bouquet's efforts to promote the benefits of organic production systems has created significantly heightened awareness of issues surrounding horticultural practices, and has become a major factor that is driving an industry shift towards socially and environmentally responsible practices.
What is biodynamic farming?
It is a superior holistic farming developed by Rudolph Steiner (also creator of the Waldorf School System), that uses farm inputs that are made on the farm, Native American farming techniques, moon cycles, along with what has been proven to be some of the most advanced agricultural practices of our time - all is done in harmony with life and the energy cycles on a farm. Organic Bouquet fully supports this type of farming and sources flowers that are biodynamically grown whenever possible.
What is Veriflora Certification?
The Veriflora Certification is a national American-based standard for environmentally friendly floral products that has been implemented by Organic Bouquet.
The Veriflora Certification assures Organic Bouquet's customers that flowers are grown by standards that conform to sound social and environmental practices. Organic and Veriflora are similar in that both standards encourage healthy stewardship of the earth and prohibit the use of persistent and highly toxic chemicals. Although Veriflora Certification practices allow some minimal, low-impact chemical use, there is an additional social component that addresses the safety and overall well-being of the farm workers. Learn more about Veriflora.
Does buying Organic flowers really make a difference?
Every flower counts: Increasing sales of certified organic flowers gives the market notice that more organic flowers need to be grown, which makes more flower farms convert to using organic agricultural methods.
Includes information from the Organic Consumers Association
|