Some Valentine's Roses are Greener than Others
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. But what effect do beautiful bouquets have on the environment?
Every year, Americans buy about 1.5 billion roses, according to Audubon Magazine . In 2011, 23 percent of adults purchased flowers or plants as gifts for Valentine’s Day and nearly half chose roses in their bouquets, according to market research company Synovate . It would seem that roses aren’t going out of favor as a romantic gesture any time soon.
READ: Valentine’s Day Gifts That Give Back
But as is also the case in the food production industry, more flower consumers are beginning to ask tougher questions about their floral arrangements: where do roses come from, and how sustainably are they grown?
Nearly 90 percent of roses purchased in the U.S. are imported from Latin America, including about 900 million from Columbia and 400 million from Ecuador. In Ecuador, flowers have grown to be the country’s third-leading export behind only oil and bananas, two industries with long, well-publicized histories of fielding concerns about environmental and labor violations.
