As we enter February and the month of Valentine’s Day, it felt appropriate to raise this as the first topic within of Bryonia’s Sustainability Series.

There is a lot of ground to cover here, and I want to do it justice within a relatively short & digestible entry. As we get into the depths of this post, I hope to detail some of the truths behind Valentine’s flowers (roses or otherwise) based on science, evidence & research, and share insights into buying flowers at this time of year.

This Journal post is here to help with education, and support in choosing what Valentine’s flowers (or none) might be right for you. To others in the flower industry, this entry is purely to aid conscious consumption, and I do not wish to place any disrespect on your choices to either stock, or not stock these products.

At this critical point, whether a supplier or customer, we need to question the environmentally impact we’re making, and it's science we need to go to make these choices.

To help aid the reading of this post, it has been broken down into sections. Let’s start close to home…

Locally grown flowers

There is big pressure on Valentine’s Day… a huge demand industry wide for just one day of the year, and living in England we are limited by the seasonality of fresh flowers in February.
It’s too cold for our British flowers yet, so we haven’t got much blooming naturally; apart from maybe a few paperwhites or snowdrops. Artificial environments are therefore a requirement for growing any local, and also many dutch flowers.
These indoor environments, otherwise known as ‘hot houses’, are set to force early tulips, daffs and more, but they come at the cost. This increased heat and energy is creating a big carbon footprint, which can in turn outweigh the benefits of growing locally:
*“These greenhouses are often heated through the combustion of natural gas and so release large amounts of CO2”* - Wainwright et al., 2014
Flowers from much further away have greater environmental transport costs, but are not using as much energy to grow. So let’s consider the alternative…

Further afield flowers

“Across the world around 250 million rose stems will be produced for Valentine’s Day, typically exported from countries with heat, space and cheap labour. Over 90% of flowers sold in the UK are imported, primarily from the Netherlands but also from African countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania.” - Coventry University, 2020
These imported flowers need to be considered with a number of different eyes; environmentally, ecologically, socially… So whilst the carbon footprint to initially grow them might be less, these flowers may not end up being a ‘better’ alternative.
*“For 12,000 rose stems it was found that those grown in Kenya emit ~2,200 kg CO2 while those grown in the Netherlands emit 35,000 kg CO2, equalling roughly 3 kg CO2 per flower.”* - A Williams, 2007
With imported flowers, the chemical use is not as tightly regulated, which can impact on human and natural life. This chemical footprint of pesticides creates a huge run off and in turn, huge risks:
*“The flowers imported into the UK are produced by intensive farming with pesticides under artificial conditions that endanger the workers involved.”* - War on Want Growing Pains, 2007
Therefore the ethical considerations of these flowers are much greater. From labour and social issues, to health & safety, to non liveable wages, to child and female exploitation.

The Floral Industry

As many of the flowers sold for valentine’s day are not clearly labelled, either for florists & customers, you are typically unaware of exactly where your flowers are coming from. So how do you make a choice on what flowers to buy if these are the only two options provided?

Starting from the bottom, there are some big changes that are required in the floral industry to ensure you are making an educated choice to either buy local or imported flowers.

These include, but are not limited to:

Continuing open conversations & education around the impacts of buying flowers out of season.
More research into the environmental, social and physical impacts of these flowers. This many have already begun on a small scale, but more investment needs to be made to progress and affect change.
More accurate product labelling (so we all are more informed of what exactly we’re buying).
Promotion of alternative options… see below.

So what now?

Red roses are traditionally used as a symbol of everlasting love, but at what cost? It’s definitely not considering everlasting love for the environment we live in. But how, now you know what you know, how do you make a choice on Valentine’s flowers?

Your priorities need to guide your purchase: environmental issues include carbon footprint, chemical use, ecological degradation and water use; social issues include health and safety standards, gender discrimination, precarious employment and land rights. - Harriet Mullins of Sweet Peas & Sunflowers, 2020

So from here onwards, it’s your decision, but if you do choose to buy fresh flowers for Valentine’s (either as a customer or as a florist):

Ask questions about the origin of your flowers.
Research certification schemes, and what they mean for how flowers were grown & transported (such as environmental, human rights or fair pay etc).
Take your own vase or asking for recycled packaging to avoid use of cellophane & floral foam.
Compost and recycle flowers as green waste (check if pesticide free).

Sustainability Series 02: Valentine’s Flowers

Locally grown flowers

Further afield flowers

The Floral Industry

So what now?

But you do have another choice…

Further reading & sources

Sustainability Series 02: Valentine’s Flowers

Locally grown flowers

Further afield flowers

The Floral Industry

So what now?

But you do have another choice…

Further reading & sources

Learning to grow

Where have all the fresh flowers gone?