The Importance of Farming and Buying Sustainably
Happy Earth Day! Earth Day is an important holiday to me because I’ve chosen to work with a product that directly relies on the health of the earth and the farmers who grow them. I am reminded of the day I decided to open Farm Exports, the sister company to FiftyFlowers, and how I have thrived the last 20 years to set the standard for a network of economically friendly and sustainable partner flower farms.
For those of you who are new to the FiftyFlowers blog or have been long time fans and would like a refresher, Farm Exports is the flower exporting company I started before FiftyFlowers. In 1998, I saw the opportunity to ship flowers directly from the farms to businesses who could buy in large quantities. These businesses would be florists and wholesale flower distributors, and they continue to be our bread and butter to this day. I started Farm Exports to directly support these creators.
Flowers fall under the category of Agricultural production, and like everything else in that category, they require land, natural resources and human labor to create. I am happy to report that many of the farms I have brought into the network of Farm Exports, have gone above and beyond to become a part of several programs and certifications proving their eco-friendly farming practices and sustainability.
Farms like Florsani, Sande, Sisapamba, Elite, and Flower Village have each become a part of the Rainforest Alliance, which if you’re not familiar with, is a certification and farm audit that reassures the consumers that the farm is following a rigorous set of guidelines. The guidelines to receive this certification are to work towards biodiversity and natural resource conservation, to foster a working culture that improves the likes of their employees, and farm management planning systems that reinforce all these goals. These farms have also gone on to get BASC certification, Flor Ecuador, and Global G.A.P. to name a few.
We live in an era of science and technology, and through years of research, we have seen the ecological impacts farming has on our landscapes, and it has become one of my personal missions to support farms that share the same values as me. This Earth has given so many beautiful gifts to us, and we must all work together to nurture it as best as we can, so we can enjoy the beauty of flowers, and other natural wonders, for many generations to come.
I thought of these farms when I started the #SavetheGrowers campaign at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. They have all worked so hard to show the farming community how to be sustainable and profitable, and we need to support them as best as we can during this world event. Farm Exports is here for the farmers, it’s here for the florists, and it’s here for the Earth.
See More:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
