After all this disillusioning information on flower production you may like to stop buying flowers. Please don't. Flower workers will lose their jobs which they need desperately.

But next time you buy flowers you can ask for flowers from socially and environmentally sound production. International trade unions and non-governmental organisations have joined forces and developed the International Code of Conduct for socially and environmentally responsible flower production (ICC) (add Link) and its guidelines for implementation. They contain rules on:

1. Freedom of Association and the Right of Collective Bargaining
2. Freedom from Discrimination
3. Living Wages
4. Working Hours
5. Occupational Health and Safety
6. Pesticides and Chemicals
7. Job Security
8. Environmental Protection
9. Prohibition of Child Labour
10. Prohibition of Forced Labour

The higher the demand of flowers produced in compliance with the ICC the more flower farms will start to improve working conditions and environmental protection.

Currently, there are two organisations which certify flower farms in compliance with the ICC:

   FLO-Cert GmbH

   Flower Label Program (FLP)

Look for those labelled flowers when you buy flowers next time. You can do this as a consumer, as a trader and as an institution. And you will be pleased while supporting decent working and living conditions of the flower workers.