Long-Stemmed Roses for Valentine's Day?

Bogota, Colombia, February 10, 2017 (Newswire.com) - Valentine’s Day is looming. Will you, along with millions of others, go out and buy a bunch of long-stemmed red roses?

Maybe. So a bit of background: many of these roses come from here, 8000 feet up, in the Andes mountains. The greenhouses where they’re raised are immediately noticeable --big greyish-white rectangles stitched together on a vivid green quilt -when you descend through the clouds into Bogota airport. And they are certainly seductive – every bloom perfectly-shaped, bred with a long, straight sturdy stem, so they can stand tall and elegant in vases everywhere from Toronto to Paris.

"I've never forgotten that a company is only as strong as its workers."

Maria Fernanda Borrero, Founder of Elite Flower

Even so, many consumers have become leery about buying these roses because of worrying whispers about “sweat shop operations“ in Latin America. For who wants to give flowers to anyone while wondering if the people who grew them are treated badly and exposed to toxic chemicals?

So here's some good news: while you can undoubtedly find bad guys in the Colombian cut flower industry (which is huge and competitive, racking up $1.3 billion in sales every year and accounting for 16.5 per cent of the world market), there are some good, decent employers out there too.

Like Elite Flower. This company was started 25 years ago by Maria Fernanda Borrero, an enterprising woman (still amazingly youthful), who initially toiled in the rose fields herself, alongside only a handful of employees.

“It was hard. We planted and clipped and grew the roses together. Our hands bled at the end of the day,” she says. “But I’ve never forgotten that a company is only as strong as its workers.”

Her fledging business, now run by her middle-aged son, Juan Carlos Hannaford, has mushroomed since then into an empire employing an astonishing 8,000 people. The workers mostly live in homes that Elite helps finance in surrounding towns. And after performing satisfactorily for two years, they are eligible to send their kids to a big, modern school (better equipped than many schools in North America) that Elite built and runs in partnership with U.S. grocery giant, Whole Foods.

“Elite grows flowers and children,” Borrero said, beaming with pride. “I love my babies more than the roses now. They start here when they’re a few months old, and we look after and educate them while their parents work, so they have a good start in life.”

She is also at pains to point out that Elite has (like greenhouses in the Niagara region of Canada) adopted biological pest controls as much as possible, and is constantly looking for ways to reduce harmful chemicals. They also recycle all their rainwater, which drains from greenhouse roofs into tanks underneath.

Then, to celebrate the company’s 25th anniversary recently, they threw an enormous party. It took over the entire grounds of the school, and all 8,000 workers were invited. Free beer flowed. There were free barbecued steaks and sausages and three deafening bands played. Everyone drank and danced until midnight. And as the festivities wore on, men and women kept pressing forward to shake hands with “jefe”, Juan Carlos (who was happily bopping with his employees), to thank him for giving them such a good time.

A sweat shop operation? Not this one. Thus, if you’re debating whether to buy long-stemmed red roses this Feb. 14, look for the Elite Flower brand in Loblaws, Costco, Zehrs and Real Canadian Superstores.

Then give them to your sweetheart with a kiss – and a clear conscience.

Source: Elite Flower