Floral Delivery

It's just too damn hot to think or write about anything very complicated right now. I have lots more to say on the heavy-duty topics of our bioburden, children's health and their environment, the chemical industry and regulation, or lack thereof, etcetera. Maybe in October. Right now even the cows are falling out as a result of this heat.

Thus, on a lighter note, while still in the bioburden ballpark, I have some good news for those of you who like to give, receive, smell, fondle, and kwell upon, cut flowers. And who among us does not fall into one of those categories? Well, there are some - when we used to run a guesthouse, I noticed that many of our guests considered themselves allergic to flowers. Any flowers, all flowers. It just may be that they were really allergic to the toxic products most commercial florists send to you along with their posies. The cut-flower industry is a heavy user of pesticides and fungicides, and those who work in the fields, packing houses, wholesale sheds, and florist shops are the victims of this usage. This article from the NYT, Behind Roses' Beauty, Poor and Ill Workers, talks about the fabulous products of Ecuador's volcanic soils, but it could just as well have discussed floral workers in Kenya, Guatemala, Holland, or California. These toxins enter the stems, leaves and petals of the flowers, and enter our homes and offices with every floral delivery.

Hang on a minute - didn't I say I had some "good news" about cut flowers? Yeah, I did, I just like to give the bad news first. The good news: our friends at Working Assets, the long-distance, wireless and credit card company that donates a percentage of its revenues to progressive non-profits, has partnered with a company called Organic Bouquet Inc. to offer a full line of eco-friendly flowers on its Web site, FlowersforChange.com. Two percent of the purchase price of the flowers will also go to the non-profits being supported in 2005. The prices are no worse than the prices charged by any good florist, or by other online floral companies.

The CEO of Organic Bouquet, Gerald Prolman, says:

Our flowers are grown in a manner that is gentle on the environment and safeguards the well-being of farm workers, wildlife and ecology. These principles are closely aligned with the values of Working Assets members, who vote with their dollars to help make a difference in the world.

Like many of you, I'm sure, I've been a Working Assets customer for many years. I love to get their bills, full of interesting book suggestions, issues that need immediate phone calls or letters to our congresspeople - heck, for a couple of dollars a month they'll even send the letters for those of us too busy or lazy to do it ourselves.

I love it when, every year, a ballot comes from my phone company, asking who I want to vote for as recipients of the donations from their profits. Since 1985, Working Assets has generated over $47 million for progressive non-profits, including Greenpeace, Oxfam America, Rainforest Action Network, Human Rights Watch, Planned Parenthood, ACLU and People for the American Way, among many others. Some of that was from us, and it feels pretty darn good.

So, now when a birthday, anniversary, new baby, funeral, or any other excuse to send flowers crops up (pun intended) I can send my order in to Flowers for Change, and feel good about that, too. In a couple of different ways.

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