An interesting piece of research has surfaced over imported flowers to florists that aren’t so natural after all. A bouquet of flowers we all without hesitation assume are a natural and beautiful gift, however, it has come to the attention that they are not so natural and may in fact be having a negative effect on the environment and on those who work under the conditions in which they are grown.

For flowers that are grown so far away from their destination of a florist shop, keeping them fresh and lasting becomes a difficult task. It is without due then that in order to make the flowers last, in some places the flowers are saturated in chemicals some in which have been banned in the States and Europe as they have shown to have prenatal exposure on workers who are pregnant and neurological impairment and hypertension when the baby is born. Following on, to preserve the blooms once they have been cut they are kept in a huge refrigerator which consumes a lot of energy.

So if we really take into consideration all the other factors that would need to take place to make these beautiful bunch of flowers reach their destination we would start to think about the cellophane used in packaging which is damaging to the environment when thrown out and also the carbon print it leaves when transported thousands of kilometres. For a gift that so many of us would assume as natural it gives you something to think about next time you choose to purchase a bunch of flowers, which let’s be honest doesn’t last very long at all and may be having a negative impact on our environment.

It is not to say that all florists are like this and I’m sure that many do produce natural flowers or import locally and don’t undergo any of these processes, however, an open mind must be kept and perhaps a plant from Give Plants may be best suited, where we are proud to be 100% natural, sustainable and eco-friendly with living plant gifts that last a lifetime.