UK Supermarkets are running a number of promotions on bouquets of Roses ahead of next week's Valentine's Day. However, consumers should be aware that demand for cheap supermarket roses is having a negative effect on Kenya's ecology.
Roses are probably considered the best way of declaring love on Valentine's Day. However, consumers should stop and think of the effects that the demand for cheap Kenyan roses is doing to the country's ecology this year; before reaching for one of the last bouquets in the flower section of the supermarket before running home to spend Valentine's Day with your loved one, you may want to check the label to see whether the bouquet is a Fairtrade product.
As approximately 70 per cent of the roses sold in Europe grocery stores originating from the Lake Naivasha area of Kenya, such supermarket promotions of flowers for the festival of love are directly responsible for increasing the export of water - already in seriously short supply in Kenya.
Dr David Harper, University of
Leicester ecology and conversation biologist, spent
over 30 years researching wetland conservation at Lake Naivasha in Kenya. "This has to change for the future of the industry as
well as the lake and the country," he said.
In the UK, M&S is selling a dozen
Fairtrade Kenyan roses for £22 while Tesco is offering a dozen roses for £44.00. On the Sainsbury's website, the company states that its Kenyan roses are 100% Fairtrade. According to Sainsbury's, "Mebo Cheredi helps grow roses for the Oserian Development Company Limited. She is a single parent of two children and through Fairtrade, Mebo has been able to access bursaries to help her educate her two children. She’s looking forward to accessing more help to enable her to sponsor her daughter to a teacher training college to fulfil her ambition to become a teacher. All of our rose flower food is now Fairtrade.
Asda One Dozen 'Simply Roses' (Origin - Bordeaux, France): £19.00 www.asdaflowers.co.uk
Marks And Spencer
One Dozen Red Roses (Fairtrade - Kenya): £22.00
www.marksandspencer.com
Sainsbury's
TU Freestanding Red Roses Bouquet (Origin - Unknown) £12.00
www.sainsburys.co.uk
Tesco
Classic Dozen Roses (Origin - Unknown): £44.99
www.tescofreshflowers.com
Ocado
Twelve Premium Red Roses Bouquet (Origin - Unknown): £50.00
www.ocado.com
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