Fairtrade at Fleurop

We want to help ensure that flowers are grown in a fair and environmentally friendly way. This is why, in collaboration with our partner Omniflora and Fairtrade Germany, we offer our nearly 5,000 partner florists flowers from sustainable production at stable prices. The workers on the flower farms also benefit from the Fairtrade premium, which can be used for community projects.

The German media repeatedly reports on inhumane working conditions and environmentally harmful methods of flower cultivation in African or Latin American countries. We at Fleurop AG are committed to ensuring that the flower farms with which we work apply different standards. As a first step, we want to help make the supply chain more transparent. This is why we provide you with information about our cooperation partners and growers below.

It is also important to us as Fleurop AG that all the flowers we trade in are regularly tested for pesticide residues. It is our responsibility to ensure that the flowers are analysed by a competent laboratory. Our partner for this is Eurofins Dr Specht Laboratorien GmbH. This laboratory specialises in the analysis of pesticide residues in food, flowers and plants and is one of the most experienced laboratories in the world in this field.

The demand for roses in Germany cannot be met by European cultivation. About four out of five roses sold in Germany are imported, about half of them from Kenya. Kenya has ideal conditions for growing roses: In the highlands around Mount Kenya, they are grown at altitudes of up to 3,000 metres above sea level. As a result, the roses grow more slowly than at lower altitudes and achieve above average quality, colour and head size. The growing conditions around Mount Kenya are naturally favourable to flowers: temperatures are constant, there are many hours of sunshine throughout the year and there is plenty of rainfall. The soil is also very fertile.

Although the roses are flown to Europe, the good climatic conditions in which they are grown mean that they have a more favourable energy balance than roses grown in Europe under climate-controlled conditions. Growing roses in Kenya has a smaller carbon footprint than growing them in the Netherlands under climate control. The region also has good logistical links to Europe thanks to the airport in Nairobi.