Finding out what flower brands are sold where is no easy task. Retailers routinely tell us that they do not disclose information about the brands or distributors they purchase from. Of course, if we were talking about T-shirts or bananas, we would have this information: it's written on the labels.

Flowers are different. With no clear labelling system, it's nearly impossible to track a flower after it leaves the the warehouse in California, Ecuador, Kenya, or Colombia. The only way we have discovered to get this information is to go into a store as a consumer and ask. Now, just because a Costco in Pheonix sells from one distributor does not mean that a Costco in Indianapolis will also. So we need our grassroots to take up this project for us. So here's what you do:

 

1. Next time you are at your local grocery store, look at the cut flowers section (no potted plants, please). Often, flowers will have some sort of label that says the country they come from, though not the brand.

 

2. If you see Colombian flowers, ask if a manager can tell you what brands or distributors the company uses. Yes, we are looking for Dole flowers here, but there are other distributors we are trying to track as well, so write down whatever they tell you.

 

3. To give us the information, you can either send us an email at info@usleap.org [1], or you can do it through the Flower Workers Justice cause on Facebook. If you use facebook, just post the information on our wall. Specifically, we need to know:

• The name of the store you were at and the location (ie Trader Joe's Lincoln Park, Chicago, IL)
• The date the store was visited
• The names of any brands or distributors sold at the store, particularly for Colombian flowers

Now you know what to do, get to work!