Our Commitment to Ethical Labor Standards

At ProFlowers, we believe that brining you the best bouquets begins with the happiness of the people we work with. Since the start of our company in 1998, we have remained dedicated to partnering only with flower farms that provide safe and ethical working environments.

From tulips in the Netherlands to roses in South American, every flowers comes from a farm where they foster fair labor standards and the proper stewardship of the environment. We work closely with the large international growers that have been in business for over 25 years. These growers provide jobs for thousands of employees. ProFlowers and the growers share the belief that if you’re producing a product such as flowers, which require extensive labor and attention to detail, you have to be very good to your people. And they are.

The farms we utilize pay their production workers wages that are above the minimum wage in their respective countries. Similar to what you’d expect in the Unites States, working hours are typically from 8 to 9 hours a day.

Nearly all of the farms we utilize outside of the U.S., Canada and Europe provide:

- Transportation to and from work at no cost.

- Healthier food for breakfast and lunch, also at no cost.

- In South American, most of our growers also provide subsidized “tiendas”, (community-run stores), so workers can buy basic food staples at cost; on-site infirmaries; and affordable day care centers and schooling for workers’ children (from infancy up to age 14). To ensure that we do business with farms that uphold our high standards, we regularly audit the farms using out own team and independent organizations. This effort goes beyond just producing great flowers – we check the overall working environment and ensure the farms are adhering to local laws. This results in what we consider to be fair trade flowers.

In addition, because we are so passionate about the fair and ethical treatment of farm workers, ProFlowers also donates to Fundacion Fernanco Borrero, a non-profit organization founded by flower growers.

The ProFlowers Code of Conduct for Our Global Network of Fresh Cut Flower and Plant Producers

  • ProFlowers sources high quality fresh cut flowers around the globe. We also procure plants from nurseries in North America. From time to time we may add new geographic locations to our procurement platform.

  • ProFlowers maintains policies and procedures that ensure strict and sustained adherence to this Code of Conduct.

  • The sustained adherence to this Code of Conduct is enforced through audits performed by ProFlowers associates or contractors retained by ProFlowers.

  • ProFlowers demands that its suppliers be certified by established third-party organizations that certify labor and/or environmental standards. These organizations include, but are not limited to, Veriflora, FlorVerde, Fair Flowers, Fairtrade, GlobalGap, Rainforest Alliance, Isocertified, Ethicaltrade, BASC and Asocoflores.

  • This Code of Conduct centers on both social and environmental responsibility, as demonstrated by the following key elements:

  • Labor Conditions

This Code of Conduct prohibits the use of child labor, or workers under the age of 15, at any of our production facilities worldwide. ProFlowers actively encourages its growers located outside of the U.S., Canada or Europe to establish and maintain day care and schooling centers located on their production sites for workers’ and their immediate families’ children under 15. ProFlowers makes financial contributions to specifically promote access to such facilities. We require our growers to provide clean and healthy labor conditions. We fully support and promote our grower’s efforts to provide its workers: company furnished transportation to and from work; access to free on-site health clinics; subsidized meals (breakfast and lunch); on-site food markets where basic food stuffs can be purchased at cost; and, where feasible, the establishment of retirement programs (where workers can set aside small amounts of money that are matched by the producer to generate individual retirement funds). We also require our growing partners to adhere to usual and customary work hours, generally not exceeding 9 hours per day (including breaks) and time off during weekends. Wages and salaries are at or above local market rates and are monitored by local authorities, including the administration of overtime, which may occur during peak shipping periods such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. We require strict adherence to all local laws and regulations and the highest possible level of compliance at all of our growers worldwide.

2. Taking Care of the Environment

Our focus is on what we refer to as “good floricultural practices” or practices that minimize the risk of causing pollution, while protecting natural resources, the workers, and allowing economic floriculture to flourish. The farm staff and contractors on the farms that are part of our global sourcing network are trained and instructed in applying internationally recognized standards to achieve this objective. ProFlowers performs regular audits and also relies on the organizations listed in d. above to ensure compliance.