In Ecuador and Columbia, the economy, the environment and the day to day lives of people have been greatly affected by the cut flower industry.

• The cut flower industry directly and indirectly employs more than 195 000 people. Over 50% of these people are women. (2003)
• Over 6500 hectares (650 square km) are used to grow flowers.
• Over 660 million $US are generated annually by cut flower export sales.
• There are over 600 farms in Columbia and Ecuador that export practically all of their production.

• Workers have been exposed to dangerous chemicals, like pesticides, which has resulted in skin infections, a much higher than normal miscarriage rate, serious respiratory diseases, and even malformations in new-borns of the women who have worked on these farms.
• Incidences of child labour.
• Long and undefined working hours.
• Pay and task discrimination based on gender.
• Unsanitary conditions which puts the worker at risk of many diseases and infections.
• No safety standards for the worker, with no medical aid in case of injury.

• Use of chemicals and pesticides with no standards or controls.
• Because many growers dispose of their contaminated water and flower waste right in the streams and fields surrounding the farm, any villages in the vicinity, which count on farming for most its food, are affected. Their water often gets polluted and waste seeps into the ground contaminating their crops.
• Their livestock, such as cows, eat contaminated grass and feed which then contaminates their milk and milk by-products.
• The lack of natural resource management programs puts the environment at great risk of irreparable damage.

There are major steps being taken to address the environmental and social costs associated to cut flower growing in Columbia, Ecuador and abroad.

Next: Certification Programs