1-800-Flowers Abuses Women Farm Workers

If you haven't yet begun your search for a good place to get flowers for your sweetheart on Valentine's Day, then you should make a note to avoid 1-800-Flowers.

1-800-Flowers is the largest florist in the world, as well as a large exploiter of women farm workers in Colombia and Ecuador. Two-thirds of their farm laborers are women, and over half of them have been assaulted or sexually abused by their male supervisors. These ladies are forced to work up to 80-hour weeks without overtime pay in the time leading up to Mother's Day and Valentine's Day, and are subject to attacks by police and the armed forces when they attempt to unionize.

Although most of the flowers come from Latin America, a smaller portion of them come from Africa. In Kenya, those who grow the flowers work up to 12 hour days for less than a dollar and must live in unsafe conditions.

As if that isn't enough, these women farm workers suffer from eye infections and miscarriages due to their exposure to hazardous pesticides.

1-800-Flowers doesn't offer any fair trade products. They have also been accused of contributing to the problem of human trafficking.

The Partisan requests that you do something really romantic by standing up for exploited farm women this Valentine's Day. Boycott 1-800-Flowers and sign the petitions that urge the company to do the right thing.

You can start here:
http://www.change.org/petitions/ask-1-800-flowers-to-offer-fair-trade-flowers-that-arent-picked-by-exploited-workers