Members of the Fairtrade City of Frankfurt am Main steering group distributed 400 roses on Berger Strasse on Friday, March 8, to mark the 112th International Women's Day. With the "FAIRblüht - Faire Rosen zum Internationalen Frauenentag" campaign, the Faire Meile team #rundumdieberger, together with members of the steering group, celebrated women - and at the same time provided information on how the working conditions of pickers improve when their workplace follows fair standards.
"Responsible consumption can help to protect the environment and human rights," says City Treasurer Bastian Bergerhoff, whose department is responsible for the Fairtrade Coordination Office. "With this campaign, as a Fairtrade city, we want to make it clear that fair and sustainable global trade is a particular concern of ours."
The flowers have often had a long journey. Around 80 percent of roses are imported from Africa or Latin America. Women make up around 50 percent of the workers on the flower and plant farms there. Often at low wages and poor working conditions. Fairtrade products not only result in better working and living conditions, but also benefit nature and society, as the producers adhere to strict social, ecological and economic criteria.
Facts about flowers and fair trade
Around 99 percent of all Fairtrade flowers come from Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Ecuador.
Every third rose sold in Germany is a Fairtrade rose.
Kenya is the number two country for direct flower exports to Germany after the Netherlands.
Fairtrade roses produce around five times less carbon dioxide than European greenhouse roses due to the favorable climatic conditions in Africa and South America - despite the air transport to Europe.
Almost half of the employees on Kenyan flower farms are female. The Fairtrade standards guarantee better working and environmental conditions and help women to shape their own future.
Background
The city of Frankfurt has held the title of "Fairtrade Town" since 2011. Fairtrade Towns promotes fair trade at a local level and campaigns for fair global trading conditions.
The project "Fairness goes through the store: Berger Strasse on its way to becoming a 'Fair Mile'" invites retailers, restaurants, residents, customers and people young and old to take the Fair Mile a step forward in 2024. The Fair Mile team wants to use events to get people excited about climate and global justice, fair trade and sustainable consumption.
Numerous partners are supporting the project: HA Hessenagentur, the Bornheim Mitte trade association, the Fairtrade City of Frankfurt coordination office, Bread for the World and Volksbank Frankfurt Rhein/Main.
Information on the Fair Mile and the full program can be found at t1p.de/faire-meile.
