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VeriFlora™ Sustainability Certification Program Sees Growth in Customers and Profile |
Six Growers Recently Certified and More To Be Announced
Emeryville, Calif. – Six prominent floral growers
recently were certified for the first time under the VeriFlora
sustainability certification program for fresh cut flowers and potted
plants. Three of the newly certified floral operations are located in
Ecuador, one is in Colombia, and two are in the United States in
California.
VeriFlora certification is conducted by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), a leader in independent third-party verification and sustainable agriculture, fisheries, and forestry standards development.
Increased demand by retailers and consumers for VeriFlora certified flowers has been fuelled by a number of factors, including increased interest in sustainability, growing awareness of the availability of certified flowers, and recent praise for the VeriFlora program by leading industry representatives and independent observers. VeriFlora flowers are available in American outlets such as Safeway, Trader Joe’s, Kroger, Bristol Farms and numerous independent retailers.
“The floral industry is undergoing significant change,” observed Ted Howes, vice president, Social Responsibility, Scientific Certification Systems. “An increasing number of growers have been greatly reducing their use of pesticides and replacing them with sustainable agricultural practices. And VeriFlora is helping to drive that change.”
“Sustainable agriculture” is a broad concept encompassing farming practices that promote environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and economic viability. The VeriFlora standard has served as a template for a new Draft American National Standard for Trial Use (SCS-001) for Sustainable Agriculture, which was developed by SCS and is being filed with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
For floral growers, VeriFlora certification can apply to their entire production facility or to one or more specific farms within that facility. The six newly certified farming operations are:
Denmar, which specializes in roses and spray roses, with three certified farms located in Tubacundo, Ecuador.
Ci Hosa Ltda. (“HOSA”), with five certified farms located in and around Bogotá, Colombia. The cultivars are roses, spray roses, minicarnations, alstroemerias, campanulas, and lilies.
Ecoroses S.A. of Ecuador, with one certified rose farm located near the town of Machachi.
RosaPrima Cia Ltda., in Ecuador, which specializes in premium quality, fresh-cut roses for the high-end market, with one certified farm located in the beautiful region of Guachala, near the city of Cayambe.
Ascus Nursery (“Ascus”), a specialty nursery that creates finished living gifts such as miniature fruit trees and flowering gift plants, and has one certified farm in California’s beautiful Sonoma County.
Resendiz Brothers Protea Growers, with one certified farm located in Fallbrook in Southern California. The certified cultivars are Protea, Pincushions (‘Leucospermum’), Leucadendron, Banksia, and filler flowers.
With encouragement from forward-thinking floral industry leaders in North America, SCS in 2004 created the Sustainable Agriculture Practice Standard for Cut Floral Products and Potted Plants, which includes rigorous, comprehensive requirements to ensure that the most environmentally sustainable, socially responsible, and quality-oriented practices have been used. The VeriFlora name and trademark were created as the certification label for floral products complying with this standard.
Currently, 13 growers in South America, with a total of 32 farms, are either certified or soon to be certified by VeriFlora. In the U.S., six growers and a total of 18 farms are certified or soon to be certified, including industry leader Sun Valley Group. In addition, certified handlers include two of the largest floral distributors in North America – Delaware Valley Floral Group and Sierra Flower Trading, Ltd. A total of some 521 million stems currently are VeriFlora certified. SCS will soon announce another three growers that have been officially certified.
For more information about VeriFlora and SCS, visit www.VeriFlora.com.
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