Most Fairtrade products are transported by ship. To keep them fresh, flowers are currently the only Fairtrade product to be routinely transported by air. Transportation of products is only one small element of the total carbon footprint of that product – think about how it is grown, packaged, distributed to shops within the UK, and the consumer journey to the store, or any waste disposal. Don’t forget too, that Fairtrade premiums can enable producers in developing countries to set up their own environmental projects, such as tree planting, recycling or conversion to organic p roduction.
A flower grown in Kenya and flown into the UK emits 5.8 times less carbon than one that has been industrially produced in a hot-house in the Netherlands. (Williams.A, 2007, Cranfield University)