After the successful introduction of Fair Flora labeled plants into the market, the label has now presented its first zero-emission rated flowers - tulips - through Roelofarendsveen-based Wesselman Flowers. Wesselman Flowers is a nursery and flower chain that provides European retailers with sustainably produced, fresh, top-quality tulips.
Accordingly, Wesselman Flowers will be selling carbon-neutral tulips through its packaging company, Tulpen.nl. The tulip flower products have a Fair Flora label that features five stars, representing the maximum sustainability score a product can attain within the Fair Flora system.
A First for the Fair Flora Label for Flowers
Previously, the Fair Flora rating focused only on plants, but Wesselman Flowers now becomes the first such distributor of flowers, whose products are rated through the system.
The flower-distributing company has collaborated with Greenhouse Sustainability to develop a tool for calculating the environmental footprint of its tulip cultivation. And according to Joost Wesselman, the Director of Wesselman Flowers, their knowledge and experience in tulip cultivation have enabled them to adapt their existing calculation tool for Greenhouse Sustainability.
Joost Wesselman:
"Tulip cultivation is a unique field. Based on our knowledge and experience, we have modified the existing calculation tool from Greenhouse Sustainability. Tulips are inherently sustainable due to their low carbon emissions. When we became aware of our carbon footprint, we decided to take immediate action and offset the carbon emissions. We are doing this for all the tulips that we currently sell online, making them completely carbon-neutral."
According to Wesselman Flowers, the nursery produces its tulips in the most sustainable way possible. Its production processes are fair for people and the environment, as well as the facilities' immediate living environment. Its work processes are, also, certified and comply with all standards and legislation.
Wesselman Flowers explains:
"For example, we reuse the water from the water troughs in which our tulips are grown. But we do more than that. We have a grip on the entire chain because we are involved in our business operations, from the cultivation of tulip bulbs up to and including the 'scalding' of the tulips in the greenhouse without the intervention of unnecessary links. As a result, transport movements are saved."
In addition, the tulip nursery has also invested in its own flower casks and trolleys, which means that the tulips it handles can be transported more efficiently. More casks per trolley also mean more tulips per trolley.
Wesselman Flowers is a member of the Sustainable Suppliers of Horticultural Quality Products Foundation. Together with trading companies in flower bulbs and perennial plants, the company aims to make an active and structural contribution to a sustainable horticulture sector, where high-quality products are grown and traded with respect for people, society, and the environment.
Joost Wesselman:
"Our goal is to certify all flower bulbs and perennial plants as sustainable by 2024 so that consumers can enjoy a bouquet of tulips with confidence. Additionally, Wesselman Flowers is part of the 'Sustainable Accelerators', a group of ornamental horticulture companies taking the lead in making the supply chain more sustainable. By discussing and working on sustainability together, we encourage each other to take the next step. Our industry must focus on the future and demonstrate our ability to produce sustainable products."
Joost noted that as part of the Sustainable Accelerators, Wesselman Flowers and its counterparts strive to limit the environmental impact of flower production together. The tulip is an ideal flower for this cause as it is already at the top of the list of sustainable flowers. Tulips only need a small amount of water and energy to grow.
Here's how there is a growing demand by retailers and consumers, for sustainably grown and produced flowers.
Upholding the Fair Flora Label
Promotion of the Fair Flora label, according to Joost, firmly aligns with the values of Wesselman Flowers. This is why the Roelofarendsveen-based tulip distributor immediately chose to associate itself with the Fair Flora label with all the tulips that it sells online through Tulpen.nl.
The tulips the chain supplies, Wesselman said, are carbon-neutral, and the webshop is an important platform for the chain to test new things.
Joost Wesselman:
“We receive direct feedback [through the platform] from consumers, so this is a way for us to gauge whether consumers appreciate our sustainable products and the star rating system of Fair Flora. If they do, we will, definitely, use that feedback to convince supermarkets. Wesselman Flowers is proud to be the first chain to sell Fair Flora flowers. But more importantly, we hope to inspire our colleagues to do the same. We need to take responsibility together, and the consumers will follow suit."
Sustainable and Responsible Production of Flowers and Plants
Fair Flora, a transparent and 'fair' label that calculates the emission footprint of a flower or plant, was just recently introduced as a sustainability system for ornamental horticulture products.
In the system, flowers and plants are provided with a label displaying one to five stars; the more stars, the more sustainable and responsible the flowers and plants are. These stars are intended to make it easier for consumers to recognize sustainably grown products at a glance.
Earlier in the month, the first Fair Flora-labeled and rated plants entered the market. And now, the introduction of the first-labeled flowers follows suit. So, if you order these fresh and sustainably grown tulips through Tulpen.nl, you can be sure that you are giving climate-neutral tulips as a gift to yourself or someone else.
Photos by @tulpen.nl.
