Sustainably Grown Flowers Give Mother's Day Gift Givers a Choice for Mother Earth

This Mother's Day, more than 50 million flowers and plants will be purchased as gifts for mothers, wives and daughters across the United States, and an increasing percentage of these will be certified as sustainably grown.

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"In the years since we first began certifying sustainably grown flowers and plants under the Veriflora standard, consumers have become increasingly aware that their choices matter," said Linda Brown, Executive Vice President of Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), the third-party certification agency that administers the Veriflora® Sustainably Grown Certification program (www.Veriflora.com). "Certification means that the producer has taken special care to protect the environment, provide a safe and healthy work environment, support the community and ensure the quality of products delivered to the marketplace."

Among America's top sustainability certifiers, Veriflora is widely considered the gold standard in cut flower and ornamental plant certification, and the only certification that covers both flowers and plants. Veriflora has led the way in instituting the toughest environmental standards, addressing pesticide use, waste management, water resource protection, energy conservation, and a verifiable commitment to continuous improvement. At the same time, its rigorous social standards ensure that workers are well treated, paid fairly, sufficiently trained, and operate in a safe environment. As a result, Veriflora counts among its certified companies those industry leaders on the cutting edge of environmental and social commitment. 

Not all Veriflora certified plants and flowers are labeled, so visit http://bit.ly/VF-flowers and http://bit.ly/VF-plants to locate Veriflora brands and retailers, or search for "Veriflora" at www.Amazon.com or www.OrganicBouquet.com.

Tom Wheeler, head grower at Veriflora Certified Bell Nursery said, "We continue to focus on culturally positive, environmentally-friendly, sustainable practices from start to finish, including soil, pots, fertilizers, and in the way we treat our people every day." Bell Nursery plants can be found at Home Depot stores in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware, as well as parts of North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

"When you purchase Sun Valley Floral Farms' Veriflora Certified flowers, not only do you get our exceptional quality, you can feel good about 'doing the right thing, too'" writes the Veriflora certified California based flower grower online. Locate Sun Valley products at http://bit.ly/sunvalleygroup

The Elite Flower, a Colombian grower that is also Rainforest Alliance certified, has Veriflora certified operations that encompass 3,200 employees, 240 hectares of cultivation, and produces roses, alstromerias, gerberas, carnations, and more. Find out more atwww.eliteflower.com.

Other prominent Veriflora Certified brands to look for include Floral Plant Growers' potted plants sold at ShopKo Garden Centers; recently certified Greenheart Farms, whose sumptuous roses (also Certified Organic) are available nationwide:http://bit.ly/GreenheartFarms; and Farmers' West (www.farmerswest.com), a premier grower of high quality Dutch cut flower varieties located on California's Central Coast.

The Veriflora eco-label can be found on flower bouquets at local florists, online retailers, and supermarket retail stores including Safeway, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. The Veriflora website lists a network of preferred Veriflora retailers and spotlights retailers that carry certified flowers. Go to www.veriflora.com to review a complete list of participating growers, retailers, and manufacturers.

Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) has been providing global leadership in third-party sustainability and environmental certification, auditing, testing and standards development for more than 25 years. SCS programs span a wide range of industries including green building, product manufacturing, food and agriculture, forestry, retailing and more.