As we’re already seeing in many parts of the United States, the limitless availability of water we’ve become accustomed to can no longer be guaranteed, due to sustained and expanding extreme drought and depletion of both surface and aquifer sources. Further, the cost of water has been greatly subsidized and growers and consumers have never paid the real costs of water (i.e. storage, sourcing, distribution, etc.). As water becomes scarcer, it can no longer be viewed as a commodity, and as costs increase, the user will bear a greater share of the real costs of water.

Today’s consumers are reading more than instructions — they are looking at the benefits of the product beyond its single use, and are fast becoming interested in what happens after they are done with it. This long-term thinking is what many U.S. companies are incorporating into their product design and corporate culture, and it’s defined as sustainability.   

MINNEAPOLIS — Although June is National Rose Month, July is always Rose Month for Kids at Koehler & Dramm Wholesale Florist, here, and the company is committed to donating to charity one rose sale at a time.

In 2007, several people at Koehler & Dramm began thinking about ways the company could give back to the community. At the same time, a rose grower in Ecuador became aware of the severe lack of medical supplies at a local children’s hospital, and that led to a partnership with Koehler & Dramm to take action.

The QPMA Pillar of the Industry for 2014, Bernadette Hamel, was welcomed onstage with a thundering standing ovation during the closing banquet at the annual QPMA Convention. A dynamic woman whose commitment to the industry is evident, Hamel made her mark at QPMA by being elected its first female president in 2007-08.

“If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” — Sir Isaac Newton.

It’s fascinating to me that this manifesto was proclaimed in the 1600s by one of the world’s greatest scientific minds, Sir Isaac Newton, the master of astronomy, chemistry, physics, mathematical science and theology. Quite simply, Sir Isaac Newton discovered how the universe stays together.

In a world where instant gratification is not fast enough, we still find large groups of people who understand that the journey is a very important part of the destination. This was certainly the case at the recently held American Institute of Floral Designers Symposium, Transition Transformation, in Chicago.