If you could run your business and do it in a way that made the world a little better at the same time, wouldn’t you be interested? Thankfully, that’s getting easier to do all the time, and the public and media are increasingly paying attention to the stories and conditions behind everyday purchases. Through the media we often learn of exploitative conditions, and environmental short cuts, especially in poor countries. Consequently, businesses and shoppers are taking the time to look more closely at what they stock and what they buy. The flower category is no exception to either trend.

It’s been some time since much of the production of cut flowers moved to countries in Latin America and Africa, which offer excellent year-round growing conditions. However, in these regions labor and safety laws can be lax or unenforced, and agricultural workers have little-to-no leverage to protect their rights or push for decent wages or better conditions. Also, access to basic education, health services, clean water and even electricity can be scarce, unreliable or simply too expensive for most citizens. As a result, many of the hundreds of thousands employed on flower farms experience tough living and working conditions for themselves and their families.

The growing adoption of “Fairtrade” certification is making a big difference. But what is “Fairtrade?” It is a set of voluntary business practices, combined with independent third-party certification by non-profit organizations, that is helping to improve the quality of life for over 1.5 million farm workers and small-scale farmers in dozens of nations from Argentina to Zambia. A licensing system (operated by non-profit organizations like Fairtrade America) for the “Fairtrade” seal creates opportunities for brands and retailers to demonstrate their participation and to indicate to consumers which products meet Fairtrade America’s standards. A wide array of commodities, including flowers, can be “Fairtrade”-certified. (“Fairtrade” is used to denote the product certification system operated by Fairtrade International.)

This means that consumers are now seeing the “Fairtrade” mark in almost every section of their local grocery store. October is designated as the official Fair Trade Month to further raise awareness.

A “Fairtrade”-designated flower supply chain starts with a grower who has agreed to meet labor and environmental standards well above industry norms and these growers must participate in annual auditing and inspections to ensure compliance. “Fairtrade”-certified means that workers’ rights are being respected, that they have greater bargaining power, and that they will receive the premium that is paid by participating importers — the premium is an extra payment, on top of the price of the flowers, that goes into a fund which the workers can later invest as they wish.

For example, Grace Nzisa is a 44-year-old widow and mother of four who works on the “Fairtrade”-certified Harvest Limited Athi River flower farm in Kenya. Through hard work and scholarships funded by the premium, Grace and three of her children have all been able to attend university. The workers at this farm have also invested the premiums to improve access to clean water, healthcare, childcare facilities and household domestic goods, like more efficient cook stoves.

But Harvest Limited is hardly the only certified farm. Globally over 49,000 workers are employed on “Fairtrade”-certified flower farms, which collectively produce more than 2 billion stems a year.

Rodney North is director of marketing and external relations at Fairtrade America in Washington, DC. He can be contacted at [email protected]