The global cut-flower industry is a multibillion-dollar business, with the United States producing only a fraction of the world’s flowers sold each year. According to the U.S. Labor Education in the Americas Project, more than 80 percent of the flowers produced in Colombia are exported to the United States, and one-third of Ecuador’s yearly production is exported to the United States for Valentine’s Day.
So a little over a year ago when Christina Stembel decided to launch her locally sourced and bicycle-delivered floral service, Farmgirl Flowers, many colleagues thought it would be impossible to alter the habits of flower shoppers looking for bouquets that are inexpensive, attractive and long-lasting.
But like the organic and local food movement that has made headway in the mainstream marketplace, growers and floral designers who sell eco-friendly and organic products are winning over consumers with local, seasonal items and product labels that identify how and where plants were grown.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/07/DDR21N15CT.DTL#ixzz1lu2sOAbu
Green Real Estate Appraiser 