Rosiges Welt-retten am Valentinstag
Press Conference
Thursday, 12 February 2009
Linz (February 11, 2009) As St. Valentine’s Day approaches, business is booming at Austria’s florists. Every year, Austrians spend about 45 million euros on cut flowers. To satisfy demand, more than 80 million roses have to be imported into this country—the vast majority of them from developing countries.
Hardly anyone is aware of the fact that 25% of these roses stem from Kenya in East Africa, where they’re produced under degrading and inhumane working conditions. In conjunction with the “Handeln für Eine Welt” (trade for one world) program, the Südwind action team traveled to Kenya, where Südwind spokesperson Christina Schröder was able to conduct interviews on site and thereby get a glimpse behind the scenes of the flower industry.
“Just consider how much profit the farms make on these flowers and how we, the workers, live! The wages are much too low,” complained Teresia, a 28-year-old flower farm laborer whom the Südwind action team visited at home. The single mother of a six-month-old daughter and a young son lives in a 3x3-meter mud hut that has neither electricity nor running water. She works almost 14 hours a day, sometimes seven days a week. She earns about €50 a month. After paying her rent and the cost of commuting to work, she’s left with about €1 a day for food, clothing and other necessities for her family. According to Teresia, sexual harassment by supervisors is the order of the day at her farm. Promotion would be virtually impossible without doing sexual favors.
Christina Schröder summed up her fact-finding mission in these terms: “Anyone who’s aware of the working conditions on Kenyan flower farms will want to buy fair-trade flowers.” She pointed out that there are alternatives. Sophie Veßel of FIAN Austria stressed the fact that “only one independent check guarantees adherence to the criteria necessary for being awarded a seal of approval: that cut flowers are being produced under environmentally-friendly and worker-friendly conditions. Getting together with all the parties involved—unions, NGOs, dealers and producers—is of utmost importance here.”
Linz09 representative Irene Jäger pointed out that “the ‘Fair-trade Flowers Save the World’ drive timed to coincide with St. Valentine’s Day is designed to call attention to the fact that everyone in Linz can make a contribution to more fairness in flower production.”
Linz09’s “52 Ways to Save the World” project offers such an opportunity. On February 13-14, 2009 Südwind is cooperating with local florists to invite Linzers to show their love with fair-trade roses. A great spot to pick up a bouquet is the special Linz09 “Save the World” bus stop on the Nibelungen Bridge. It’s manned by Südwind staffers who’ll be handing out info cards and fair shopping guides about concrete shopping alternatives available in Upper Austria.
Over the rest of the year, Südwind will be presenting three more ways to save the world in conjunction with Linz09. Südwind staffer Sabine Klapf is convinced that “only when we work together on the national and international level and make people aware of the facts will we succeed in exerting sufficient pressure to put people before profits.”
To download photos:
www.suedwind-agentur.at/start.asp?gal=OOE_Rosen
For details about fair-trade alternatives:
www.fian.at/3/33_flp.html
www.fairtrade.at/?thema=presse&zo=presseinfos&zo2=&ID=361
For more info, with queries, or to set up an interview:
Johannes Heiml MBA, Südwind Upper Austria regional director
Tel.: +43 (0)732 / 79 56 64 3
Mobil: +43 (0)650 / 73 61 047
E-mail: johannes.heiml@suedwind.at
www.suedwind-agentur.at
Pia Leydolt, Linz09 press officer
Tel.: +43 (0)732 / 2009 - 37
Fax +43 (0)732 / 2009 - 43
E-mail: pia.leydolt@linz09.at
Südwind (Southwind) was founded in 1979 as a non-profit NGO engaged in PR, information and educational work in the field of international development. It’s committed to sustainable global development, human rights and fair working conditions worldwide. Through work in schools and in other educational settings, and by publishing “Südwind” magazine and other periodicals, Südwind focuses attention on global interrelationships and their consequences. PR campaigns, drives and initiatives are some of the ways Südwind works to promote justice throughout the world.
This press conference is part of the CSR Processes project being funded by the European Community and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Labor, Welfare and Consumer Protection.
