PARIS (Reuters) – This is the classic romantic combination: St Valentine’s Day in Paris, the city of love, and a gift of red roses. But some Parisian florists try to wean customers off the flowers because of their ecological cost.
Most roses sold in France in the run-up to St Valentine’s Day, a peak sales period for the global flower industry, have to be imported by air freight from countries such as Kenya, leading to carbon emissions contributing to climate change.
Florists concerned about the environmental damage caused by this trade say there are viable alternatives that can be grown locally, and they try to encourage customers to try it.
They get an uphill battle because the tradition of giving red roses on St Valentine’s Day, which falls on February 14, has been so entrenched in many cultures.
Hortense Harang, founder of an online flower shop called ‘Fleurs d’Ici’ – French for ‘Flowers from here’ – was at the forefront of the campaign to wean people off roses.
“Red roses are about 1950s,” she said.
‘Roses are something that is not allowed at all this season, because it basically does not make sense to buy roses. Roses are not growing below our latitude this season. ”
Her campaign received support. “It does not make sense to get flowers from the other side of the planet if we can get them locally,” said Edith Besenfelder, a 46-year-old Parisian florist who works with local and seasonal flowers.
But old habits are dying hard. Celine Argente, the 40-year-old owner of the Sylvine flower shop in Paris, said she encouraged customers to buy red tulips to declare their love. But despite that, her shop was full of red roses on the beams this week to meet demand.
“It’s a classic thing that people can not change,” she said. “The red rose remains the flower for Valentine’s Day.”
Written by Christian Lowe; Edited by Alison Williams