toom and Fairtrade launch pilot project

toom is the first retailer in Germany to launch a pilot project with Fairtrade Germany to increase the amount of cuttings featuring the Fairtrade label. With this pioneering step, toom hopes to improve the lives of workers at cuttings farms through the positive impact of Fairtrade. To achieve this goal, the amount of plants sold featuring the Fairtrade label must be increased and various supply chain processes have to be simplified.

Young plants, whether poinsettias, geraniums, or Michaelmas daisies, have to travel long distances before they reach stores in Germany. They are cultivated from cuttings, most of which come from countries in the Global South, which offer the ideal growing conditions. The industry employs thousands of workers. With a poinsettia, for instance, it can take up to 70 weeks between taking the cuttings to growing a finished plant. toom and Fairtrade are launching a new pilot project to improve living conditions for these workers.

More Fairtrade crops, lower production costs, higher premiums

The aim of the joint pilot project between toom and Fairtrade Germany is to increase the Fairtrade premium income of workers in the Global South, reduce costs in the North, and make Fairtrade cuttings a genuine, more sustainable alternative to conventional cuttings.

To achieve this, the pilot project simplifies processes while also adhering to Fairtrade principles. Also helping to reduce costs is the fact that Fairtrade certification is no longer required for the nurseries located in the Global North which finish cultivating the Fairtrade young plants for toom. The plants themselves are already Fairtrade-certified in their country of origin. This step can lead to the mixture of Fairtrade plants with conventional plants in the nurseries. However, measures are taken to ensure that only the plants purchased as cuttings from the farms under Fairtrade conditions are sold as Fairtrade-certified. This is verified by independent certification organisation FLOCERT at the importers and at toom.

toom continues to require its European nurseries to be certified according to Milieu Programma Sierteelt (MPS) or GLOBALG.A.P. as well as the additional GLOBAL G.A.P. GRASP or MPS SQ for social practice. In addition, a peat reduction of at least 30 percent is required for production in Germany and compliance with the REWE Residue Guideline* for ornamental plants.