Walk into any supermarket and you'll find products that satisfy not only your taste buds but your values, too. Fair Trade coffee and chocolate, organic apples and free-range eggs are becoming mainstream thanks to the demands of socially and environmentally responsible shoppers. But what about those flowers in buckets near the cash register? Where did those come from? Under what conditions were they grown?
Until recently, there was no easy answer to that question. A mixed bouquet at the supermarket could contain roses from Ecuador, carnations from Colombia and California greens, each grown under different conditions. Organic flowers have been almost impossible to find at a florist. Although they're available at farmers' markets during the growing season, that might not help if you want to send a bouquet to your sweetheart in Minneapolis this Feb. 14...