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General comparisons between Florverde Sustainable Flowers and Rainforest Alliance Certified


Florverde Sustainable Flowers label.


In the world of standards which aim to certify good environmental, social or quality production practices, we see hundreds of local and global initiatives with diverse levels of recognition in the different destination markets. And it is curious to note that this recognition is more often based on the ability of their communications and marketing strategies rather than on the technical robustness of the standards as a tool for continuous improvement.


On the other hand, there are country-level standards that have approached local producers, understanding their context and responding to their real needs in terms of production, which positions them as technically excellent standards, but with a low remembrance due to the fact that they usually do not have the marketing resources to position themselves internationally, between the supply chain and even less at the final consumer level. 

The Sustainability Map, an initiative of the United Nations’ International Trade Center gathers information from more than 200 certifications worldwide, allowing the online comparison of these; hence, giving the user an idea about the robustness of the standard in question. 

On a monthly basis, we will be providing you with general comparisons between FSF and other flower standards available, based on the Sustainability Map engine. 

Florverde Sustainable Flowers and Rainforest Alliance Certified



Rainforest Alliance Certified is a widely spread standard that counts on important worldwide recognition due to its wonderful campaigns aimed at the final consumer, which in turn has positioned it as a brand of high worldwide recall. This standard originated in Central America and was initially named "Eco-ok", but over time (at the end of the 90s) it changed its name to the NGO that originally promoted it in order to address the problem of biodiversity loss thanks to the cultivation of bananas in Honduras, Costa Rica and other exporting countries. 

Its incursion into the flower market occurred in the early 2000s, when RA in Costa Rica proposed a standard profile in order to address the environmental problems presented by the production of foliage in that country, which was then extended to the flower market in Colombia. However, the proportion of the flowers certification by RA in the world is minimal with respect to their proportion of coffee, bananas or cocoa certifications. Nowadays, the regulations are unique for each type of crop and this means that it is not detailed or focused on the solution of the specific problems related to each distinct product or process. 

Florverde Sustainable Flowers is a standard that covers socio-labor, environmental and quality management aspects in the production of flowers and ornamentals in Latin American countries. FSF adopts the international requirements of both social and environmental agreements, ensuring that the most relevant aspects to the sustainability in floriculture of this region are covered in a comprehensive and inclusive manner.


The Standards Map tool yields the following results that allow us to visualize the differences in the contents of the FSF and RAC standards:


Comparative requirements of both certifications FSF - RAC. Source: The Sustanability Map 2018.


Requirements of both certifications in environmental aspects. Source: The Sustainability Map 2018.


Requirements of both certifications in social and labor aspects.  Source: The Sustainability Map 2018.



Requirements of both certifications on economic aspects.  Source: The Sustainability Map 2018.

Requirements of both certifications on quality aspects.  Source: The Sustainability Map 2018.


Requirements of both certifications on ethics and integrity aspects.  Source: The Sustainability Map 2018.



Florverde Sustainable Flowers, with 22 years of experience, counts on the most robust standards specifically aimed at the production of flowers and ornamentals, covering social, environmental, labor, and production quality aspects of the product. When compared to other standards, it is easily seen why Florverde Sustainable Flowers is the label only for the best.


By: Mónica Vera, Sustainable Impact Coordinator at Florverde, with contribution of Ximena Franco, Director Florverde.


Did you know that ...

Thanks to the mutual recognition between Florverde Sustainable Flowers and Rainforest Alliance Certified, flower producers can be certified under both seals in the same inspection 😎 





Learn more in this link: https://florverde.org/equivalence-with-others



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