Why Flowers Are So Cheap, And Who’s Paying The Price | True Cost | Business Insider 

“… now at 46 years old, she can barely walk on her own.” What!?! Looking at her walking, I thought she was at least in her 70s! Really gives you perspective on how good we have it.

Whenever something is cheap, it is safe to assume that someone somewhere is suffering because of it.

I recall working for a packing company for at least 8 hours a day. I tried to be creative as my body grew tired from the repetitive work. So I started kneeling to pick up the goods instead of bending my back, in order to save myself from back pain. And instead of lifting all the heavy products to the table for scanning, I kneel to scan the codes. My boss came over and scolded me for not standing like the other workers did, despite I told him why I did that. He made me feel like I’m not human and it’s my fault to not endure the pain.

The same thing happens with low paying jobs in America too. They over load few employees with a huge amount of work and pressure workers to get it done or fired. That’s every grocery store, pharmacy, fast food and production facilities.

People in this comment section: "They should be happy someone is willing to exploit their labor when they could be unemployed." Employers are not doing you a favor for letting you work. And if you're being exploited you absolutely have a right to complain.

See this in companies here in Czech too.. foreing companies builds halls for hundreds of workers just to stand and do the same work just like robots.. I knew several people working there and every single one who was not working on higher posts or in office had health problems. I have a sucky job.. but looking at this video and knowing people around me, I can said that my job is not that bad and that keeps my head up.

$740,621 billion in flowers?!?! I think the cartels are in the wrong business.

Sadly, this is true for EVERY product we use! EVERYTHING! From cell phones, to remote controls, to blankets, to clothing, to shoes, to plates, to flowers! The US doesn't manufacture much. So we can pretend we are "outraged" and chastise the companies for everything, but every time you lift a Coca-Cola to your lips or a Pepsi, every time you type on that keyboard, every time you put on makeup, every time you use your cell phone (no matter where it is assembled in the world), you're using products sourced from companies that do things like this! Some are "slightly" better and some are MUCH worse, but they ALL have practices & policies to squeeze productivity out of their workers. Do you think those few exercises that one plant was doing matter? LOL! No! The only way to stop it is to stop consuming unnecessary stuff. Do you think that is going to happen? NO! It absolutely won't stop! There will always be people low on the totem pole who get taken advantage of for the enjoyment of others!

i feel so sorry for them what horrible comment section though ... how could people think that an industry that produce 70% of workers to be injured is normal and working for them is somehow a favor

They have to cross-train people in all areas of the flower farm. From cutting, to stripping, to wrapping, to transporting. The human body is not made for repetitive motions continually. By the workers moving each day or two to a different job, the body can adjust to new movements,

I've been a cake decorator for 16 years, and I feel her pain. The bakery I currently work at, I stand to work, we get one 15 minute lunch and some days I end up working 12 hours.

She’s sum it up quite well- most people don’t care because it’s not them

I am looking at a flower arrangement right now and I appreciate them more. Manual labor is no joke!

Companies who do this must provide a lifetime insurance for these damages caused by this work. I get that less than 5% of the workers get injured due to this and the other 95% of people should not suffer. But those who get ill must be compensated.

It's very sad 😭 that worker was fired after the sweat she gave to that company and I am sad that the only thing she got from that company are injuries that will remain with her forever. That is very sad

Some of the farms in my area are selling bouquets of flowers THEY grow at the farmer's market. And if you want to grow your own bouquets of flowers you should try growing Zinnias. They come in a wide variety of colors and sizes. Cut and come again has long stems but the plant is small, about two feet. Larger zinnia plants can be 3 feet and the smallest I've heard of are 6 inches.

Praying that the lady featured here, will receive all the necessary help towards a better life.

😢 this breaks my heart. Even in the US getting help or disability is INCREDIBLY difficult. Even once you have it, there are always more hoops to jump thru. Health insurance companies are assigned to you. They make decisions for a patients care, when the DOCTOR AND PATIENT should be making treatment plans. I hate to see other people going thru this. It is horrible to have such severe medical conditions that effect everything you do. When you can't do the basics for yourself is so hard. I can't verbalize how hard it is physically, mental and emotionally. All of that also effects how it makes you feel about yourself.

I love this series, keep it up!

So stop buying flowers? Then, they'll starve. How's that gonna help?

This is how it is for wholesale plants. I work at one of the biggest wholesale nurseries in the East Coast and we literally had to pull over 5000 plants and move them all to different beds in 3 hours yesterday. We get overtime, but thats ONLY on Fridays now. We don't get paid enough for this shit

This sort of content id like to see more of!

I have two suggestions. The first is campaign to change the laws in Colombia so people don't have to get a doctors note every two weeks and a team of doctors to co operate to get benefits. That reminds me of what they did to me in California in the USA in college. I was failed or dropped from classes due to a rule that it would only be an excused absence if I got a doctor's note before the time the class started. I had severe periods, some of my classes started at 8am. I was told for this to be an excused absence a doctor would have to write down on paper I was too sick to attend class. One doctor told me that he couldn't say I was in pain, he could only say I said I was, because no medical test could detect pain and quantify it. So he wrote down "Adrienne states that she is in too severe pain from her period to attend class," then the college refused to accept this as a valid doctors note and called it a "hearsay note." Doctors do this to people, especially women, worldwide. Often the doctors are working with the system and have some kind of incentive to prevent women from obtaining care or benefits. The second is to ensure the people working in these factories have better quality and sharper scissors or knives. We can hear the sound of hacked chopping throughout your video as people talk about how their bodies were injured from the hard work. Tell these corporations to buy higher quality tools and make sure they're kept sharp. Cutting 8 flowers a minute shouldn't injure you, this is happening because the tools are so dull that they are having to use far more force and traumatizing their bones and muscles due to it. Simply providing sharp tools would reduce the rate of these injuries. On a side note, many flower farms in the USA are just like this and hire mostly illegal immigrants.

It's sad that even in the Netherlands a lot of foreign employes get treated a bit worse. Of course not at every company but still to many. ( Horticulture sector btw )

Sadly, every manufacturing repetitive job has these health disadvantages

I have much sympathy for these ppl. Unfortunately, humans treat each other without compassion, while profits and productivity are paramount. Pets are treated more Humanely than humans. Humans are disposable. I can say this first hand. All the Best to the ladies.

You convinced me, I will not buy flowers ever again. I hate the idea that I am guilty of causing so much pain to the poor workers. God bless you workers, better luck next time.

I never understood why people gave flowers just for them to die. Weird symbolism there and they can't even be sentimental. This is my advice: If your partner loves plants (as so many of us do), buy them a plant that can grow in their environment. I don't want some rotting decoration. I want something that I can grow and cherish, just like a relationship should be. 🙂

Maybe allow only a certain amount of hours worked per day? Some companies that employ cleaning ladies do not let them work over a certain amount of hours per week, and that by itself prevents injuries overtime but it also keeps the employees eternally as a part-time employee so they do not receive benefits. Complicated balance to find.

Flowers and plants are my strength- neurotic gardener💚

Nice but i never realised that one bundle of flowers took that much dedication.i love flowers even in my house i have flower's just for a beauty i never plucked a flower.

Hey, Insider Business. How can we reach Laura and her family? I'd like to help her if I can. In fact, I'm sure there are other people here in the comments who would like to help too. Please let us know if there is some sort of funding campaign for her. I want her to have a safe and comfortable life. It's not fair that she has to go through all this. My heart is breaking for her.

Humans urge to cut flowers to keep them has always confused me. If you like roses, and have a yard, plant a rose bush. You'll never run out of roses.

Business Insider , Here are some suggestions that could be passed on to the Floral Companies & Insurance Companies : (1) Microbiological Chair : Used in Pharmaceutical especially Antibiotics Production Companies . It is a uneven chair that allows workers to take rest yet not doze off . Those production shifts require 10 - 12 hrs maintenance during antibiotics making . It takes care of leg problems & spinal issues in long run . (2) Make it compulsory for those women or male workers to take Multi Vitamins Tablet at least Twice a Week . Constant use of muscles depletes certain enzymes . Thus Multi Vitamins Tablet can rectify or slow down the muscle loss issue significantly . Ordering in bulk may reduce further costs . (3) Those Cardio exercises are a good idea , continue with the same .

I dnt think the problem is cheap flowers; this video is miss-representing the problem. The problem is worker rights and knowledge. Companies all over the world will over work an employee if they could, hence it's important to have unions to protect worker rights and fight for better working conditions. Plus workers can be greedy too, taking more hours on the job to earn more even if it's illegal.

Praying for these workers and all elsewhere. We need to do better, and appreciate the products that we have enough that exploitation for cheap prices isn't seen as normal :(

the human cost of anything, welcome to planet earth

I have many rose bushes in my yard, front & back. I've never been a fan of the floral business for some reason. I enjoy cutting a few occasionally from my rose bushes. I even told my husband years ago it's just something I don't enjoy having money spent on via florists. He bought me rose bushes for years & I'm so grateful. But these poor people, women, who have to work so hard really makes my heart go our to them 😥💔😕.

The Human Cost Of Flower Producer/Reseller Greed. There, fixed the title for you. You're welcome, np really :)

Makes you realise and appreciate all that you have in life. And that this body is temporary and it will breakdown regardless of what you may do or try.

My heart breaks for these people. I did housekeeping for 13 years and my back paid the price. Thankfully I have a low impact job now but these workers need to be protected better!

The onus of this should be on the importers. They should only import from companies offering insurance to their employees and be willing to pay premium for it.However in an ultra capitalist society peoples well being is the last concern all these countries would care about is getting the cheapest deals. This exploitation has been done across the globe over the years.

Nice video.

This is just stupid, if markets like the US didn’t but these flowers then 80,000 people would be out of jobs. Their working conditions are worse then others but I think being able to provide for you and others based off money from other countries is better than no job at all.

Now I am even more skeptical about buying flowers, but on the other hand, it's someone's livelihood 😢

I don't know about yours. But in my state (Hyd, Telangana, India) They're expensive.

This makes me think twice about what I do at work

These types of industries should provide health insurance to their workers.

Omg!! Really!!! theres people out there working day & night back breaking hard asf work.. alot harder than packing cutting flowers..but not complaining about the back breaking agonozing pain they are suffering from🙄 Any work is hard but this work isn't as bad as these people make it out to be.

I always wondered how the flowers are kept alive for so many days right from plucking it to selling it

this breaks my heart poor lady😢😢

I'd rather just go to a nice restaurant. That'll do it for me.

One thing that I noticed personally in manufacturing companies and here is that there is no chairs or places to sit in the production area. They just didn't want u to sit. You have to stand the hole day off.

In a few years: "Flower costs soar, women most affected."

i have never in my life bought flowers for anyone hence the reason i am still single but after watching this video i saved lives lol

if you have back pain that radiates down your leg. It MIGHT be sciatica, inflammation involving the sciatic nerve but more likely is a disc encroaching on a nerve and you can't ignore that. Insurance companies might make it so you have to go through several therapies (that aren't going to work) to get to the one that will, like with carpal tunnel - you need a release but they do a series of injections first and pain management and anti-inflammatories, maybe therapy. One injection is usually diagnostic and it is done to diagnose.

Even a flower in my hand gone through off so much pain. We love you please make this world a better place. Vasudev kutumba Kam in hindu mythology it means (the world is one).🇮🇳

There's no way to make machines that make the work easier for flower workers?. Heartbreaking, all i have to Say😱😡🥺🤐

child labor is also present in US labor, i heard of a story from a lao-american who said he would labor all day in summer tulip fields with no shade or water for 12 or more hours… at 9 years old

Heartbreaking 💔

You know what the really sad part of this is that many countries buy these good in mass quantities sometimes way more then needed. Then they are just throw them away if they don’t sell or need to make room for more products.

I’ve always wondered about this, actually.

Factories like these are all over the US. Yes there are health concerns, but replacing these people with actual robots will only eliminate their jobs...

Well you can say the same for tailors/even virology lab technicians during covid were working (pipetting) like crazy

Would love a few in my garden

FSF certification if you must buy these. The people who should feel guilty are the corporations that behave like this.

What isn’t connected to such suffering, exploitation, etc nowadays? smh 😢. Shame on these inhumane and greedy employers.

Good.

This is painful to watch but I'm glad I now know

Stretching can honestly go a long way. And use legs instead of back to bend. Same happens on the fields and at minimum wage jobs.

Similar things happen in the US due to people having to sit prolonged hours working at all the computers.

I am now sorry i have bought roses at a supermarket. Now, retired, i am planting and growing my own flowers, often from seed.

This is especially scary to me because I have a job in manufacturing. I manufacture paper bags for restaurants. I pack 100,000-200,000 bags per day. I do the same repetitive task from the start of my shift to the end. I haven’t even worked there for a month and I already have to take pain killers so that I can manage the excruciating pain enough to do my job. I work 6 days a week because they are understaffed and behind on producing. My hands and elbows hurt so badly sometimes, I can’t even crawl. Doesn’t sound that bad but you’d be surprised how much crawling you do in a day. Sometimes my back hurts so badly, I can’t stand up straight. Sometimes my toes hurt so badly, I can’t bend them. Both of my big toes are partially numb, which started soon after I got this job. They have been this way for weeks and show no signs of getting better. Despite all of this, I do not take pain killers on my day off because I don’t want to overuse them. On my only day off, I usually sleep as much as I can to heal before I start work the next day, but sometimes I like to do something special, like go out to eat or have a bbq. I have started a business and I’m hoping to become self employed soon, though I have had some unexpected setbacks. I can’t say how much longer I have to work for my employer(who I will not mention to protect them), but I hope it isn’t very long.

The more workers fight in these developing countries for better wages/safety, the more these companies are incentivized to convert to AI. Most left the western countries because of the lower paid wages and not manufacturing anything here has been devastating to cities all around the western countries. Of course the people deserve decent working environments but I do wonder what will happen when there isn’t but a handful of jobs available once all the companies do switch to AI? The wage gap widens everyday and our elites see us only as peasants to make money off... pretty much how it’s been seen the creation of time....

Big companies making profits and not paying their workers a fair wage so they don’t need to work such long hours. Flowers will be more expensive but at least the humans in the process will be better off

These industries have pulled millions of people out of horrible poverty. Is there any good in that?

This is why you shouldn't be that dedicated or devout to any companies as they can replace you anytime at most times even inhumanely

Is it just me or does everyone else agree when people want to be anonymous they should just blur out the whole body of the person or just not show them because I feel like people who are around them might now who they are since they practically see them everyday which gets rid of the whole anonymous person.

My oldest son has a remodling bussiness..he is a contractor..he is an employed fire fighter in one town..a vollunteer in another..and has a dog breeding kennel bussiness..has 4 bio kid's & adopted his wifes niece..takes care of his family..home & fixes his own vehicle's..he works non stop few hrs sleep & never heard a complaint once. How he does it? Tf if i know💁

How is this any different? My husband has worked retail for over 30 years. He has severe arthritis and degenerative disk disease in his spine from walking and standing on concrete warehouse floors.he has herniated disks. So how is this any different???

Man... these holidays are backed by some darkness...

❤❤

my dads friend has 12 herniated disc’s, its a miracle that he can still walk

Working practices need to be lifted to an optimum. Once you're past about 45, stuff starts going wrong.

Wonderful beautiful flowers that people should be paid for their labor. But when you have those that are into capitalism they want to exploit the labor for dirt cheap and this is simply not good. You want beautiful things pay for it. I appreciate these people for their hard work. As they have made beautiful statements when you send these beautiful roses 🥰👌🏼💎🌟💛♥️🖤💯‼️🎉😇😉👀

It's the same way at Amazon. Yet isn't everyone happy to have all those items shipped to you in two days or less?

Heal the world...make it a better place

HNP can heal without surgery..i paralized for almost 3 month ..i feel pain on my whole body..thanks god i can heal just with chiropractic..

3:17 Bu11 sh1t !!! 480 flowers an hour * 12 hour workday = 1,800 flowers a day

Respect for this world 🌍 🙏🏾 makes me learn something new every day

Well, I'm growing my own flowers now.

I also do repetitive work at restaurant

Flowers aren’t cheap at all 😂 I got to my local Kroger or other grocery stores and they are $18 for the cheapest bouquet of flowers. They’re not roses or anything nice, just cheap flowers I could probably go find and pick myself. Then you get to buy a $15 vase that you could get at dollar tree for $1.25

the wholest of grains

Anyone would think this is new. For many years I worked in a hosiery factory, sat down for at least 7 hours a day, now I have a degerate spine problem. I don't like it but Its the price we pay to earn a living. This video makes out that its only in this job, this country that its happening, it happens all over the world, its called earning a living.

Those poor women workers ruined lives so we can purchase cheap flowers for artificially commercial promoted holidays. Greed and discrimination drive these criminal companies. God bless these poor souls.

Oh!!! This looks like where Bouqs sources their inventory.

In my country it absolutely isn't cheap. Not at all. 1/10 of a usual months salary for a bouquet.

4 hour shifts. Raise prices. Pay more. Reduce greed. Care. You're welcome.

I"m making flowers from craft paper for valentines day from now on.