Hatcher Florist
Toll-Free number: 1-888-308-5808 / ,
5455 Yonge Street ,
Toronto,
Ontario
M2N 5S1
Canada
Tel: 416-221-5557
Fax: 416-221-3718 |
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Earth-friendly flowers bloom at Hatcher Florist TheStar.com - Business - Earth-friendly flowers bloom at Hatcher Florist
Earth-friendly flowers bloom at Hatcher Florist TheStar.com - Business - Earth-friendly flowers bloom at Hatcher Florist
Brothers Bob, left, and Doug Hatcher of family flower shop Hatcher Florist say they are trying to change the world, one flower at a time.
Toronto shop selling bouquets from socially responsible farms a small but blossoming segment of the flower market
February 14, 2008
Lisa Wright
business reporter
Bob and Doug Hatcher aren't your typical petal pushers.
Planted in a North York flower shop that's remarkably been in the family for nearly a century, they care enough to dig up the floral facts on exactly where your pretty Valentine's Day roses and bouquets came from and the conditions in which they were grown.
On top of that they're one of the few known retailers in the Toronto area – and one of only about a dozen in Ontario – that offer certified, Earth-friendly flowers on request at the charming Hatcher Florist shop on Yonge St. near Finch Ave.
"More and more people are searching out these eco-products," said Doug Hatcher, noting it's a small but blossoming segment of the business that's been in his family since 1909.
"This is our small way of helping the planet. We're trying to change the world one flower at a time," brother Bob added
But not to worry; in the interest of all things green, the Hatchers and a budding number of Canadian florists have joined forces with a Montreal-based group called Sierra Flower Trading, the biggest flower distributor in Eastern Canada.
Just over one-third of Sierra's business is in providing flowers out of its Quebec and Mississauga outlets, flowers it monitors and gets shipped in from socially responsible and sustainable farms in South America and California.
The ultimate in flower power, the seven-year-old program supports and markets – and certifies with a special label on your delivery – the sale of flowers from farms that have adopted greener production methods and that adhere to high safety standards and acceptable conditions for workers.
"Retailers should wake up and make a difference by offering certified flowers. Producers and florists are just waiting for more customers to let them know it's important," says Sierra president and founder Tom Leckman.
Remarkably, the price difference is "negligible" for the consumer, who pays roughly 10 per cent more on a regular bouquet or a dozen roses, he notes.
Hatcher Florist just sold 100 of the Sierra roses to the U of T chapter of Engineers Without Borders. The students will sell them on campus for Valentine's Day to raise funds for the group, which works toward improving the quality of life in developing countries.
And in the ecological spirit of things, the Hatchers will be handing out a free Sierra "green flower to people who drop by their North York store on Earth Day, April 22.
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Hatcher Florist
Toll-Free number: 1-888-308-5808 / ,
5455 Yonge Street ,
Toronto,
Ontario,
M2N 5S1
Canada
Tel: 416-221-5557
Fax: 416-221-3718
|
|
