Does the fair trade deal smell of flowers or manure?

SEVERAL supermarket groups and markets in Ireland import Kenyan flowers and will this week sell thousands of roses from the African country to Irish consumers.

But consumers picking up a St Valentine’s Day bunch for loved ones are unlikely to be aware of the environmental cost Kenya and specifically its second biggest lake, Naivasha, potentially pays for the luxury of cheap red roses.

Retailers, however, claim their trade is responsible and fair even though Kenyan workers are getting under €2 a day on farms.