For eight years, Minneapolis florist Sarah Chen dedicated herself to building a thriving floral business. But in December 2024, persistent dizziness, profound fatigue, and cognitive issues forced the 30-year-old to close her doors permanently. These severe health problems, Chen now believes, resulted from years of daily, unprotected exposure to high concentrations of pesticides commonly found on imported cut flowers.
Floristry, a profession often celebrated for its natural beauty, harbors a hidden danger: a pervasive presence of unregulated chemical residues on bouquets, posing significant health risks to industry workers. This issue is gaining visibility as florists, researchers, and public health advocates begin drawing troubling connections between long-term chemical handling and serious illnesses, including cancer and neurodevelopmental disorders in workers and their children.
The Unseen Chemical Exposure
While consumers face negligible risk from an occasional bouquet, florists and farm workers handle material described by experts as “toxic bombs” for hours daily. Globally, cut flowers, unlike food crops, often lack upper regulatory limits on pesticide residue in major markets, including the United States and the European Union. This regulatory gap creates a significant occupational hazard, particularly as approximately 85% of flowers sold in places like the UK are sourced from regions like South America and East Africa, where pesticide oversight in cultivation is frequently minimal.
These chemicals are intended to prevent pests and disease, ensuring aesthetically flawless flowers arrive globally. However, research indicates that residues easily penetrate workers’ skin or are inhaled during handling.
The dangers gained tragic visibility in France. After florist Sophie Dubois lost her young daughter, Emmy, to cancer in 2022, France’s Pesticide Victims Compensation Fund recognized a plausible link between the child’s cancer and Dubois’s significant pesticide exposure during pregnancy. Researchers Jean-Noël Jouzel and Giovanni Prete have since investigated several similar cases, interviewing florists whose children developed cancer or neurodevelopmental disorders, indicating a potential systemic risk in the supply chain.
Research Reveals Alarming Data
The limited academic research available points to critical exposure levels. A 2018 study analyzed 90 bouquets and identified 107 different pesticides. Alarmingly, 70 of these chemicals were subsequently detected in the urine of participating florists, even those who reported wearing two pairs of gloves. Exposure to one potential carcinogen, clofentezine, exceeded acceptable thresholds established for workers by four times.
For individuals like Chen, the accumulated exposure eventually became debilitating. Her symptoms, which included elevated liver enzymes suggesting chemical-induced damage, only vanished after she left the industry. As Professor Michael Eddleston, a clinical toxicology expert at the University of Edinburgh, notes, the lack of monitoring and regulation in floristry provides little incentive for producers to reduce chemical use compared to other industries.
“It surprises me that this hasn’t been picked up before and it hasn’t been recognized as a problem,” Eddleston stated, suggesting a strong need to recruit and study florists’ long-term health outcomes.
Floristry’s Awareness Gap
A major compounding factor is the widespread lack of awareness within the industry. Many florists, some with decades of experience, have never been formally educated about pesticide risks. While some expensive courses touch upon the need for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), there are virtually no publicly available occupational hazard guidelines specific to floristry.
Angela Oliver, CEO of the British Florist Association, confirmed the difficulty, stating that the organization provides safety information only to paying members and had not encountered widespread reports of florists’ health issues tied to pesticides.
Complicating matters, the global floristry supply chain remains opaque. Independent florists often buy flowers “blind” from wholesalers without clear labeling regarding origin, chemical treatment, or labor practices—meaning they largely remain unaware of specific toxins they are handling.
Moving Toward Safer Practices
Despite the slow rate of change, pressure is mounting. Following the tragic French case, the French government launched a study on flower worker pesticide exposure, which is expected to prompt new regulatory proposals, potentially including mandated pesticide residue limits on imported flowers. Consumer groups are also demanding clear chemical labeling.
Florists seeking to minimize their risk can take immediate, actionable steps:
- Always wear gloves when handling imported stems.
- Use air purifiers and maintain adequate ventilation in workspaces.
- Source local and seasonal flowers whenever possible, reducing reliance on long-distance, chemically intensive supply chains.
Chen, who now advocates for transparency, stresses that floristry is a rewarding career that can be pursued safely. “There’s a really dark side to floristry that is just not talked about,” she said, urging colleagues to prioritize their health by taking simple, protective measures.