Size isn’t everything. Shop Tiny Trees Shop now Christmas Flowers & plants Through the letterbox To the doorstep Monthly flowers Occasions Our 2020 modern slavery statement At Bloom & Wild, our mission is to make sending and receiving flowers the joy it should be. And we pride ourselves on doing business thoughtfully, so we take great care at all stages of our supply chain. We know that modern slavery and human trafficking still thrive in the UK and worldwide, so we’ve made an ongoing commitment to make sure that everyone involved in our business and supply chain is treated fairly. About us We’re a UK based, online flower delivery company. Founded in 2013, we created the first bouquet that could be posted through the letterbox. Today, our range now includes letterbox and hand-tied flowers, along with plants and Christmas trees. And we ship across the UK, Ireland, France, Germany and Austria! We have a head office in Vauxhall, a smaller office in Spalding and we’ve recently opened a production warehouse in Bergkamen, Germany. Most of our workforce is directly employed by us, but we also use contractors and temporary staff, particularly around peak gifting seasons like Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. So that everything we sell is of the highest quality, our suppliers are based in various locations around the world. Almost 60% of our flowers are grown in Europe and another 34% in Kenya. We take this diverse approach so that we can - as far as possible - avoid using heated greenhouses. When we can't grow in Europe without these, it makes sense to grow in Kenya because - even with airfreight - the total carbon footprint of growing flowers in a warm climate is six times less than growing flowers out of season in hothouses that are closer to our warehouses. When we can grow flowers in the UK, we pick flowers naturally in season close to our warehouse to minimise unnecessary carbon emissions from travel. In 2021, we’re aiming to launch a range of bouquets for the UK made completely of seasonal flowers grown on British farms near our warehouse. To make sure we don’t heat any greenhouses to do this, we’ll only use flowers that are in season in Britain and happy to grow in our natural climate. Our employees We adhere to all relevant employment legislation when it comes to hiring, onboarding and training our employees. On top of this, we always work to support the mental and physical wellbeing - and professional development - of our team. We’ve developed an Equal Opportunities & Diversity policy which guides our People Team (and all employees) on the avoidance of discrimination at work. We also give mandatory training on diversity and inclusion, which covers conscious inclusion, race and ethnicity and LGBTQ+ topics. We also have policies in place to protect employees at Bloom & Wild throughout their employment. And all employees have access to our policies online, which include anti-harassment and bullying, anti-bribery and corruption and whistleblowing policies. All employees experience a rigorous induction process which covers all of these points and ensures they have a clear understanding of what's expected of them when representing the company from the very beginning of their employment. Soon, we will be providing training to all staff members on modern slavery. More detailed training will be given to employees who are most actively involved in our supply chain and procurement. This will help to increase awareness and identify potential cases of slavery in professional - and personal - environments. Areas of highest risk We’ve carried out - and documented - a risk assessment on slavery, and wider human rights abuse, in our supply chain. The areas of highest risk we have identified are: Overseas flower growers Some of our flowers are grown overseas. And some in economically developing countries. While the benefits of this include increased employment opportunities and financial investment, we’re aware that the risks of human trafficking in these areas could also be higher. Where possible, we select suppliers who go above and beyond the minimum requirements, and our Kenyan grower partners are SEDEX accredited (www.sedex.com). We are proud to work closely with these grower partners, who prioritise the wellbeing of their workers. Among other things, they support gender equality through equality committees, offer Ethical Awareness training, subsidised food and canteen facilities for staff and health awareness training. Various members of our Senior Leadership team have also visited our main growers overseas. And we’re in constant conversation with the Senior Leadership teams of these growers in order to understand their recruitment and employment practices and how they are mitigating any associated risks. Contractors and temporary staff The majority of our workforce are directly employed. But we, and our suppliers, also use contractors and temporary staff around peak gifting seasons such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. When contractors and temporary staff are sourced through agencies (rather than directly by ourselves), we’ll only use agencies with practices that are consistent with our sustainable supplier policy (more details below). We also try to mitigate the risk by being actively present at our suppliers’ premises during peak times - and regularly outside of peak times - along with having active dialogue with the workforce of our suppliers. Overseas manufacturers Some of our hardware (vases, plant pots etc) are manufactured overseas, so it’s harder for us to have full visibility of such suppliers’ recruitment and employment practices. Where applicable, we insist on recognised accreditation as well as carrying out our own due diligence by interviewing suppliers, researching them and, where practical, carrying out unannounced visits. Our sustainable supplier policy - People We continually assess the risk of human trafficking and slavery within our supply chain and will not enter into business with any suppliers who are knowingly involved in such activities. This commitment is communicated to all employees, partners, suppliers and contractors. And we also aim to cascade our ethical standards throughout supply chains. Our pre-qualification questionnaire for suppliers helps us understand their employment and recruitment practices - and their own risk assessment methodologies - as well as making sure we understand the full supply chain from end to end. We continue to risk assess each of our partners on an ongoing basis or when the respective risk profile changes. At a minimum, we require our suppliers to adopt the following principles: - Employment must be freely chosen - Child labour must not be used - Staff must be paid legal minimum wages - Working conditions must be safe and hygienic - The Employer Pays Principle (no worker should pay for a job) We’re now putting these principles in contract with any new supplier. And we’re currently in the process of redrafting our contracts with existing suppliers too. We reserve the right to audit and review the controls of our suppliers (including unannounced visits) and to work with them to address and resolve any issues we find. We work to have as much dialogue and interaction about these issues with the Senior Leadership teams of our suppliers and also their employees, which helps us better understand and identify any risk ourselves. Lastly, we have a Steering Committee, which meets regularly to consider how we can work with our suppliers to mitigate any risks in our supply chain. Email ushere About us Our story Happiness guaranteed Keyworker discount Student discount Sustainability Our tech blog Careers Modern Slavery Act Sitemap Our flowers & plants Flower care Plant care Blog Flower subscriptions Need help? Contact us Delivery Reviews Refer a friend International sites Bloom & Wild France Bloom & Wild Germany Bloom & Wild Ireland Bloom & Wild Austria © 2021 Bloom & Wild Limited. All rights reserved. Privacy policy (Terms & Conditions) Cookie policy Cookie preferences