Social change website Change.org reported today that FTD has become the first major US florist to adopt fair trade policies for its flowers.

Why is this a big deal? Approximately 80 percent of cut flowers sold in America are imported. Fair trade certification helps guarantee no slave labor was involved in their making or harvesting and that laborers are paid a fair wage for their work. For those concerned with eliminating slave labor from all products, this is great news.

How did this take place? No one person called FTD to persuade the decision makers. Rather, over 9,000 people petitioned the company through a recent petition to adopt a fair trade policy. I was one of them.

Making a difference in this world is often a series of little changes that results in big change to people we will never meet in this life.

So send a Fair Trade certified bouquet of flowers from FTD to that special person in your life. With Mother’s Day around the corner, you already have a reason to share the love and support the efforts of fair trade.

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DILLON BURROUGHS is an author, activist, and co-founder of Activist Faith. Dillon served in Haiti following the epic 2010 earthquake and has investigated modern slavery in the US and internationally. His books include Undefending Christianity, Not in My Town (with Charles J. Powell), and Thirst No More (October). Discover more at ActivistFaith.org.

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