MINNEAPOLIS, MN— A veteran florist in Minneapolis shuttered her thriving business following years of unexplained chronic illness, now suspected to be linked to prolonged occupational exposure to unregulated pesticides saturating imported cut flowers. Sarah Chen, 30, closed her eight-year floristry operation in December 2024 after struggling with severe fatigue, debilitating headaches, and nausea, symptoms she and her doctor believe stem from daily chemical contact over nearly a decade.
Chen’s experience highlights a widening concern among health experts and a small but growing number of florists worldwide: unlike food products, cut flowers face virtually no regulatory limits on pesticide residue in major markets like the U.S., U.K., and E.U., posing severe risks to workers who handle them daily.
Lack of Oversight Threatens Worker Health
For consumers, the risk from handling a bouquet is minimal. However, florists and farmworkers are exposed to high concentrations of various chemicals designed to maintain flawless appearance and protect against pests during transport. Research suggests these chemicals, applied extensively in source countries such as Ecuador, Colombia, Kenya, and Ethiopia, can easily be inhaled or absorbed through the skin by workers.
This lack of regulation gained tragic visibility in France when the daughter of florist Sophie Dubois died of cancer in 2022. The French Pesticide Victims Compensation Fund made a landmark decision, formally recognizing a connection between the child’s illness and Dubois’s occupational pesticide exposure during her pregnancy.
“If someone had warned me, my daughter would still be here,” Dubois told French media, underscoring the severe information deficit within the industry.
Academic investigations further illuminate the danger. A 2018 study analyzed 90 bouquets and found 107 different pesticides. Notably, 70 of these chemicals were detected in the urine of florists who participated in the study, even among those reportedly wearing double layers of gloves. One fungicide, clofentezine, was found at levels four times above its acceptable exposure threshold, despite being classified as a possible carcinogen by U.S. authorities and banned by the E.U. in 2023 for its endocrine-disrupting properties.
Florists Remain Unaware of Chemical Exposure
Many florists begin their careers completely unaware of the chemical risks. James Mitchell, who runs Kensington Blooms in London, noted that after two decades in the trade, the discussion of pesticide hazards has never been addressed. Chen’s realization was similarly slow; she spent five years handling flowers barehanded, only discovering the potential link to her chronic health issues after blood tests showed elevated liver enzymes, an indicator of poisoning.
Professor Michael Eddleston, a clinical toxicology expert at the University of Edinburgh, emphasized that the absence of monitoring removes any incentive for the supply chain to change long-standing chemical practices. Chen’s eventual closure of her business, coupled with the resolution of her symptoms after ceasing contact with the flowers, strongly suggests a direct link to the materials handled in her workplace.
Industry Needs Education and Transparency
Industry observers and affected florists agree that the sector suffers from a critical education gap. Angela Oliver, CEO of the British Florist Association (BFA), stated that no widely publicly available occupational hazard guidelines specifically address pesticide risks for florists, often leaving individuals to learn about the dangers by chance or through adverse health outcomes.
Despite growing awareness, particularly in Europe following the French media coverage, supply chain transparency remains deeply problematic. Independent florists often buy “blind” from wholesalers, with labels providing scant information on chemical usage or country of origin.
“By the time I’m handling these flowers with gloves, what is my exposure level? It’s just impossible to find that research,” said Jessica Martinez, founder of London-based Petal & Stem Studio, highlighting the difficulty in assessing personal risk.
Experts urge greater regulatory scrutiny on imported flowers and mandatory health and safety guidelines for florists. While definitive scientific causation is challenging to prove, especially years after exposure, the anecdotal and limited data suggest a profound, overlooked occupational health crisis.
For florists continuing in the industry, basic protective measures are essential: wearing gloves, installing studio air filtration, ensuring adequate ventilation, and attempting to source domestically grown flowers known for fewer chemical inputs.
“Floristry is beautiful, and there’s so many people that have amazing careers,” Chen said. “I don’t want to demonize the industry, but I do think there’s a really dark side to floristry that is just not talked about.”