Supermarkets eager to meet demand for cheap flowers urged to show more concern for the environment

Consumer appetite for cut-price Kenyan roses for Valentine's Day is "bleeding the country dry" by threatening the region's precarious ecology.

University of Leicester ecology and conservation biologist, Dr David Harper, warned. Harper has spent over 30 years researching wetland conservation at Kenya's Lake Naivasha and said the growth of the flowers is draining the valuable water supply.

Seventy per cent of roses sold in European supermarkets come from Kenya, most from Naivasha. Harper called on UK supermarkets to show more concern about the health of the environment that the flowers come from.

He said: "A notable few of the farmers sending roses to Europe are showing concern and an eagerness to pioneer a sustainable way forward: the best flower farms have achieved Fairtrade status, which brings money back into the workforce for social welfare improvements. Two farms have even seconded senior managers to help Kenya's water management agency at Naivasha."

But he warns that the massive scale of UK supermarket promotions of flowers over Valentine's Day — and subsequently on Mother's Day – without concern for where or how environmentally sustainable roses can be grown, will just increase the export of water – the scarcest natural resource in Kenya.

He went on: "There are just a few good farms but many more that don't care how much damage they do to the lake. Seventy per cent of the roses sold in European supermarkets come from Kenya and the majority of those are from Naivasha, many thus coming without any ecological certification. This has to change for the future of the industry as well as the lake and the country."

The provenance of such roses is not always clear, he said. Cheap roses are often grown by companies which cut corners to avoid legislation, selling them by auction in Amsterdam so buyers think they come from Holland.

The supermarket chain Asda sources its roses fro Columbia, Holland and Kenya, including a bouquet of premium roses for £18. In a statement it said: "We have very high ethical standards in all the products we source, including roses, and we work closely with all our producers to maintain these high standards of excellence."

Marks & Spencer is selling a dozen Fairtrade Roses for £10, claiming that the Kenyan red roses "are not only stunning but the Fairtrade premium Kenyan flower growers receive, allows them to invest in their community – ideal if a loved one is passionate about ethical trading."

As part of its year-round 'Fairtrade for free' line Sainsbury's is selling a dozen roses for £4.99, absorbing the associated price premium itself.