.Flower Farmers of Ireland:

Terms & Conditions of Membership (ratified by commi/ee January 2023)

We ask that you please take the time to read through our Terms and Conditions. On

becoming a member, you are agreeing to adhere to the requirements as set out herein.

1. Flower Farmers of Ireland

You are joining Flower Farmers of Ireland (hereinaKer referred to as ‘FFoI’). FFoI is a

Company Limited by Guarantee and is a non-profit organisation. FFoI is run on a voluntary

basis, and works using the values of self-help, self responsibility, democracy, equality, equity

and solidarity, and the ethical values of honesty and openness.

FFoI is a representative group to promote the work of Ireland’s commercial cut-flower and

foliage growers. We are united in our commitment to develop the market for sustainably

grown Irish cut flowers. We support members in ma/ers of cultivation, marketing, sales and

training.

FFoI aim to achieve these goals by:

• encouraging more people to grow cut flowers for market in Ireland.

• promoting Irish flowers, thereby improving the marketplace for our members’ produce

• providing a forum for our members that will foster friendship and facilitate sharing through

meetings, activities and communication

As a member of FFoI, you will be part of a movement that recognises the value of Irish

grown flowers and works to build a recognised premium brand. The success of this

movement depends on every one of us working together in a positive, co-operative manner.

You agree to promote Irish Flowers by sharing news about your growing and floristry and by

gettng to know fellow members.

2. Membership & Renewal

2. (a) The current preferred channel of communication with FFoI members is SLACK. This

includes notifications for all makers including news, links, updates, growing information and

other information shared by members. Please log on to the various channels available and

become familiar with its operation as this is vital to gaining most benefit and equally

contributing most as a member.

2. (b) Each business that becomes a member shall be entitled to one vote in any decision put

before the Membership at the AGM, EGM or at any time. Each business member shall be

entitled to take up one place at a workshop or demonstration offered by the FFoI. The

Commi/ee shall retain, at its discretion, the right to offer additional places at workshops or

demonstrations to non-members should they be available after the full take up from all paid

up members has been fulfilled.

2 (c) Membership period runs from January to January. Members must renew their

membership and pay in full their membership fee within the notice period given to them in

the renewal notice. Members who do not do so within that timeframe will be removed from

the FFoI website and Slack. Members who renew their membership outside the given

timeframe shall be charged an additional administration fee of €20 for re-instatement.

2 (d) Members are eligible to put themselves forward for Committee membership once they

have completed a minimum of one full membership period (January to January) in addition

to any other period of membership they may have accrued. This period should be

contemporaneous with one full cycle of flower farming. This is to ensure that a member has

some experience and understanding of both flower-farming and the operations of the FFoI

before they become Committee members. Members are encouraged at any stage to put

themselves forward for membership of any sub-committees that may be formed from time

to time for a particular purpose or event.

3. Ethos & Values

In order to embody our values of honesty and openness, we the FFoI suggest that all

members include a paragraph on the ‘about’ page (or equivalent) of their own business

website which includes the following information:

• Honest information about your business’s policy regarding sourcing flowers (e.g. do

you use only your own flowers, buy from other local growers, buy in Irish grown

through wholesale suppliers, use imported flowers etc?) –

• True positive statements where applicable around issues regarding sustainable

growing (use of peat, chemicals, plastic, additional heat etc). NB to use the term

‘organic’ lawfully in Ireland, your business should be certified organic by one of the

recognised Organic bodies. (The Organic Trust or IOA, Irish Organic Association)

• True positive statements where applicable around issues regarding sustainable

floristry (use of floral foam, plastic, chemical treatments etc.

All members of FFoI are your colleagues and not your competition and should be

regarded as such. Fair practice in business is the norm in our network. This might

include:

• Acknowledging suppliers and collaborators when posting images or when involved in

promotions.

• Being aware of actions such as low pricing potentially undercuttng another’s

business.

• FFoI acknowledges however, that the operation of a member’s business, issues

arising over competition, pricing or disputes due to conflict of interests between

members do not come within the remit of the FFoI.

• As the membership increases it is inevitable that there will be overlap in geographical

areas of business between members. No member has the right to claim monopoly

over a locality or customer base. The FFoI is working to increase the use of Irish

grown flowers and business opportunities for all members. It is hoped that

geographically close members will build relationships to foster a culture of

collaboration over competition to profit both their businesses. This will also increase

the strength of the organisation.

• FFoI require that members behave in a respectful and professional manner towards

their fellow members. FFoI has no role in mediating or arbitrating in matters

pertaining to the operation of a member’s business. Without prejudice to the above,

FFoI reserve the right to respond appropriately should it be deemed that a member

is in breach of the Code of Conduct as set out in para (4).

4. Code of Conduct

Our code of conduct is formulated on the basis that we are a group of like-

minded individuals who have come together to support one another in the capacity of

Flower Farming in Ireland. Therefore, it is imperative for the wellbeing of our group and all

of its members that our code of conduct is adhered to at all times.

The fundamentals of our code of conduct are:

• Behave with integrity, openness and transparency, with respect to everyone in the

group and when representing the Flower Farmers of Ireland.

• Avoid direct conflicts of interest with other members.

• Agree to work together for the benefit of everyone in the group.

• Support each other through networking, teamwork and collaboration. •Respect the

confidentiality of the group at all times.

• Pay all due fees & invoices by the official deadline. Please ensure that all payments

are clearly referenced with the name of the business and the member. This makes

the task of our Treasurer easier as payments may be identified and correctly

allocated.

• Each member should put themselves forward for tasks and roles when the need

arises.

• Ensure posts on social media and other public announcements are accurate, truthful

and respecdul to the group – Please see 5 (a) for more details.

• Use of logo – ‘Member of the Flower Farmers of Ireland’ logo only is open to all

members. See section 9 for details.

• All members of the committee must perform their roles with honesty and integrity –

Please see 10 for more details.

• The complaints and notification procedure must be adhered to and respected

whenever any issues or disputes arise – Please see 11 for more details.

5. Media

(Including Social Media, newspaper, magazine articles, Public Events, Promotions, Fairs and

Markets, Interviews etc.)

5 (a) Social Media is a vital part of our communication strategy and a pladorm to provide the

public with a positive perception of the association as well as of Irish flower farming in

general. It will help the public to understand and appreciate the unique beauty Irish grown

cut flowers and foliage as well as the many reasons why they are a more environmentally-

friendly and seasonal alternative to imported flowers.

For that reason, for the purpose of this association and in line with the association’s mission

statement, all content visible on any images broadcasted through or in relation to the

association is limited to and should contain only 100-percent Irish-grown flowers and/or

foliage.

Information should be accurate and truthful and promote the aim of the group to enhance

and protect the overall reputation of the association.

Images and content supplied to the website or social media outlets should be in accordance

with the designated social media guidelines as stipulated above.

5.(b) FFoI promotes and supports sustainable and fair practices within the membership. If a

member is acting in any capacity as a representative of FFoI including but not exclusively:

-Posting on any social media platform or account belonging to the FFoI

-acting as a volunteer at any event either hosted by the FFoI or where the FFoI is a guest or

participant

- as an interviewee in radio, television, print media or any other type of interview, article or

promotion, blog or podcast or any public communication.

Then in such circumstances, the member must not:

- Promote or endorse practices that are not, in the view of the FFoI, sustainable or in keeping

with the general ethos of the FFoI.

These include but are not limited to:

- the use of floral foam

- the use of single use plastic

- the use of peat or peat- based products

- the use of pesticides, fungicides or chemicals harmful to the environment, wildlife and

pollinating insects

- including flowers that are not Irish grown in any arrangement, bouquet, display etc.

including photographs and images.

5 (c)- Product Placement and Product Endorsement

When a member is acting in acting in any capacity as set out in 5 (b) above they are not to

promote or endorse any branded product or service. Product and Service Placement and

Endorsement is expressly prohibited on all FFoI Social media Pladorms.

Breach of these conditions may result in the deletion of Social media posts or further

disciplinary action.

5.(d) When you use a photo, or submit it for your profile on FFoI website, you MUST own the

copyright of the image (i.e. you took the picture yourself) or have permission to upload it

from the person who took it. If the photo is a professional photo ( i.e taken by a

photographer) you must have permission to use the image and you must credit the

professional photographer in the post or text body. If the image features a person/people, to

keep within GDPR regulations, you must also have the express permission of the

person/people to share the image. By uploading a photograph, you are agreeing to

indemnify FFoI from any liability resulting from breaches of copyright of the image existing

online on our website in digital form.

Each member must ensure that they familiarize themselves with the full content of the

Social Media posting guidelines (as set out in Appendix 1 below) before they post on the

FFoI Social Media accounts.

6. When submittng information to populate your profile on the FFoI website, you will do so

within the confines of Irish Law, and within the spirit of the points above.

7. We reserve the right to use any image uploaded to the FFoI website or Social media by

you, to promote Irish Flowers elsewhere on the website, or on our social media feeds. You

agree not to use or download any images from this website or Google Drive which did not

originate from you. The ownership of photographs and images from workshops or training

organised by the FFoI where a professional photographer has been engaged and paid for by

the FFoI shall remain with the FFoI and will be shared with individual members at the

discre%on of the FFoI. The FFoI will, when possible, give credit to the creator or, where this is

not possible, assign credit to a FFoI member.

8. In the case of any controversial, questionable or negative media or public comments or

content, the Committee and/or the Public Relations Officer should be contacted for an

appropriate reply. The Chairperson will act and comment on public matters arising where

found appropriate by the committee.

6. Use of FFoI Logo & Branding

6 (a) Use of the Flower Farmers of Ireland logo is strictly for members only. Members are

welcome to use the logo on their websites, advertising outlets etc. Use of the logo on

packaging is restricted to products that are 100% Irish-grown. You may ONLY use the

MEMBER logo not the round FFoI logo. The round one is only for documentation from us as

a group. Individuals cannot use it because you as an individual are not the FFoI. Using our

logo must be done within the confines of law.

Logos can be found at h/ps://tinyurl.com/ta86z2u5

6 (b). Use Flower Farmers of Ireland branding and hashtags with integrity at all times. The

Flower Farmers of Ireland logo, and hashtags promoting Flower Farmers of Ireland, Irish

seasonality and locally grown flower provenance, own grown flowers and #irishflowers must

be used honestly on your website and social media, and not in association with work

featuring imported flowers

7. Governance / Roles of the Committee

The committee has a key role in the overall functioning and control of the

association including:

• Agreeing its vision, purpose and values and ensuring that they remain relevant.

• Developing, resourcing, monitoring and evaluating a plan to ensure that the

association achieves its shared objectives.

• Ensuring that there are appropriate internal financial and management controls and

that these are adhered to.

• Understanding, declaring and managing conflicts of interest and conflicts of loyalties

in a confidential, fair and objective manner.

• Encouraging and enabling the engagement and appointment of tasks to members

and sub-committees to ensure the association works effectively.

• Identifying and complying with the code of conduct of the association.

The role of the Chairperson

• To provide leadership.

• To chair meetings of the committee with firmness and fairness.

• To ensure the commi/ee functions properly and to provide support when required

to committee members.

• To act as a medium and promote communication between the committee and the

association’s members.

• To ensure that any follow-up actions from meetings are properly implemented or

followed-up.

• To act/speak on behalf of and to represent the association where appropriate.

The role of the Treasurer

• To keep accurate and up-to-date financial records.

• To issue an annual financial report.

• To keep registered details up- to-date.

• To report any financial concerns to the committee.

• To collect annual membership fees.

• To maintain contact with banks or other financial institutions on behalf of the

association

The role of the Secretary

• To ensure that all meetings are effectively organised and that minutes are taken and

supplied to all association members.

• To provide communication and correspondence.

• To prepare and circulate the agenda of each meetng.

The role of the Public Relations Officer

• To coordinate and oversee the association’s social media content (to be decided at

upcoming meetng) in accordance with the social media guidelines outlined above.

• To handle aspects of planned publicity and PR actvites with the approval and help of

the associaton’s commitee and its members.

• To maintain and develop good lines of communications between the association and

the public.

• To organise, engage in and coordinate press releases for the association with the

assistance and approval of the committee.

Please note that all Committee roles are voluntary positions; FFoI asks that the members

respect this and acknowledge the time and effort donated by Committee members

by communicating queries clearly and precisely.

8. Complaints Procedure

Every attempt will be made by all members to resolve any internal complaints/

disagreements amicably, quickly and informally as well as with respect for the stated ethos

of the association and for each other.

When they cannot easily be resolved as suggested above, then all complaints must be made

in writing (by post or email) to the Chairperson, who will then bring the ma/er to the

attention of the committee.

The Committee will discuss and deal with the complaint in a confidential and

appropriate manner.

An appropriate response will be made in writing to the necessary party (or parties). If a

member is judged to be in breach of the association’s code of conduct, then they will be

notified in writing on behalf of the Committee and an appropriate resolution will be sought.

In the unlikely case that a member is repeatedly found to be in breach of the code of

conduct, they may be asked by the Committee to leave the association. This would be

regretful and would only be done if the Committee deemed it necessary for the overall good

of the association.

In the event that the referred matter involves a member of the Committee, that member will

recuse themselves from the investigative and decision-making process.

9. Insurance

We highly recommend each member thoroughly assesses their business insurance

requirements and covers their activities appropriately. Membership of FFoI entitles you to

discounted insurance cover with FBD.

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We reserve the right to remove a member’s data on the website if the above terms are

broken or if the Committee decides that a member’s atitude consistently falls short of what

is expected.

Most importantly, you will get out of your membership what you put into it, so join in.

Appendix 1:

SOCIAL MEDIA POSTING GUIDELINES FOR NEW MEMBERS

The Flower Farmers of Ireland has both an Instagram and Facebook page and it’s how we

communicate with our followers and let them know what is going on in our flower farms

around Ireland. As it currently stands, members take it in turns to host these pages and

every member is given a week to host, two if there are enough weeks available in the year.

So many people now use Social media to search for something they are looking for (e.g.

flower deliveries, wedding flowers, etc.) which means that gettng the chance to host the

organisation’s Instagram and Facebook pages is a fantastic opportunity to promote your

business as well as the Flower Farmers of Ireland.

In 2022/23, we have trialled an opt-in system whereby people put their name down if they

want to host the account and this has proved very successful with members producing some

really lively and interesting posts. Going forward, we are going to continue with this opt-in

system.

Just a note for new members, it is important that when we post photos of flowers that they

are Irish flowers and not imported ones - feel good stories are welcome and background

information on your flower farm and what you’re doing on the farm during your given week

will reflect the seasonal aspect to our work.

One further thing, if you post a photo on the Flower Farmers’ account, you must be

agreeable that it can be reused by whoever is looking after Social media. For example, if you

post a Christmas wreath in November, we may repost it to show an example of what is being

produced for the Christmas season around the country. Members will always be credited for

their work. This again is more promotion for your business.

If you want to sign up, please go to the #socialmedia channel in SLACK and put your name

down for hosting or alternatively, message the social media coordinator.

• Please introduce yourself and give your Instagram handle each time you post so

followers know which flower farmer is talking.

• Make sure to select the bu/on ‘SHARE TO FACEBOOK’ when you post.

• On your last post of the week, make sure to tag the person who will be posting the

following week.

• Don’t be nervous or shy about posting. Even if your business is only a fledgling one,

you can talk about that. Post a photo of you, your workspace, etc, what you are doing

at the moment, why you joined the Flower Farmers. Anything you think might be of

interest - new growing techniques, your markets etc.

• Try and post a minimum of 3 times during your allotted week but you can do as little

or as often as you like.

• In one of your posts, if possible, please mention the reason you joined the Flower

Farmers of Ireland Association and what you like about being a member.

• Please reply to comments on your post. Stay and interact for at least half an hour

after you post as activity within the first hour of posting pushes the account up the

algorithm ladder and it gets more visibility. The more traction, the more visibility.

Also reply to private messages and if need be seek advice as to how to respond.

• Include Stories when you post. If you’re posting pictures of flowers that are out in a

particular month, you can save your story to highlights. For example, a photo of

ranunculus could be saved to April Flowers. We can build a highlight library of what is

in flower in a given month.

• Please do not post pictures of imported flowers on the FFoI Instagram/FB pages. Only

photos of Irish flowers. Likewise, if you sell to a florist and they include Irish flowers

in their bouquet, if it has imported blooms in it, it can’t be posted on the FFoI social

media pages.

• Please do not change the link in bio to your own website address. You can mention

your Instagram handle in your post and people can see your website from your own

Instagram page.

• If you post a photograph or image, you must be prepared that it might be reposted

on the FFoI page at a later date. Your work will always be credited.

• Please do not promote products on the FFoI social media pages.

• Any post that is deemed to contradict our terms and conditions can be taken down.

Explanatory note referred to at para. 3

In order to promote full transparency for our members, FFoI are looking at introducing a

system of categories represented by symbols. These symbols (yet to be decided upon) might

include the following categories:

-seasonal Irish flowers and foliage only

-seasonal Irish flowers and foliage chemical free

-Irish flowers/foliage only when in season and imported flowers/foliage when Irish flowers

are unavailable

-Irish flowers/foliage and imported flowers/foliage throughout the year

These are just an example at present. Each category will be represented by a symbol and a

member can choose the categories that apply to them and these will be added to their

account on the FFoI website so that we customers can choose a member appropriate to

their needs. An explanatory legend will appear on the website, explaining all the symbols and categories.