Fresh Flower Lei Greeting

A fascinating fact regarding the "fresh flower lei greeting" one gets when they step off the plane in Hawaii (mostly to Oahu and Maui).  90% of these fresh leis are NOT made from Hawaiian-grown orchids.  They are imported from Thailand.  Why, you ask?  Number one, there are not enough flowers grown in Hawaii any more to make ALL the orchid leis they need for the tourists.  Many growers have gone out of business due to their land being sold or developed.  Also, it may not be economically feasible to grow flowers on their land any more.  Number two, competition from other countries, like Thailand, where the labor and energy costs are much cheaper than Hawaii.
Our leis come from Thailand.  All of our shipments are carefully pre-cooled before they leave Bangkok airport.  Within hours of landing here at SFO, we personally clear all our orchid shipments and make sure they get cooled down again within a short time after inspection.  This extremely important step ensures that our customers get the freshest-possible flowers for their special occasion or event.