Baby’s Breath, Danziger, and the Cut Flower Industry
Most people don’t realize that one company has dominated the global supply of gypsophila, better known as baby’s breath, for the last twenty-five years. Unlike firms that specialize in just one part of production, this company is involved across the supply chain, from breeding and propagation to global distribution and marketing.
That company is Danziger, an Israeli agribusiness operating on occupied Palestinian land.
Baby’s Breath Isn’t as Innocent as It Looks
Danziger’s headquarters are in Mishmar ha-Shiv’a, one of four settlements built after more than 3,800 acres were seized from Palestinians in Bayt Dajan. Bayt Dajan was one of twenty-three villages surrounding Jaffa destroyed during Operation Chametz in 1948. Five years later, Danziger began operating on that land.
Since the 1990s, Danziger has developed many of the baby’s breath varieties sold around the world. Varieties such as Million, Xcelence, Perfecta, New Star, and Andromeda, familiar names in wholesale markets and wedding work, all trace back to its breeding program. If you’ve bought or worked with baby’s breath over the past two decades, there’s a good chance some of that money ultimately flowed back to Danziger.
The BDS Movement and Israeli Agricultural Exports
The BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement calls for boycotting Israeli fruits, vegetables, and other agricultural products, regardless of where they are grown, because of the industry’s relationship to the occupation and to documented human rights abuses.
Israeli agricultural exports often depend on water drawn from Palestinian aquifers, while Palestinian farmers continue to face severe restrictions on water access. Agricultural companies operating in settlements, including Danziger, are part of a system that helps entrench Israeli control over occupied territory. Trade, licensing, and continued commercial relationships all help sustain that system.
Palestinian farmers have faced land confiscation, demolitions, and restrictions on access to water for decades. Doing business with Danziger, a company whose history is tied directly to land taken from Bayt Dajan, gives it the money and market power to keep expanding. Flower purchases can look politically neutral from the outside. The supply chains behind them often are not.
Flowers Tied to Danziger Beyond Baby’s Breath
Danziger’s reach extends far beyond gypsophila. The company manages more than 600 elite varieties protected through Plant Breeding Rights and patents around the world. It operates propagation facilities in Israel, Guatemala, Ecuador, Colombia, and Kenya and supplies material to more than 1,000 growers in over 60 countries.
For florists, that means Danziger genetics can show up across wholesale catalogs in far more categories than baby’s breath. Roses, carnations, mums, and limonium are all part of the company’s breeding portfolio. Farmer-florists in the U.S. may also encounter Danziger varieties through plugs and young plants, including anemones, craspedia, veronica, and Scoop scabiosa.
Ethical Alternatives to Danziger Flowers
If we take UN Resolution 194, which affirms the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and land, seriously, continuing to support a company that has operated on occupied land for more than seventy years deserves scrutiny.
So where does that leave us?
Farmers: Refuse to order plugs or plant material from suppliers sourcing through Danziger.
Gardeners: Skip baby’s breath altogether; in many U.S. states it’s considered invasive anyway.
Retail florists: Review your order sheets. Many common varieties trace back to Danziger. Consider dropping them.
Brides, grooms, and event designers: Say no to baby’s breath and waxflower installations. There are beautiful, seasonal alternatives.
Everyday shoppers: Grocery store bouquets are almost always filled with Danziger-owned varieties. Instead, seek out a local florist or farmer-florist who prioritizes seasonal blooms.
Baby’s breath has become shorthand for innocence, romance, and celebration. But the supply chain behind those delicate white stems carries a much more complicated history, including displacement, land ownership, agricultural licensing, and global trade.
For me, that makes sourcing part of the design conversation. Asking where flowers come from, who profits from them, and what systems those purchases support is one way to push the industry toward something more accountable, more local, and more transparent.
We can change what we buy.
And over time, that can change what gets grown.
