During the 1960s, public attitude towards an activity which, historically, was an accepted part of local community life began to shift. Environmental concerns and the general displeasure of picking naturally growing flowers started to gain momentum. Wiggins Teape were faced with a paradox, the decades-long practice of sending primroses was considered a valuable and generally accepted customer-relations exercise yet it was creating damaging publicity, which by now, had reached a national level. Indeed, it was only the major oil spill caused by the super tanker, SS Torrey Canyon, which hit rocks off the coast of Cornwall in March 1967, releasing more than 100,00 tonnes of crude oil into the English Channel, which kept an article on primrose picking from hitting the front page of the tabloids.
Due to the increasing concern over the situation, Wiggins Teape sought to establish whether the picking of primroses was in fact detrimental to the plant species within the South Hams. Alongside this study it was also to investigate the viability of sourcing blooms commercially. In 1977, the then, Plymouth Polytechnic were invited to research the project along several fronts, including a study of the distribution of the species within the South Hams, the history and current practice of picking wild primroses and its social implications, the attitude of conservationists and the biological effects of picking these natural blooms.
Having supported the Devon Trust for Nature Conservation, Wiggins Teape certainly did not wish to see the demise of primula vulgaris. They took some fairly prompt measures by restricting the picking to consenting farmers’ fields and to only local people who had permission to pick the flowers (having a bright green badge which read “I am an authorised primrose picker”). This action removed the problem of uncontrolled picking which was deemed much more likely to damage the plants and their ecosystems.
Field investigations by the Polytechnic commenced with visits to participating farms, observing no evidence of mass picking or the removal of entire plants but rather the picking of just a few blooms from each plant. It was also apparent just how much everyone involved in the task, from the farmers and pickers to the packers and organisers at the hall, enjoyed being part of this annual event, which could last for up to three weeks. It was customary for the company to hold a social evening each year for all participants where letters from appreciative recipients from around the country were displayed.
Further set backs were to follow in 1981 when the threat of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease caused the entire distribution of primroses to be halted, Wiggins Teape having followed the advice of the National Farmers Union. In that year clients were sent a pot-pourri instead, which seemed to be equally well received.