Sustainable Herbs Project Blog — Take Action

Of all the many things we do and do not do each day, what are the things that might add up to something that matters? Given the turmoil in the world right now, given the demands calling from every direction for our attention, how do any of us know, really, what we can do that might make the difference that is needed?

Where do herbs come from? An invitation to follow medicinal plants to the source and discover the healing that that journey makes possible.

Key points about leadership and values in mission-driven companies from the SHP Toolkit webinar: Leadership and Mission: Creating a Culture of Sustainability and Regeneration. In conversation with Sebastian Pole and Tal Johnson.

Highlights from the SHP Toolkit webinar on regenerative farming practices on family owned botanical farms.

A Sustainable Herbs Program webinar exploring how the living income concept can help to address economic inequity in the botanical industry.

Brian Zapp, of Applied Food Sciences, and Andrea Zangara, of Euromed talk about why investing in quality and sustainability makes good business sense.

What is the role of leadership in a mission-driven botanical company? What does it take to create and nurture a culture of sustainability and regeneration within that company? What role does a strong and clear vision and mission play? How do certifications fit in?

Herbs mentioned in Dr. Tieraona Low Dog's Sustainable Herb Program/American Botanical Council (ABC) Webinar "Planting Seeds of Wellness."

Sustainable Herbs Program DIrector, Ann Armbrecht reviews Kiss the Ground, a new movie celebrating the potential of regenerative agriculture.

SHP has recently made a commitment to The J.E.D.I. Collaborative (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) to work on addressing economic and racial inequities in our work and in the botanical industry as a whole. This post is a section from the SHP Sustainability and Regenerative Practices Toolkit and provides resources for companies ready...

Summer Singletary, Social Media and Content Marketing Strategist, focuses on content and social media marketing for natural products companies. I spoke with Summer about her approach and any advice she has for approaching marketing with a mission.

Exciting efforts are underway to use forest farming as a practice to develop sustainable and ethical supply networks of forest botanicals from Appalachia. Sign the Forest Botanicals Company Pledge to show your support!

As COVID-19 has made starkly clear, we are all interconnected. And as communities around the world rush to flatten the curve, we see more starkly than ever the ways our individual behavior impacts the whole. As demand for herbal products spikes, what can we do to help ensure that botanical ingredients are sustainably and ethically sourced...

In this 10-minute video, wild harvesters and others from Appalachia talk about the tradition of harvesting forest botanicals, how that tradition is being lost, and efforts to revitalize practices that steward medicinal plants from the forest.

Have you ever wondered where to begin the process of becoming a certified B Corp? Erin Douglas, Corporate Responsibility Manager for Banyan Botanicals outlines the process; this case study is part of the SHP tool kit for companies, coming soon.

The second in our series documenting one company's journey to a 'low waste' booth at Expo West. Listening to their discussion inspired me to think about how I can apply that process in my own work and community. Which also is Herb Pharm's hope with their booth.

Nine takeaways from a special introductory webinar for botanical companies on creating a collaborative industry pathway to reversing climate change organized by SHP, AHPA, and Climate Collaborative.

The first of a series of posts exploring Herb Pharm's decision making process to reduce the environmental impact of their presence at Expo West. We hope this conversation can inspire the natural products industry to think seriously and creatively about reducing the environmental impact of trade shows.

The Mountain Rose Herbs (MRH) Zero Waste program is an impressive combination of leadership, innovation, and perseverance. I spoke with Alyssa Bascue, Director of Sustainability, about the certification process, the challenges, and the lessons they have learned.

Anastasiya Timoshyna, Senior Programme Co-ordinator for Sustainable Trade at TRAFFIC, discusses the role of FairWild in biodiversity conservation. Watch the video to find out more.

Do you know what wild plants are in your cupboard? Find out more about the hidden harvest of the wild plant trade (video).

Who harvests the wild plants in the products you purchase? Who processes those plants? Are they paid a fair wage? Do you know? Do the finished product companies know? In this short video, Josef Brinckmann talks about why it matters.

A short video introducing the FairWild standard. "FairWild is about taking care of our wild lands, taking care of our wild species, and taking care of the people who are harvesting them."

Josef Brinckmann, Research Fellow at Traditional Medicinals, outlines five steps for herbal products companies wishing to move toward regenerative and sustainable supply chains. “Just do something!” Josef says. “Just DO. Pick a plant. Be curious. ”

Australian herbalist Sue Evans talks about the responsibility that herbalists have for teaching students and clients about sourcing, sustainability and transparency in the botanical industry and suggest ways to do just that.

“FairWild: Today & Tomorrow”, a panel discussion at the BioFach trade show, brought together key stakeholders in the FairWild certification scheme to talk about the challenges and opportunities of presented by the standard.

"How do we create greener industries for the next generation? ... Let’s make a positive impact on climate change and help others strive for that too," Matt Dybala. Read more about Herb Pharm's participation in the Regenerative Organic Certification pilot program.

Tom Newmark discusses the Soil Carbon Initiative, an outcome-based, verifiable standard designed to improve soil health and build soil carbon by encouraging the shift to regenerative agricultural practices.

by Bethany Davis. If you care about food security, or the planet, or if you eat food then the message is clear. We have to rapidly refocus our efforts on saving the soil. In so doing, it turns out we can also save the planet and secure robust food systems for centuries to come.

Vicky Murray, Sustainability Manager at Pukka Herbs, discusses Pukka's public commitment to set a science-based carbon reduction target with the Science-Based Target initiative (SBTi). Below are her top tips on setting carbon targets for a company.

Five ways herbalists to support ethical and sustainable sourcing of medicinal plants, based on a multi-stakeholder presentation at the AHG Symposium.

In this 4-minute video, Josef Brinckmann of Traditional Medicinals, Ben Heron and Sebastian Pole of Pukka Herbs, and Jayent Sarnaik of AERF talk about FairWild as a strategy for protecting biodiversity conservation and promoting sustainable livelihoods for wild collectors.

Through the voices of villagers in the western Ghats of India, this 7-minute video documents the ways FairWild certification is supporting rural livelihoods.

I’m often asked what herb company people should buy from. I’ve been visiting herb companies for the past few years, so it’s a logical question to ask. But I find this question increasingly bothers me. I decided to tease out some of the reasons why. I came up with three.

As Ann mentioned in her recent blog post, Where Are the Domestic Herbs?, 2 surveys were created to better understand the domestic herb market and the key issues involved from the perspectives of both growers and buyers. Thirty-one growers/farmers and 35 herbalists/practitioners responded…not a huge response, but enough to recognize seve...

Where are the Domestic Herbs? As part of the Sustainable Herbs Project, we are working to understand the supply chain of domestic herbs more fully. So far I’ve discovered it’s a lot more complicated than saying, simply, that locally grown herbs are always best. I’m trying to tease out the key issues involved from the perspectives of...