Mountain Rose Herbs Takes Big Steps in Herbal Industry Transparency

In a hyper-connected world full of consumption, how do we make the best choices when purchasing products? How do we determine the impact of our decisions based on our values? Now more than ever, we are faced with businesses greenwashing customers, and as a result, consumers have become detached from where things come from or how they have come to be. Terms like “natural” or “therapeutic” are used with reckless abandon and we are given minimal information to make the best choices for our bodies and our planet.

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Posted by Ashley

Mountain Rose Herbs: Organic Sourcing from Pacific Northwest Farms

In 2001, we moved Mountain Rose Herbs from California to Oregon to be closer to our farm operations, wild harvesters, and processors. We are proud of the fact that we have nurtured relationships with our Pacific Northwest farm partners for 30-plus years. Today, we source about 75% of our American-grown organic herbs from Pacific Northwest farmers here in the bioregion we call home.

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Posted by Heidi

Bee Balm Monograph + Herbal Steam Recipe

There is always happy anticipation around Mountain Rose Herbs when we get the opportunity to bring in a new herbal ally. And when that botanical is grown by one of our passionate, conscientious farm partners right here in Oregon, our excitement is tinged with some home-state pride. So, we are pleased to announce that we are now carrying organic bee balm (Monarda fistulosa) grown at Oregon’s own Oshala Farm!

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Posted by Heidi

Could Cutting-Edge Farming Practices Be the Answer to Ginseng's Survival?


For more than ten years, Mountain Rose Herbs has been working with United Plant Savers (UpS) and other conservation organizations to address the alarming decline in wild ginseng populations in North America. Despite concerted efforts and the support of federal and state governments, as well as ethical ginseng forest farmers and wildcrafters, the state of this precious botanical in the wild remains precarious due to overharvesting and habitat destruction. With that in mind, we are delighted to say that a new way of farming ginseng is providing hope for the future of Panax quinquefolius!

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Posted by Heidi

The Value of Fair for Life Certification: A Cacao Case Study

Among the stellar organizations that Mountain Rose Herbs works with, our Fair for Life partnership is one that we are particularly proud of due to the demonstrable good that it does. Its principles impact people and the environments they live and work in around the world, as well as our community here in Eugene, Oregon.

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Posted by Thomas K.

Goldenseal: Planting a Future for One of Our Most At-Risk Herbs

Although goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) was used by First Nations peoples for hundreds of years before Europeans arrived in the Americas, the first written source regarding goldenseal appears in an 1801 series of essays by botanist and physician Benjamin Smith Barton titled Towards a Materia Medica in the United States. Early colonists found a well-established trade network already in place for medicinal herbs, including goldenseal. Indigenous people used it as a dye and also for a variety of health issues, including as a bitter to support digestion, as a skin and eye wash, and as a dental rinse. By the 1830s, goldenseal was also a favorite of practitioners of Eclectic medicine, and demand was increasing exponentially. That demand has never let up and today goldenseal is considered to be one of the most at-risk herbs on United Plant Savers' At-Risk Medicinal Plants List. There is, however, a potentially bright future for goldenseal thanks to innovations in cultivation.

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Posted by Heidi

American Ginseng: A Forest Grown Future


As you know, we spend a lot of time thinking about at-risk herbs and what we can all do to support these botanical allies. The issue of overharvesting in the wild is a key reason why Mountain Rose Herbs is increasingly turning to cultivated herbs when possible and why we support certified organic forest farming, particularly for hard-hit herbs like North American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius). We know that to ethically procure these valuable botanicals, they must be consciously and mindfully gathered and harvested. We only work with growers and harvesters who have been fully vetted, who we can trust to cultivate, harvest, and handle our plant allies with the respect and care they deserve. With that in mind, we’d like to show you what successful forest farming looks like.

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How to Choose High Quality Herbs and Spices

Recently, as I was making soup with my three-year-old granddaughter and teaching her to pronounce galangal root, I found myself in an extended game of “name that spice.” It turns out you can get through an entire elaborate Thai soup recipe with a toddler in this way; I highly recommend it. It goes something like this: Cute toddler points at spice jar and asks, “What is that spice?” Adult says, “Paprika. Smell it, what do you think?” Cute toddler makes funny face and spies another spice that looks similar. “Is that paprika too?” Adult is impressed. “Good eye, that’s smoked paprika. Does it smell different?” And on it goes like that through the colored jars. In this way, I was reminded that I have so many jars of excellent dried herbs and spices and it’s definitely time to check them for freshness.

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Posted by Heidi

Osha: A Supportive, but At-Risk Plant Ally

Photo courtesy of Susan Leopold, PhD, Executive Director at United Plant Savers.

Osha root (Ligusticum porteri) has been in use as an herbal medicine, incense, food, and for ceremonial purposes for thousands of years. When European colonists arrived in North America, osha was already being widely used by First Nations People in the American Southwest and Mexico to treat a variety of conditions, particularly those involving the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts. The Zuni people chewed the root in healing rituals and the Tarahumara people used it ritualistically in protection ceremonies. This herbal ally has been generously gifting itself to humans on our continent for millennia, and its renown has spread to other parts of the world. Unfortunately, this increasing popularity has shined a light on osha’s one significant problem—virtually all commercial osha is wildharvested because this independent herb doesn’t do well as a cultivated crop. This limitation combined with the ever-increasing demand for osha has many herbalists concerned about the viability and long-term sustainability of this precious botanical. Let’s take a deeper dive into osha.

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Posted by Heidi

Why Organic Seaweed is Important

In the last couple of years, the global demand for seaweeds has skyrocketed. Its no surprise, as seaweed offers a stunning array of nutritional benefits and packs a unique salty and umami punch due to its high glutamate content. Seaweed is also used in a variety of non-food applications, including cosmetics and beauty products, scientific research, traditional medicinal applications, biofuels, fertilizers, and more. Considering all the uses for these aquatic plants and the increase in demand for such products, it is more important than ever to consider best practices for harvesting and processing these precious materials. It is this consideration that drives Mountain Rose Herbs to work closely with our harvest partners in offering organically certified seaweeds.

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Posted by Katheryn

Organic Herb Sourcing: The Bigger Picture

In 1987 Mountain Rose Herbs was founded on a commitment to sustainably source all of our botanicals, and since then we’ve made every effort to uphold that commitment. One of the most important aspects of keeping that promise is ensuring transparency in the supply chains for each lot of material that we receive in our warehouse. Maintaining this requires a close relationship between Mountain Rose and our farm partners, and this relationship is managed by our Procurement team.

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Posted by Katheryn

WELCOME

We offer one of the most thorough selections of certified organic herbs, spices, and botanical products and are commited to responsible sourcing.

Mountain Rose Herbs Takes Big Steps in Herbal Industry Transparency

Transparency is key for ethical business practices. We're excited to say we're launching a new way to measure the environmental impact of our products!
WRITTEN BY Ashley

February 7, 2024

Mountain Rose Herbs: Organic Sourcing from Pacific Northwest Farms

Did you know Mountain Rose Herbs sources about 75% of our American-grown organic herbs from farmers in our bioregion?
WRITTEN BY Heidi

January 2, 2024

Bee Balm Monograph + Herbal Steam Recipe

Mountain Rose Herbs is proud to be sourcing organic bee balm from Oregon’s own Oshala Farm. Learn about the traditional uses of this powerful herbal ally.
WRITTEN BY Heidi

December 8, 2023

Could Cutting-Edge Farming Practices Be the Answer to Ginseng's Survival?

There is a new way of farming ginseng that provides hope for the future of Panax quinquefolius!
WRITTEN BY Heidi

November 17, 2023

The Value of Fair for Life Certification: A Cacao Case Study

The social programs that our suppliers undertake with Fair for Life funds touch on everything from providing educational opportunities to empowering women with training to start their own farm operations.
WRITTEN BY Thomas K.

November 8, 2023

Goldenseal: Planting a Future for One of Our Most At-Risk Herbs

Goldenseal is one of the most at-risk plants in North America. Learn more about a new method of cultivation for goldenseal's sustainable future.
WRITTEN BY Heidi

December 1, 2022

American Ginseng: A Forest Grown Future

We are increasingly turning to cultivated herbs and certified organic forest farming to procure at-risk herbs like North American ginseng.
WRITTEN BY The Mountain Rose Herbs Team

September 22, 2022

How to Choose High Quality Herbs and Spices

The best quality dried botanicals have superior flavor, nutrient value, and food safety. Learn why product testing is key and how to test for freshness.
WRITTEN BY Heidi

May 20, 2022

Osha: A Supportive, but At-Risk Plant Ally

Learn more about osha and how you can help take pressure off this important, at-risk herbal ally. 
WRITTEN BY Heidi

February 23, 2022

Why Organic Seaweed is Important

How can seaweed become certified organic, why it's important, and what that process looks like.
WRITTEN BY Katheryn

January 6, 2022

Organic Herb Sourcing: The Bigger Picture

Procurement is more than relationship building. A good buyer takes into consideration the whole picture, from geological happenings to the quality of the final product, and everywhere in between.
WRITTEN BY Katheryn

December 8, 2021