In 2001, when we moved Mountain Rose Herbs from California to Pleasant Hill, Oregon, we made the move to be closer to our farm partners, wildharvesters, and processors. But another key factor in our decision was Oregon Tilth Certified Organic (OTCO), a Corvallis, Oregon nonprofit that was reimagining how the world’s food systems could work better for people and the planet. Founded on the fundamental belief that our food and agricultural systems should be sustainable and equitable, Oregon Tilth has spent nearly fifty years workingfororganic food and farming. 

For many years, we have celebrated Buy Nothing Day. Founded in Canada in 1992, the Buy Nothing Movement arose in protest of mass consumerism and the throw-away culture that accompanies it. The movement has grown and evolved over the past decades to include more than 65 nations. The biggest shopping day of the year—the day after Thanksgiving, or Black Friday—has become the movement’s international day of protest: Buy Nothing Day. Here at Mountain Rose Herbs, we applaud this effort and wholly support Buy Nothing Day! Overconsumption eats up natural resources and puts our planet in peril. As the CEO and owner of Mountain Rose Herbs, I encourage you NOT to shop with us on Friday, November 25, 20222. The fact that we, as a society, have created a national holiday of shopping suggests that our priorities need realignment. Buy Nothing Day is our act of pushback.

If you’ve been reading along on the Mountain Rose Herbs blog, you know we’re always looking for ways that we can make smart business choices that address climate change and invest in the health and wellbeing of our community and our planet. Committing to our alternative-fuel and electric fleet of company vehicles is one key piece to this commitment.

At Mountain Rose Herbs, we have been in a years-long process of shifting our procurement policies away from wildharvested herbs in favor of cultivated ones whenever possible. This policy was necessitated by the increasing impact of overharvesting on some of the most popular herbs and spices around the world. In some cases, for instance with white sage (Salvia apiana), we have been able to source excellent organic, cultivated options, which means we can continue to offer this herbal ally with a good conscience. In other cases, however, as with false unicorn (Chamaelirium luteum) and trillium (Trillium spp.), we have chosen to discontinue carrying an herb because we simply cannot find an ethical way to procure it. As we are navigating an increasingly complex procurement reality, I want to give you a peek behind the curtain, as it were, into why and how we determine what we can sell while prioritizing the overall wellbeing of people, plants, and planet.

Most people these days are familiar with fair trade, a system that changes the way trade works to make it more equitable for the farmers and workers around the world who produce our food. Many of you who have been reading along on the Mountain Rose Herbs blog are also familiar with Fair for Life (FFL), a program that we have worked closely with for more than a decade. FFL is a Switzerland-based, third party fair trade certifier that seriously ups the ante on fair trade practices through a certification system and premiums that makes life-changing improvements in labor relationships. The premiums go directly to the farmers to fund innovations at both the farm and community level. However, there is another component of the FFL system that people are less aware of, simply called For Life. For Life is what brings corporate social responsibility (CSR) home.

JUMP TO RECIPE!

Not many people take me for an essential oil guy, and I must admit I was a little hesitant at first to start exploring aromatherapy. However, my decades-long time at Mountain Rose Herbs means I’ve had the opportunity to try hundreds of pure essential oils and I began to develop a true fondness for them in spite of myself. Partly this is because I really value ambiance and the art of creating experiences. I’ve learned over the years that aroma plays a key role in creating the mood of a space.

You’ve heard us say before that the foundational principle of Mountain Rose Herbs is “people, plants, and planet are more important than profit.” A primary element of how we succeed in keeping that ethic at the core of everything we do is the recognition that no matter how much we strive for excellence as human beings and as a company, it really does “take a village” to create change and to set ourselves always on a path of growth and learning. We have been building working relationships with like-minded companies, organizations, nonprofits, and individuals for more than three decades in order to put strategic action to our principles. One of these longstanding alliances is with BRING, a local nonprofit that has been working to change attitudes and behaviors about waste for 50 years.

We are living in unpredictable times. This sounds like an obvious statement when the entire world is reeling from two years of pandemic and social and political unrest, and it seems as if everything is spinning out of our control. We are indeed living through precarious times, but what I am referring to specifically in this blog is the nature of business and industry. The herbal products industry has changed enormously over the last few years, and in my opinion, it’s not been for the best. Most of the herbal companies that we have worked with, that we have known and admired for decades, have now been acquired by private equity firms, investment holdings, and venture capitalists. I have never witnessed anything like this in the 22 years I have been at Mountain Rose Herbs. Our community has grown significantly smaller, and the industry is pushing hard towards a profit-driven business model that is the antithesis of everything I believe in. This disturbing reality has made me think a lot about permanence: permanence, and predictability, and being a brand that people can trust.

As a bulk supplier of organic ingredients, we work with many businesses in the natural products industry. Part of our business relationship with these other organizations includes an exchange of tips and insights about running a company in an always-changing landscape. I want to share with you some of what I have learned about business development in my years with Mountain Rose Herbs. Whether you are considering starting a business, want to grow the one you have, or you’re simply interested in how successful companies thrive, these are some of the most helpful tips I have learned along the way.

It’s hot in Oregon this summer. Really, really hot. Which means it’s time for my favorite cooling herbal cocktail. When the thermometer is pushing uncomfortably into the 90s (and just don’t even get me started on our recent 111℉ day here in Eugene), I start thinking about a good hibiscus highball. The beauty of this highball is that it uses ingredients I always have on hand and gives me easy options to customize flavors for different people with my choices of tea and ginger beer. I like to use our Hibiscus High Tea because it is full of some of my favorite herbal allies and I love the cooling power and gorgeous, deep red of hibiscus. Sometimes I also brew up a Lemon Tea or Vanilla Rooibos for a delicious change of pace. Enjoy!

By now, if you’ve been following along with my seasonal cocktail recipes here on the Mountain Rose Herbs blog, you know I have a passion and something of a reputation for making herb-infused spirits. This year on the Spring Equinox, I started thinking about what I wanted to create to celebrate the end of winter. Something fun and fresh, with herbal goodness. Also, I happened to have a couple bottles of my favorite artisan gins hanging about, Desert Juniper from Bendistillery and another from Thinking Tree. So: spring, gin, relief after a long winter. Obviously, my version of an herbal gin fizz was in order.