People, Plants, and Planet are more important than Profit. This seemingly simple principle is the bedrock on which Mountain Rose Herbs is built, the foundational philosophy that has guided us every day for 33 years and counting. In these unprecedented times, when communities around the world are buffeted on all sides by global warming and pandemic, this statement continues to be our guiding light. It is the heart of what we do and the core of why we advocate so fiercely for sustainable organic agriculture, native plants, and fair trade.

At the end of the day, sustainable quality of life hinges delicately on how we caretake our planet: how we tend to our watersheds; how we nurture our soils, water, and air; how we grow and distribute the food we eat and the botanicals we love. This is why we are unwaveringly committed to rigorous quality testing on all our products, why we only use packaging that is environmentally friendly, why we invest in our properties with solar energy, satellite-controlled water conservation systems, and bioswales to filter runoff water from our roofs and pavement. It is why we worked hard to become Oregon’s first Zero Waste Facility, diverting more than 90% of all non-hazardous waste from landfills and incineration.

“People, plants, and planet before profit” is also the foundation of our relationship with our partner farmers throughout the Pacific Northwest, and with our global farm partners through Fair for Life, a rigorous certification standard for fair trade that requires transparency and equity throughout the entire supply chain and provides funding to hard-hit farming communities in order to support life changing innovations in organic agriculture, health, and education. As one of our partner farmers in India said so perfectly—Fair for Life means we are all committed together to a system that is “fair for farmers, fair for [the] environment, and fair for customers.”

At Mountain Rose Herbs, we work from the fundamental belief that it is our honor and our responsibility to strive for excellence as human beings and as a company: to live by ethical principles and to set ourselves always on a path of growth and learning in our ever-changing world. We also know that we are best positioned to do this when we have our feet well rooted in the ancient traditions that humans have turned to for millennia: in the profoundly healing beauty of nature and the natural gifts of the botanical world.

- Shawn Donnille

ORGANIC

Our passion for organics is woven into every fiber of Mountain Rose Herbs' operations, and we believe this is necessary to realize our mission to put people, plants, and planet over profit.

We offer one of the most thorough selections of certified organic herbs, spices, and botanical products and are committed to responsible sourcing. For our customers and the natural environment, we never stock conventionally grown botanicals, and when certified organic materials are not available, we opt for those cultivated without chemicals or synthetic inputs. Many of these are ethically harvested in the wild, thus liberating us from conventional farming dependencies.

When we review plant materials, work with our family of farmers, or review harvesting sites, we always take the health of our customers and the environment into serious consideration. The benefits of supporting the organic movement and moving toward an organic lifestyle are immeasurable. Our offerings are also meticulously analyzed in our Quality Control Lab and sometimes sent to third-party labs for additional testing to ensure they are free from synthetic chemicals.

For food, family, and future, we encourage you to be passionately organic! Here are the issues we tackle through organic agriculture on a daily basis and believe can change the world one botanical at a time.

FAIR TRADE

Unlike traditional fair trade programs that merely certify products, the Fair for Life program thoroughly reviews Mountain Rose Herbs from top to bottom, evaluating and auditing our working conditions, labor practices, environmental programs, social benefits, and company transparency. Not only does the Fair for Life program certify our entire company as an employer and community member with For Life Social Responsibility certification, but it additionally reviews and monitors the origins of our fair trade products to ensure complete compliance with the Fair for Life Fair Trade program.

If you would like a copy of our complete fair trade certificate faxed or emailed to you, or for any other inquiries concerning our fair trade status and certification, please forward your requests to: qc@mountainroseherbs.com.

Learn More about Fair For Life!

ZERO WASTE

Mountain Rose Herbs was the first company in Oregon to receive TRUE Zero Waste certification from Green Business Certification Inc. Not only did we make history in our home state, but we also achieved the highest available certification - Platinum!

We focus on reduction, reclamation, and recycling. Our first priority is to make sure we only use what we need, and that’s one reason we adopted our zero waste policy back in 2007. At that time, we emptied two dumpsters four to five times a month. After instituting a zero waste policy, we began to empty one dumpster twice a month. From the office to the warehouse to the production floor, we collect and sort every piece of discarded material that would normally end up in the landfill. Every bit of plastic, poly-woven bags, break room food scraps, gloves, hair nets, barrels, and fiber drums are evaluated, recycled, or (more often than not) given a new home.

An unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship dictates how we think about our waste management plan. We strive to cut all waste production by rethinking and redesigning our operational procedures to create a more dynamic approach to resource recovery, product design, and recycling. This path helps sustain our bond with the natural world, creates jobs, and saves money.

SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING

At Mountain Rose Herbs, we understand that recycling by itself is not enough to sufficiently reduce our waste footprint. We have made it a priority to close the loop and reduce where we can. The regrettable truth is that we haven't found the perfect packaging option for all of our products. We opt for recycled content, reusable, and lightweight material whenever possible, guided by our Environmentally Preferable Packaging Policy. Our goal is to keep your organic goods fresh and safe during their journey, while minimizing weight and bulk to reduce the carbon footprint of shipping. Rest assured, you can count on us to stay tuned in to packaging industry innovation.

BENEFIT REPORT

About Our Benefit Report:

Mountain Rose Herbs is proud to be an Oregon Benefit Company, committed to providing a public benefit to people, plants, and planet. Our focus isn't about making a profit, but about cultivating relationships and caring for the planet. Our Benefit Report outlines what it means to be an Oregon Benefit Company, how we measure our impact, and our goals for improvement.

View/Download our 2021 Benefit Report (PDF).

FACILITIES

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Mountain Rose Herbs is proud to have taken numerous steps to decrease energy consumption and our overall carbon footprint. We have implemented many practices, including:

Our building was constructed to LEED standards which harnesses an estimated 80 percent of natural light and has decreased our electrical usage for general illumination by over 40 percent!

A complete lighting upgrade in our principal facilities to T-8, low impact, fluorescent cylinders, which draw far less power than traditional fluorescent tubes and incandescent bulbs.

We upgraded our parking lot lighting to high-efficiency LED fixtures.

Our company switched our cargo and delivery vehicles to be powered by used vegetable oil-based biodiesel and a B5 minimum.

We installed company-wide LED flat screen monitors, using 65 percent less energy and generating half the heat of traditional CRT monitors.

We installed Energy Star-rated heating and cooling units that are maintained and serviced quarterly for optimal performance and efficiency.

All computer purchases have been converted to EPEAT-certified (Electronic Product Environment Assessment Tool) models which are Gold Star-rated for their environmental attributes including energy conservation, the amount and type of packaging used to ship and house the computer, and the refusal to use harmful materials in the construction of the computers.

All of the appliances, electronics, and other small and medium-sized electrical components that we purchase are Energy Star-rated.

We installed waterless urinals and minimum flow toilets in all our facilities to reduce water consumption.

Mountain Rose Herbs is proud to have converted to 100 percent renewable energy with our solar array, Greenpower, and Native Energy.