Guest Author - Heather Grant
Mountain Rose Herbs has got to be the greenest company on the planet. Nominated in 2008 for Co-op America’s People’s Choice Award for 2008 Green Business of the Year, and announced as the winner on November 12, 2008, Mountain Rose Herbs humbly acknowledges that it is a reflection of “the principles each of us adopt in our personal lives”, from a statement by Shawn Donnille, Operations manager and director of Quality Control.
The company has sixty employees and only produces waste equivalent to a household of four. When they adopted their Zero Waste policy they went from more than 3000 gallons of waste per month to only 80-100 gallons per month. Having ordered products from this company, I can attest to the fact that they use 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper for packing their shipped products. Their catalog (they encourage use of their online catalog but offer one through the mail) also uses post-consumer recycled paper. What they can’t re-use or recycle is used for compost.
The company is 100 percent powered by renewable energy sources, including solar and wind power. They make a conscious effort when purchasing office equipment to buy Gold Star rated, even their heating and cooling system is energy efficient, appliances are E-Star compliant, down to paper clips which are made of at least partially recycled materials. They pay cash incentives to employees who carpool or bicycle to work. The commercial vehicles that transport products run on 100 percent bio-diesel, which they obtain locally.
A company established in 1987, Mountain Rose Herbs has been committed to being one hundred percent organic since 2001. They have very high and strict policies in place to assure their customers are getting quality organic products. They make every effort to follow strict Fair Trade guidelines as well, making sure their suppliers are treating workers fairly and paying them sufficient wages.
As a consumer, I try to buy locally. I can’t get my herbal supplies here and Mountain Rose Herbs has impressed me so much by their high standards and ethical practices. I am proud to be one of their customers. We could all learn a lot from the model they are presenting as individuals but even more as a company dedicated to making this a better world - economically, socially, and most importantly, environmentally.
In a world where corporate players don’t have a clue on environmental issues, it is wonderful to see one small company making such a big difference. If the big companies made half the effort to clean up our planet, imagine what a difference it would make.
For info on Co-op America see http://www.coopamerica.org/
