Organic and
More Than Fair

At the very core of Mountain Rose Herbs’ sustainability mission is organic agriculture. Since 2001, owners Julie Bailey and Shawn Donnille have committed to sourcing only 100 percent organic products. However, they also realize that the foundation of organic agriculture is the farmer, so in 2004, Mountain Rose Herbs became the first to offer fair trade certified organic medicinal herbs. Through working with Transfair, the U.S. fair trade certification agency, the company was able to certify mint, chamomile and hibiscus, and this year the company will add eight more herbs to its fair trade certified offerings including dill, lemongrass, lemon balm, basil, oregano, parsley, rosemary and thyme. Donnille also noted that that if more organic companies used fair trade herbs and spices it would give Transfair more of an incentive to certify even more growers and make more fair trade products available.

Going beyond fair trade. While Mountain Rose Herbs is a huge proponent of fair trade certification, the company wanted to do more. For one, fair trade certification can only be developed for crops that have a very large demand and the company wanted to make sure all 337 farmers it worked with around the globe were getting a good deal. Secondly, fair trade premiums are strictly determined by the market rate and set percentages, and don’t offer the farmer direct negotiating rights. So Mountain Rose Herbs cranked things up a notch and developed a business model called “Good Trade.” In this model, the company sits down face to face with farmers, asks them what they need and negotiates from there. “It allows the farmers to dictate the price paid for goods, instead of the other way around,” Donnille said. “For us, it is about having a relationship with the farmers.” To highlight the farmers, the company has recently launched a spice line called Epicurean Organic, which is all procured from growers who had negotiating rights. Two percent of each sale is also going to the Organic Farming Research Foundation.

Growing organic agriculture. Mountain Rose Herbs is also empowering farmers who take the risk to convert to organic by offering forward contracts, which often include 50 percent advanced payment. The company has already helped convert 11 farms to organic In the United States, and one in Hungary as well.

           
           
 


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Setting the Green Standard:
Mountain Rose Herbs’ Award-Winning Sustainability Strategies

By Kat Schuett


Every week, Snake Harrington digs through the trash at Mountain Rose Herbs manufacturing facility. No, he’s not homeless or a dumpster diver looking for discarded treasure. He is the company’s “waste coordinator,” charged with the important task of making sure that nothing is sent to the landfill that could be recycled, reused or composted. Harrington is a key part of Mountain Rose Herbs’ Zero Waste Program.

This program is so effective that Mountain Rose Herbs’ entire 40,000-square-foot operation, comprised of over 60 employees, discards about the same amount of trash as just one typical four-person family. On average, the total waste—which includes everything from production, shipping and receiving, to marketing and administration, and even the employee kitchen and bathrooms—comes to just a little more than two 38-gallon trash cans per month. Compare this to 3300 gallons of trash a month generated by most manufacturers of its size (including Mountain Rose Herbs prior to implementing this program), and you’re talking about a 97 percent reduction in waste.

Mountain Rose Herbs has won many accolades for its Zero Waste program along with efforts to drive the growth of organic agriculture, fair trade and other environmental initiatives such as a progressive car-pool program, a 100 percent chemical-free facility, use of 100 percent renewable energy, biodiesel distribution trucks and extensive work with nonprofits. Most importantly though, the authentic, holistic approach this company takes to sustainability has earned it the respect of thousands of eco-conscious consumers and recently, it received Co-op America’s People’s Choice Award for 2008 Green Business of the Year.

And, being green seems to be good not only for the planet, but for business as well. Today the company, which offers a wide array of organic herbs and spices, essential oils, teas and health- and body-care products, has grown from a small home operation and teaching facility to one of the largest organic herb manufacturers in the world. In fact, when many companies were seeing a drop in sales last year, Mountain Rose Herbs continued to grow by more than 35 percent. Throughout all of this, the company’s commitment to sustainability in every aspect of the business—from farm to factory and beyond—not only helps it connect with eco-conscious consumers but inspire other businesses as well.
“We hope that what we are doing will set an example for other businesses out there and inspire change in the business world,” said Shawn Donnille, co-owner of Mountain Rose Herbs. “If we can do this, they can, too.”

Getting to Zero
The Zero Waste Program is one way this company is setting the bar for green businesses. While in today’s stream of commerce there are many materials that cannot be saved, such as mylar plastic film or soiled Subway sandwich wrappers, Donnille said, “Zero waste is the concept that if a material can be redistributed, recycled, reused or re-injected back into the manufacturing stream then it must.”

Plastic, even that which is not able to be recycled via most municipal programs—such as bottle caps, bubble wrap and computer casings—is taken to a local company that recycles it into plastic lumber and other goods. Wood from broken shipping pallets, which can add up to 100 or 200 gallons a month according to Donnille, is given to another company that uses it to make landscaping mulch. Scrap metal is salvaged. Styrofoam peanuts and other packaging goods are reused to send out products.

By going through the trash, Harrington is quite literally the final filter, but he also has helped find new ways to reduce waste before it gets to the garbage. Prior to working with Mountain Rose Herbs, this environmental studies student worked on the composting program for the University of Oregon campus. He applied this know-how to figure out Mountain Rose Herbs’ paper towel situation—which due to frequent hand washing needed for food processing was piling up to around 180 gallons of trash every day. Harrington was able to eliminate all of this waste by ensuring the company used only natural, unbleached fiber towels, and then rerouting these towels from the landfill to a commercial composting center.

On the front end of the program, Felicia Colden, environmental and social responsibility coordinator, serves as the gateway, ensuring that the company only orders compostable or recyclable products, which are often made of post-consumer waste. She also makes sure that all furniture and most office equipment is refurbished, reclaimed or second-hand.

While Harrington and Colden are leading the effort on the Zero Waste Program and other eco-initiatives, Colden stressed that the reason the company is able to make these programs work so well because everyone, from management to each employee, is dedicated to the company’s sustainability efforts. Marisol in quality control was the first to share the idea of zero waste with management. Ray in wholesale came up with a way to make sticky notes out of office paper scraps. Irene in marketing found the pens used throughout the company which are made out of recycled plastic, wood and cardboard. Megan in production discovered the biodiesel, which is made locally using waste oil from Kettle Chips and is now used to fuel the company’s distribution fleet. “It really is a group effort here. It makes it easy to live by these guidelines because everyone really believes in what we are doing,” Colden commented.
Low-carbon Commuting

Another one of Colden’s important responsibilities is to manage the company’s progressive carpooling and bike program. Carpoolers are reimbursed 12 cents for every mile they travel to and from work and bicyclists get a premium of 20 cents per mile. This can add up to an extra $80 to $150 per month for employees who participate, and at the end of the year the person who accumulates the most miles is given a $500 bonus. “Other programs may give you a VIP parking spot or put you in a raffle for some big prize, but as far as we know, we are the only one that pays a direct cash reimbursement,” Donnille noted. “We strive to make it the best out there. Because of this, we’ve seen many people get involved who might not otherwise participate in a program like this,” said Donnille.

Clean and Green
Mountain Rose Herbs also boasts a 100 percent chemical-free facility. While all organic manufacturers have to follow strict guidelines that prohibit many of the chemicals the conventional folks use, Donnille pointed out that even some of the products that are allowed, such as chlorine and ammonia, can disrupt the groundwater supply and have a negative effect on indoor air quality.

So Mountain Rose Herbs got rid of it all—no chemical agents, no solvents, no commercial detergents, no VOC paints. Instead, everything used at the facility is based on natural extracts and is completely biodegradable. Instead of using chlorine as a sanitizer, the company uses peracetic acid, a concentrated form of hydrogen peroxide and vinegar that completely breaks down to natural substances. The primary industrial cleaning agents are ordered in bulk from the Bio-Kleen Corporation, with the exception of a general cleanser made in-house from a mixture of grapefruit seed extract, lemon essential oil and baking soda.

For pest control, the company uses an armory of sonic repellers, pheromone traps, plant-derived pyrethrum powder and diatomaceous earth made from crumbled rock. “In 20 years of doing business in a very agriculturally based area, our company has yet to have an outbreak so all of this must be working,” Donnille said.

Community Collaboration
Having worked with organizations such as Greenpeace and Earth First prior to joining Mountain Rose Herbs, Donnille also wanted to make sure that the company created change beyond its own corporate walls. To do this, Mountain Rose Herbs is actively involved with nonprofits such as the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, the Cascadia Wildlands Project and over a dozen others. The company offers a wide range of support to help these causes from gathering signatures for petitions and funding events to including inserts about the organizations in its mail orders.

This year the company even took this a step further, making the commitment to set aside $55,000 a year to fund grants. Donnille said the company now reviews about 20 applications per month. Partnering with nonprofits has had a positive effect on the community and the company itself, he added. “Through our sustainability and nonprofit efforts we have engaged the emotional side of our customers and they have become devout followers of the brand,” Donnille said. “It gives them a chance to be a part of a positive change.”

Sustainability Synergy
Lastly, Mountain Rose Herbs is part of several industry working groups which bring like-minded businesses together to brainstorm eco-friendly solutions on issues ranging from packaging to distribution. Colden serves as president of the Willamette Valley Sustainable Foods Alliance, which includes members from Yogi Tea, Glory Bee, Nancy’s Yogurt and many others. Currently, the group is looking at bio-based plastic films and working with a company to create a prototype made of tree cellulose, a byproduct of the lumber industry. Together this group has the power to create a demand for these types of eco-friendly products and drive packaging companies to create more environmentally responsible solutions.

“These organizations are a great source of motivation and guidance,” said Colden. “Although we are guided by our own internal drive to create these changes, by participating in these groups we are able to learn about what others are doing, share our ideas and say, ‘OK, we’re all in this together.’”

Through groups such as this, Colden has also learned about other programs, which provide education and tools that the company uses to measure its carbon footprint and to further its sustainability efforts.

Some of these include The Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative (www.ghgprotocol.org) and The Global Reporting Initiative (www.globalreporting.org). Using insight from resources like this, combined with internal research, the company has found many (and is always looking for more) ways to reduce its energy usage. To make up for any other energy use, Mountain Rose Herbs works with the nonprofit group CarbonFund (www.carbonfund.org) to convert to 100 percent renewable energy by transferring its conventional electrical power usage to renewable energy sources, credits and development.

Overall, Mountain Rose Herbs has shown that sustainability is a team effort—not just within the company, but also in the local and global communities and among industry peers. From the guys like Snake Harrington who find innovative ways to reuse resources, to company leaders who constantly push innovation, each one of us plays an important role in elevating consciousness and driving the development of a new green standard.

Kat Schuett is the editorial director for Organic Processing Magazine. You can reach her at kat@organicprocessing.com.