About Sustainability
Lavender Oil | Sandalwood Oil | Patchouli Oil | Agarwood Oil | Organic Essential Oils | CO2 Extracts | Sustainability
Eden Botanicals is the purveyor of a diverse array of botanical oils from many regions around the world. As such, it is our obligation to be aware of any planetary consequences in that regard and to support the sustainability efforts embraced by many of our producers. Some botanicals mentioned aren’t threatened, yet, but we want to make sure it stays that way. Sustainability is in the best interests of everyone in the chain of production, not only farmers, but also local residents. Sustainable business practices help communities relying on a raw material to continue to grow, harvest and sell year after year rather than exhausting dwindling resources, destroying habitat and destabilizing local economies simultaneously.
Conservation Organizations Setting Global Standards of Sustainability:
CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments whose aim is "to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival" and "accords varying degrees of protection to more than 35,000 species of animals and plants." It was drafted following a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of the newly formed IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature), however CITES was not adopted until July 1975.
When it was drafted in 1963, CITES had 80 ‘Parties’ or participating countries; currently there are more than 183. Although it is a legally binding agreement – in other words, obligatory – it does not replace national laws. Each Party must adopt its own rules of law to be implemented nationally.
The most frequently encountered essential oil-bearing plant species protected by CITES are:
- Agarwood (Gyrinops spp. and Aquilaria spp.)
- Guaiacwood, aka Guaiac Wood (Bulnesia sarmientoi)
- Rosewood (Aniba rosaeodora) – heartwood only, not sustainably harvested leaves
- English Rosewood (Dalbergia darienensis)
- African Sandalwood (Osyris lanceolata)
- Himalayan Spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi, synonym: N. grandiflora)
In addition to sustainability factors, The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) also monitors the world’s biodiversity. The IUCN Red List not only audits species and their threatened status, but calls for biodiversity conservation and outlines policy changes important to implement for species survival. By collecting data on habitat and potential economic or environmental threats, as well as suggested actions for making better policy decisions, the IUCN has become one of the most respected voices in conservation.
Founded in 1964, the IUCN Red List was created to be "the most comprehensive inventory of the conservation status of biological species." The organization, composed of scientific specialists of all persuasions, is not a regulatory body. The aims of the Red List are "(1) to provide scientifically based information on the status of species and subspecies at a global level, (2) to draw attention to the magnitude and importance of threatened biodiversity, (3) to influence national and international policy and decision-making, and (4) to provide information to guide actions to conserve biological diversity." CITES and IUCN provide the most reliable and current data on sustainability for our purposes.
TRAFFIC (The Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network), a joint program of the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and IUCN, is another organization whose mission statement stresses the importance of protecting vulnerable species while finding alternative sources for our aromatic products. Erika Galentin with United Plant Savers points out that essential oils are resource intensive products that are often transported halfway across the globe with no one in particular paying attention to the various sustainability issues – not to mention fair trade or environmental fallout such as residual agricultural chemicals, habitat loss and/or potential endangered status or extinction.
Following are the oils in our collection that have potential sustainability concerns and everything we are doing to source each one in a responsible manner – whether that be working with a specific supplier, having CITES documents on hand or, in the case of threatened or vulnerable species, deciding to not source it at all.
Agarwood: The trees from which we source our Agarwood Essential Oil come from a managed forest in Vietnam where they are sustainably harvested and periodically replanted. They are inoculated by hand when they reach 10 years of age; after the infection has been allowed to propagate for 2 years, the trees are harvested for distillation. CITES documents are required from our vendor with every shipment to ensure that quantities received are monitored and within legal limits.
Amyris: Our supplier tells us: "The Amyris tree (Amyris balsamifera) is not cultivated under standard agricultural methods. It grows in a natural forest in the Dominican Republic, where our distillery is located. The wood used for distillation is the dried up, DEAD wood collected from the forest floor, as a result of trees dying of their natural deaths. The process of collecting such dead wood is widely known as "cleaning the forest floor," which does no harm to the environment. In fact, it is recommended to clean the forest floor to prevent fires and remove the underbrush to promote the growth of the desired living trees. The Amyris forest covers an area of approximately 100 sq. km rather densely, and less densely in other areas. Since there are no standing trees cut for the production of the essential oil (green standing trees have no oil of the desired composition), the supply is endless, renewable, and sustainable at the current collection rate. Such Amyris wood collection and transport is very strictly regulated and policed by the Dominican Ministry of the Environment." Listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List.
Cedarwood (Atlas): Our organic Atlas Cedarwood supplier is very aware of the impact of its business on the environment and leads different actions to address it; they evaluate and analyze the context and adapt the volume that could be produced sustainably. Finally, the Cedarwood Atlas oil is distilled from three different sources of wood: Cedarwood stumps, trees from "clean-up cut" (belonging to lots marked by local authorities) and wood residue from sawmills. Our supplier has copies of authorizations in their possession issued by the Moroccan authority in charge of the management of this resource: Le Haut Commissariat aux Eaux et Forêts et à la Lutte Contre la Désertification (English translation: the Office of the High Commissioner for Water and Forests and the fight against desertification). Listed as Endangered (EN) by IUCN Red List.
Elemi: Our manufacturer has had an ongoing business relationship with their source in the Philippines for decades. There are currently no issues with sustainability since the source of Elemi harvests the gum from their farm where it grows wild and is not intensively cultivated. On the 2008 National Red List, Elemi was listed as Lower Risk/not threatened; on the August 2019 IUCN Red List assessment, Elemi is now considered Near Threatened (NT). However, it is not included in the latest CITES list.
Frankincense, Somalia – Organic: There is a direct relationship between the well-being of the harvesting communities and the sustainability of Somalian Frankincense trees. One of the central aims in sustainable Frankincense collection is being socially responsible for those who work directly with the trees; improved access to drinking water, food, education and health care is supported through revenue sharing. Our supplier is working towards their FairWild certification – a guarantee not only of sustainable collection and resource management, but community support in the form of fair wages, ethical working conditions and a diversity of training programs offering new opportunities for individuals and their families.
Frankincense, Somalia: The supplier for our Somalian Frankincense hires well-trained local people who have great experience in collecting the gum between Mid-May and Mid-October each year. These individuals are eligible for training, equipment and personal loans. Harvesters are direct employees with full benefits and are paid in advance, enabling them to secure a decent life for their children and families. They also benefit from medical care, access to fresh water and basic food such as oil, rice, sugar and canned fish. But to truly embrace the community, diverse projects – such as a school, an orphanage, a hospital and a well – have been undertaken to support Somalian people so closely tied to the Frankincense trade.
Frankincense, Oman: Per our supplier: "Most of the Omani trees are not harvested. Oman has very strict controls on harvesters, intensified by the security situation. The howjary trees are plentiful and happy. Also, there is some replanting going on, and trees are being cultivated – I don’t think any of them have resin yet, if they ever do. But the Omanis are on top of it." Listed as Near Threatened (NT) by the IUCN Red List.
Frankincense CO2, India and Frankincense CO2, Somalia: The producer of these CO2 extracts is committed to building transparent relationships with supply partners who share their ideals of sourcing: sustainability, social responsibility and environmental consciousness. This mutual exchange reflects an intention to honor planetary and human well-being through sound business practices. To help identify suppliers who adhere to these principles, they use a self-assessment questionnaire and an audit program for assuring that suppliers respect the following basic principles: sustainable agriculture, environmental awareness (limiting carbon footprint), human and worker’s rights, such as fair treatment of workers, safe working conditions, no child labor, fair wage practices, non-discrimination, etc.
Frankincense CO2, Somalia: Per our supplier: Proper protection of the environment is imperative to ensuring that current and future generations continue to have access to natural resources and good quality of life. Environmental and ecological sustainability is pre-condition of social welfare. Raw materials are FairWild certified, while favor is given to organically grown or wild-crafted materials when sourcing. While other suppliers scratch their trees twice a year, this supplier’s trees are scratched only once in a year and in rotation; some trees are scratched only every third year for gum harvest and commercial lumbering or scratching between leafing periods is strictly forbidden. In some regions even the number of collectors is limited with few experienced collecting families permitted.
Frankincense Frereana: We have taken great care to partner with our Frankincense Frereana supplier who sees and invests in the big picture. They began as a socially responsible business motivated by the founders’ connection with the source region and an opportunity to apply cooperative methods to positively impact those in direct contact with the Boswellia frereana trees. This supplier is firmly committed to sustainable business practices in collaboration with the harvesting communities through organic certification and following fair trade and living wage principles. This is supported through 20% revenue sharing to improve access to drinking water, food staples, education, and healthcare.
Laurel Leaf: The supplier of our Laurus nobilis works in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management in Bosnia, together with other EU organizations, for the protection of biodiversity and the environment in their country. "Our production is according to the organic, EU, NOP and Fair Wild [FairWild] standards, and all our products are certified by ECOCERT, France. With the exception of five permanent and ten part time employees who work on herb processing, we organize and teach more than 200 families from rural areas the sustainable, organic harvesting of wild growing herbs. The area of collecting, more than few thousand hectares, includes the region from the south of Herzegovina and Dalmatia to Central and eastern Bosnia." On the IUCN Red List, Laurel Leaf is listed as LC (Least Concerned) in all of Europe except Albania, where it is VU (Vulnerable) and Malta, where it is listed as R (Rare).
Opopanax: Commiphora guidottii, considered VU (vulnerable) by IUCN, is the most common species for sourcing Opopanax essential oil, however, the Opopanax Eden Botanicals offers is from Commiphora erythraea (Ehrenb.) Engl. var. glabrescens, a variety that is not of concern according to the IUCN Red List.
Palo Santo: This is the Bursera graveolens tree and not the endangered Bulnesia (aka Gonopterodendron) sarmientoi. Palo Santo can be found in different South American countries but our supplier is the one that stood out to us for their ecological harvesting practices and respect for local communities. They also coordinate the formidable task of maintaining the forest cycle by research into propagation and cultivation techniques with unwavering dedication. Our supplier’s source of Palo Santo wood is licensed as sustainable and traceable by the Ministry of the Environment of Ecuador. In that country, the supplier is heavily involved with community-based reforestation projects that help regenerate the dry tropical forests where Palo Santo grows. The traceability of the Palo Santo is an exhaustive process including specimen analysis, reforestation and data collection in the field. For distillation, only dry branches are collected – no live trees are harvested. National Red List 2007 Near Threatened (NT); IUCN Red List November 2020, Least Concern (LC).
Pinyon Pine: Our Pinyon Pine essential oil is sustainably wildcrafted and distilled in the mountains in the high desert of the western United States. The supplier’s goal is for sustainable growth coupled with annual profitability, while promoting the value of local, small-scale production. Listed on the IUCN Red List as Least Concern (LC).
Rosewood: We offer only Rosewood leaf oil, not the precious and rare heartwood oil that requires sacrifice of the whole tree. Rosewood leaf oil contains not only a similar chemical profile to the wood oil at a fraction of the cost, but the leaf harvest provides jobs and, given its value, prevents further cutting of these valuable trees. Wood (but not leaves) is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and Endangered/Critically Endangered on the National Red List.
Sandalwood: To help protect the vulnerable status of Santalum album trees, we no longer carry Indian Sandalwood essential oil, but are enthusiastic supporters of plantation grown S. album oils in Australia based on a highly commendable program of growing and managing Sandalwood forests. Old growth Sandalwood oils are a thing of the past, so it is best to meet the the new Sandalwoods with an open nose and a new perspective. Listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List.
Siam Wood: The supplier of our Siam Wood essential oil, together with its local partners, emphasize sustainable agricultural practices and implementation of ethical trading initiatives – improving the lives of the entire community involved. This includes distillation of only mindfully and ecologically harvested downed and dead trees or leftovers from the furniture industry, a dedicated composting program for spent botanical material, and respect for the natural environment. Our supplier’s distillation facilities are specifically located close to areas of harvest to minimize long transportation times of raw plant materials. Water is treated as a precious resource and is recycled, while spent, dried botanical materials may also be used as mulch or fuel for distillation.
Those trading in Siam Wood know that aggressive extraction of resources depletes whole habitats and destroys complex ecosystems. The tree has been given protected national heritage status by the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment (VACNE); it is listed as ‘endangered’ in Vietnam by the World Conservation Monitoring Center and on the IUCN red list as ‘vulnerable’ (VU).
Spikenard: We have been unable to sell Spikenard essential oil for some years because of its endangered status and the inability to procure CITES documents from available sources. However, new sources have sprung up providing all necessary documents and fulfilling all legal requirements – in particular showing that excessive harvests of Spikenard roots are not occurring in ecologically sensitive areas. Listed as Critically Endangered (CR) by the IUCN Red List November 2020; listed alternately as Rare (R) and Rare/Threatened (RT) by the National Red List. CITES documents are required from our vendor with every shipment to ensure that quantities received are monitored and within legal limits.
What sustainability means for the enthusiast is that beyond certifications, agreements between nations and sustainability requirements, it is of utmost importance to be informed of species that are threatened as well as resource-intensive essential oils, and to develop mindfulness regarding their use. It is hard not to recognize the value of these intensely concentrated, precious jewels of the botanical kingdom and their role in daily life – our rituals, cultures, perfumes, skin and body preparations and more.
With the help of chemical analysis, we can begin to identify and incorporate less vulnerable 'smell twins' – oils that are aromatically similar, but not taken from endangered plants or from sensitive ecosystems. Or we can simply restrain ourselves, use less, recognize and respect the dwindling supply, and be content exploring the hundreds of other extraordinary essential oils Mother Nature has conceived.