The Sustainable Herbs Initiative

Do you know where your herbs come from? It matters. Our mission is to create a movement supporting high quality herbal products, sustainable and ethical sourcing, and greater overall transparency in how herbs reach end users.

Group sharing a long outdoor dinner seated on hay bales in a grassy field with mountains in the background

This is where the magic lives.

We see a world where we come together to create a future of abundance. Where farmers, farm workers, wild crafters, communities and businesses thrive. Where soil and biodiversity are honored for their life giving force. Where plants connect us to the mystery of nature and the aliveness of the world and ultimately that encounter places us at the root of healing and creating enduring change.

Group of people walking down a dirt path through a tropical agroforest with banana plants and dense understory

A roadmap for all.

We are creating a road map for consumers and companies to have the tools and resources needed to purchase and produce herbal remedies that benefit human health, promote greater social equity, community resilience and biodiversity, and ensure herbs are here now and in the future.

We do this by creating educational content: videos, blog posts, toolkits, and webinars to highlight key issues and challenges the industry faces and to identify steps companies can take to address these challenges. 

We also convene conversations, especially pre-competitive discussions among SHP underwriters, to share resources and inspire collaboration.

Ann Armbrecht, founder of the Sustainable Herbs Initiative, smiling and gazing left against an orange textured wall

Ann Armbrecht

FOUNDER OF THE SUSTAINABLE HERBS INITIATIVE

"I am a writer and anthropologist whose work explores the relationships between culture and the environment. After completing my doctorate based on ethnographic research in the upper Arun Valley, Nepal, I began studying herbal medicine. With filmmaker, Terrence Youk, I co-produced the documentary Numen: the Nature of Plants. I then began following herbs through the supply network to understand and share the stories of the people and places behind the finished products which led to my current work as director of the Sustainable Herbs Initiative. My most recent book, Following the Herbal Harvest: A Search for the Healing Promise of Plant Medicines, tells the story of this journey."

SHI Shorts