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Sustainability- Why you should ditch the oils and go back to the source.
Sustainability. We keep hearing this but are we really open to what that means? Essential Oils took the world by storm through the development of essential oil MLM networking businesses and their avid marketing. The bonus was increasing the acknowledgement of the benefits of essential oils. The downside, not great for sustainability. You see, it takes an absurd amount of materials to produce an essential oil. In some cases, the materials being used are endangered species. It is much more economically and environmentally sustainable to go back to the source, that is, using the actual plant material.
Infusing oils yourself is a great way of utilizing aromatherapy benefits without the use of highly concentrated, volatile EO's. Instead of diffusing, burning the natural herbs is a great alternative, as the smoke tends of have a greater benefit in some cases. There are many ways to continue working with your favorite plants in a more aligned and mindful way.
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Let's talk about all the concern over white sage. Like many of the spices we use in the kitchen, herbs have been traded and treasured throughout time. White sage is no different. The major cause of concern in regards to the use of white sage is purchasing from those that wild harvest. The reason is because wild harvested means it could be taken from land used by Native Americans for their collection of the herb. It is easy to find and source sustainable white sage suppliers. The smudging herbs we sell are all sourced through private, ethical farms. If you're going to use herbs for cleansing, make sure your herbs have good energy.
Some other common herbs in the spiritual community we need to watch for due to endangerment are frankincense (boswellia sacra, b. carteri and b. frereana), palo santo, cedarwood atlas and sandalwood. A big way to help is to avoid these in essential oil form due to the enormous amount of plant material needed to produce the oils. Use sparingly and keep it SACRED.