Why Wild Matters

Did you know that wild plants are important ingredients in your food, cosmetics, medicine, and especially close to our hearts – herbal tea? As the demand for natural products continues to grow, the demand for these wild plant ingredients also grows, putting pressure on potentially fragile plant populations, ecosystems, and communities.

Why care about FairWild?

At Traditional Medicinals, we are committed to supporting plants, people, and the planet. FairWild certified herbs are a fantastic way for us to ensure the wild plants in our products protect not only the natural world but also the communities who rely on them.

1. FairWild is about protecting plants from overharvesting, like the soothing licorice that is found in our Throat Coat® tea.* We source wild-collected licorice rather than farmed because we’ve found it to reliably meet our high quality standards. By purchasing FairWild licorice, we are also able to ensure it is ethically harvested without harming the wild, at-risk plant populations our ecosystems depend on.

2. FairWild is about protecting people and livelihoods, like the traditional practices of wild harvesting that are often passed down from generation to generation. Most wild collectors are women, and are often Indigenous peoples or ethnic minorities with limited access to economic opportunities. The seasonal income provided by these wild harvests can be a vital part of their family’s income. The Fair premium and Fair price make a significant impact on their quality of life and the communities’ ability to prioritize sustainable practices and continue these important herbal harvesting traditions.

3. FairWild is about conservation, like protecting important habitat for wildlife that depend on healthy ecosystems for their survival. Sustainable wild collection of herbs, like the raspberry leaf used in our Pregnancy Tea®, Raspberry Leaf, and Healthy Cycle® formulas, can help support diverse ecosystems. Using sustainable harvesting practices protects the biodiversity of the region, allowing plant, people and animal communities to thrive.

FairWild Standard and Certification

Plants and the people that collect them are at the heart of what FairWild does. Collectors of these wild plants often belong to marginalized rural communities that depend on them for their livelihoods. At the bottom of a long supply chain, these harvesters have historically received the smallest benefit from a rapidly growing industry and its high demand for wild plants.

The FairWild Foundation’s Standards and Certifications were designed to improve the sustainable use and management of wild plants and protect harvesters from unfair business practices. Specifically, they provide standards for work on the ground with local wild collectors and support training in sustainable harvesting techniques, teaching collectors when and how to harvest wild plants, to help protect species from over-exploitation and ensure regular and steady harvests.

This Standard then provides the basis for the FairWild certification. The FairWild logo on certified products allows you to know that your favorite products are being made with ingredients that were harvested ethically and fairly.