Our Mission:
Ever since Lynn Kirkland founded The Herb Farm 28 years ago, sustainability has been at our core. Caring for the environment is second nature to both Lynn and her daughter Sarah Cowan, who has been Managing Director since 2006. During the establishment of The Herb Farm destination itself (with abundant trees, herbs and birdlife all co-existing in perfect harmony) and throughout our journey as a strictly 100% natural brand, we’ve forged a deep connection to Planet Earth and it’s something we value immensely.
Despite being pioneers in natural, sustainable skincare, we are not one to rest on our laurels. We are constantly striving to improve; always ensuring that our products and processes leave a minimal ecological footprint is one such responsibility. Our decisions are backed up by dedicated research and testing to ensure that they result in not only the highest quality of product, but one that has the least environmental impact.
From a production viewpoint – this commitment means that we use 100% natural ingredients in the products themselves and use sustainable materials such as glass and cardboard in our packaging. Many of the ingredients used in the production of our products are grown on-site, helping to reduce our carbon footprint, and all products are formulated and made on-site too, which is the best possible option for a sustainable and transparent supply chain.
One of our key objectives is to leave this world a better place for generations to come and to make a positive impact. We are very conscious of only making changes to products and processes which are genuinely more beneficial for the environment – rather than just concentrating on having them sound good on paper. We’re very conscious of presenting a clear and honest message in our marketing and encourage you to get in touch if there is any particular point you would like to see clarified.
We are very excited to be able to share all four of our new initiatives with you – and are looking forward to continuing these initiatives long term.
#FourChangesForThePlanet:
#1: NEW PRODUCT PACKAGING:
While our product packaging has always been well thought through, we're always looking for ways to improve. New changes include:
- Our glass jars and bottles are now non-frosted. Although the frosting is a beautiful finish, non-frosting is a better alternative for the environment as it requires less processing and precious energy resources.
- All our jar lids are changing to aluminium, with EPE Foam inner, both of which are 100% recyclable. Aluminium is an environmentally superior material for lids as it is infinitely recyclable, unlike plastic which can only be recycled a few times!
- The change to our lids also means that the plastic inserts in our jars are no longer required: another win for the environment!
#2: HELP PLANT NATIVE TREES:
Every Herb Farm purchase you make will now help plant native trees in New Zealand and also in Australia. We’ve teamed up with Trees That Count so that any purchase made on our New Zealand website, in our Ashhurst store OR at any of our retailers will now help plant native trees throughout New Zealand. For those across the ditch, we’re also working with Trillion Trees to make sure Australian purchases go toward the planting of natives throughout Australia as well.
"Planting native trees is one of the most powerful actions we can take to combat climate change, protect our beautiful landscapes, waterways and forests for future generations" - Trees That Count
#3: RETURN YOUR EMPTIES:
We're accepting our empty Herb Farm bottles and jars and, in return, you'll get 10 VIP points per item added to your account!!
The aim of this incentive is to improve the circularity of our products by taking back used bottles and jars to be re-purposed within the company.
Returned empties will be cleaned, sterilised, and reused as testers, samples, and in workshops. The jars and bottles will not be used for new products to be sold. Any bottles and jars that cannot be used will be recycled on our customer’s behalf.
If you're local, just pop into our Ashhurst store and pop them in the receptacle provided! (If you're wanting to do your bit but you live a bit further afield, you can courier any empties you have to 86 Grove Road, R D10 Palmerston North 4470 - just make sure to provide your details so we can award you your points!! We suggest only our New Zealand customers take this route as the value of this program would be outweighed by the environmental impact of international courier services.)
#4: GO BOX-FREE:
While our product boxes are 100% recyclable, very beautiful and convey useful information about the product itself (which is necessary for some markets), many customers (especially those that have been with us for a long time) may find them superfluous.
Giving our customers the option to receive just the product itself gives them the power to make sustainable decisions around their own personal waste reduction. Over time, this initiative will also mean that the brand will be required to produce less packaging, which in turn uses less of our precious resources: our trees.
For more information each of our #FourChangesForThePlanet click here.
- by Katrina Smeaton, Marketing Assistant at The Herb Farm