Ethical Sourcing

Ethical sourcing means having a relationship with the people who supply us with our products built on integrity and trust regarding the environment, social values, product quality, financial transactions, and information sharing -- a relationship that can become an honest and long-lasting partnership.

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Fair Trade

Through our co-op relationship with Frontier Natural Co-op, we have enthusiastically offered Fair Trade Certified products throughout the years, for example. Offering these products is an ideal way to advance our ethical sourcing commitment. Our suppliers introduced our first Fair Trade Certified teas in 2006 and now the most extensive selection of Fair Trade products available -- teas, spices, vanilla, sugar and cocoa. Fair Trade premiums from the sales of these products support small farmers and their communities around the world.

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Well Earth™

Our co-op's commitment to ethical sourcing led us to establish our own ethical and sustainable sourcing program, Well Earth. As one of the largest buyers of organic herbs, spices, botanicals and essential oils, we make an impact on the communities we purchase from. We believe deeply in having a positive effect on our earth and the global community, which is why we developed a pro-active, in-house program to further our influence.

Through our co-op's Well Earth™ sourcing program, we work with small farmers to achieve organic and sustainable production, share our knowledge and expertise to maximize quality, and support their communities by paying fair market prices and funding community projects.

Well Earth™ partners with suppliers around the world who have demonstrated their commitment to excelling in five areas: 1) worker safety and fair treatment, 2) sustainable productions, 3) environmental protection, 4) community support and 5) food safety and quality.

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Organics

At core of our commitment to ethical sourcing are organic products. Our co-op carried our first organic products in 1978, and became a certified organic processor. We believe organic agriculture is a crucial element in building a safe and sustainable food supply. We've worked with growers in the U.S. and around the world to support their efforts to convert to organics. We provide significant financial support to organic organizations and causes through by donating 1% of Simply Organic sales to them. Our organic sales is a larger percentage of our total sales every year -- all new products added to any of our lines must be certified organic. We develop and convert to all-organic options that meet the needs of our customers for good quality organics in sufficient supply and also build a market for organic crops that insures farmers have an outlet for those crops once they switch to organic growing methods. We also maintain a fund to support farmers in transition by paying organic premiums on transition crops. Learn more about how we are supporting the growth of organic agriculture.

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Protecting Endangered Species

Throughout our co-op's history, we have also been involved in sourcing issues such as preventing the over-harvesting of herbs like goldenseal and echinacea, addressing the adulteration and mislabeling of herbs, spices and essential oils and providing support to small farmers around the globe. We have addressed these issues with our own resources -- becoming increasing effective as our stature within the industry has grown -- and we have also been quick to partner with other groups addressing those issues.

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Quality & Integrity

We care about not only the quality of our products, but the integrity of their sourcing as well. We continue to do everything we can to make sure everything we buy is produced with respect for the environment, the growers and their communities.