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Letter from our CEO
In 2025, Mountain Rose Herbs further strengthened its commitment to people, plants, and the planet. We continue to focus on ethical sourcing, regenerative practices, employee well‑being, and reducing our environmental impact across energy, water, and waste.
This report reflects the collective work of our global supply partners and the dedicated team members who bring our mission to life every day. As an early pilot company in the Purpose Pledge initiative, we’re helping shape a model of business grounded in accountability, transparency, and long‑term stewardship.
Thank you for your continued support and belief in our mission. You have helped keep us an independently owned company since 1987. We couldn’t do it without you. We look forward to building on this year’s progress and deepening our impact in 2026 and beyond.
- Cameron Stearns, CEO/CFO
Purpose Pledge
The Purpose Pledge—an initiative founded by Dr. Bronner’s, LIFT Economy, and One Step Closer—redefines corporate responsibility by centering sustainability, fairness, and long-term value creation. In 2025, Mountain Rose Herbs joined as a pilot company, helping to co-develop 10 commitments that foster mutual accountability, transparent governance, and equitable supply webs.
10 Commitments
- 1. Purpose-Led Governance Ensures company decisions are aligned with its values and purpose alongside healthy financial performance.
- 2. Product Quality & Transparency Maintains a commitment to strict product integrity standards, grounded in what is in products, how products are made, and how they are represented.
- 3. Supply Web Integrity Ensures that products must adhere to rigorous, holistic eco-social standards encompassing regenerative organic agriculture, fair labor practices, and animal welfare (where applicable). The preferred benchmark is Regenerative Organic Certified® (ROC™).
- 4. Fair & Balanced Compensation Maintains a CEO-to-median employee pay ratio of no more than 25:1 in the country where the company is headquartered.
- 5. Living Wage & Decent Livelihoods Ensures all employees earn a living wage, as defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and calculated by Living Wage for US. It also promotes a workplace culture that promotes well-being, inclusion, and respect for all employees.
- 6. Well-Being & Inclusion Nurtures a workplace culture that promotes well-being, inclusion, and respect for all employees and includes fostering psychological safety, belonging, and fair treatment, minimizing stress and burnout, and supporting long-term mental, social, and emotional health.
- 7.Community Engagement Sets the benchmark that a minimum of 1% of net revenues or 10% of net profits go to philanthropic initiatives, including financial contributions, in-kind donations, and volunteer efforts.
- 8. Climate Action Takes verified measures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in line with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, and invests in regenerative ecosystems, supports suppliers and communities, and funds high-integrity climate projects.
- 9. Circularity for Zero Waste Calls for TRUE certification, which equates to an average 90% or greater landfill diversion rate, and prioritizes circular packaging solutions.
- 10. Capability Building Promotes the sharing of knowledge, collaboration, and strengthening organizational capabilities to advance all Purpose Pledge Commitments.
Certified Organic
In 2001, Mountain Rose Herbs moved to Oregon to strengthen its connections with organic growers. Within a year, we became an Oregon Tilth Certified Organic (OTCO) processor—a collaboration that has guided our practices for more than two decades.
As a USDA‑accredited certifier, OTCO provides annual audits, regulatory guidance, and thorough product testing that help us maintain the highest organic standards. Their support has been central to building a trusted network of organic farmers and developing the quality systems that define our work today.
Our commitment to organic—rooted in this long‑standing partnership—includes support for organic research projects and continues to shape our role as a leading supplier of thousands of certified organic herbs, spices, tea, and more.
Wild Harvest & Forest Grown Sourcing
Mountain Rose plays an active role in advancing ethical wildcrafting and sustainable forest grown sourcing through our collaboration with many partners, including Wild Stewards Alliance (WSA)—formerly the Point of Harvest Program—and its partnership with Appalachian Sustainable Development (ASD).
WSA provides free training and certification for wild harvesters and dealers of woodland herbs, roots, and barks. The program focuses on building a trained, ethical workforce, improving product quality, and supporting rural livelihoods. From 2022–2024, WSA trained and certified 135 wild harvesters across several states, including the first one on the West Coast, in Oregon.
Mountain Rose Herbs supports this work by hosting WSA‑related training for Pacific Northwest wild harvesters, creating regional access to best‑practice education and serving as a bridge between commercial buyers and sustainable harvest networks.
Mountain Rose Herbs also maintains a strong relationship with Appalachian Sustainable Development, a key organization supporting forest‑farming economies in Central Appalachia. During the summer of 2025, we sponsored and participated in ASD’s Wild Stewards Program training at Oshala Farm, offering sessions on quality assurance, procurement practices, and long‑term supplier relationships.
This collaboration helps improve ethical wildcrafters’ market access, promotes sustainable sourcing, and reinforces Mountain Rose Herbs’ commitment to transparency and stewardship. We have demonstrated ongoing support for ASD’s conservation and economic development initiatives since 2019.
Forest farming is an agroforestry practice which sustainably cultivates medicinal and edible plants in a forest canopy that is managed to provide ideal shade levels and habitat, often incorporating organic practices. Mountain Rose Herbs supports many organic forest cultivation projects involving herbs such as rhodiola, ginseng, and goldenseal.
FairWild
Mountain Rose Herbs has strengthened its leadership in ethical wild‑harvesting and sustainable botanical sourcing through its expanding involvement with the FairWild Foundation. FairWild is a global standard for the responsible harvest and fair trade of wild‑collected plants. In 2024, we became a registered FairWild trader, formalizing our commitment to transparent supply chains, ecological stewardship, and community wellbeing.
We have also helped expand FairWild certification within the United States by collaborating with local harvest partners to increase certification access. In 2025, we brought on our first FairWild certified (FWC) botanicals. We now offer FWC myrrh and frankincense. Through these efforts, Mountain Rose Herbs is strengthening its sustainable harvesting practices, supporting rural livelihoods, and helping safeguard wild plant ecosystems for the future.
Learn more about FairWild on Herbal RadioSM
Listen to our podcast episode here
We ROC
Mountain Rose Herbs deepened its commitment to regenerative agriculture through active participation in the Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) program, expanding market access to botanicals grown under the world’s most rigorous standards for soil health, ecological restoration, and social fairness. In 2025, the company advanced this work by increasing its portfolio of ROC products, which now includes:
- Astragalus
- Calendula
- Comfrey Root
- Echinacea Root
- Oregano
- Rosemary
- Skullcap
- Thyme
- Vitex
- Yellow Dock
ROC Extracts:
- Garlic
- Vitex
- Yellow Dock
- Mullein
- Feverfew
- Cilantro
- Marshmallow
- Ashwagandha
- Dandelion
- Astragalus
- Skullcap
- Valerian
Through these efforts, Mountain Rose Herbs strengthens regenerative farming systems, supports resilient grower communities, and reinforces its long‑standing mission to protect ecosystems and promote ethical botanical sourcing. This work directly aligns with our Purpose Pledge goals by promoting regenerative farming systems, investing in grower livelihoods, and formalizing our ethical sourcing policy.
Domestic Sourcing
To reduce our carbon footprint, we have been increasing the domestically grown botanicals we offer. We now carry over 70 domestic herbs and spices, an 8.6 % increase from 2024. We also continue to strengthen our relationships with domestic farms by connecting with them in person and having real and meaningful conversations about successes and also pain points they may be experiencing In 2025, we visited six of our domestic farm partners, which is always a great opportunity to interact with the plants directly in the fields.
Explore all our US grown herbs at US Grown Herbs
Fair Trade
Our commitment to the best care and cultivation standards includes the hardworking people who grow our herbs and spices. This is why we maintain comprehensive Fair for Life and For Life certifications. These raise the bar on traditional fair trade certifications by applying fair-for-all principles that ensure human rights and equitable working conditions at every stage in the supply chain. We are proud to report that, in our 2025 audit, we received our highest score to date.
Discover all our Fair Trade and FairWild offerings at Fair Trade & FairWild
Fair for Life
Fair for Life looks to ensure people-centered and ethical treatment of suppliers. The certification evaluates fair labor and human rights, fair pricing and trade relationships, community development, environmental responsibility, and transparency in the supply chain. It ensures that a company and its supply chain uphold responsible social, economic, and environmental practices. Premiums earned on these purchases go towards projects such as health and safety improvements for work sites, conservation and biodiversity protection, equipment to improve quality, and regenerative agriculture initiatives.
Our 2025 Score = 99.8%
For Life
For Life evaluates the company's internal efforts and conducts interviews with employees to assess the social and environmental practices within the company. The audit encompasses employee wages, benefits, working conditions, health and safety practices, ethical governance and continuous improvements across these performance categories.
We exceeded the requirements of the certification in some categories, which gave us bonus points and pushed us above 100%.
Our 2025 Score = 102.7%
Facilities & Campus Design
2025 Highlights
- This was the first year all production departments operated from one campus.
- To promote biofiltration, reduce parking lot runoff, and give our employees a nice rest area, we replaced an unused gravel parking area with a native plant garden, benches, and walking paths.
Future Goals:
In 2026, we plan to install onsite rain harvesting systems to help reduce our dependence on potable water for irrigation.
We plan to have our campus demonstration garden certified as pollinator friendly.
Energy & Power
Mountain Rose Herbs continues to advance transparent and accountable energy management as part of our ongoing sustainability commitments. By monitoring these metrics year over year, we are strengthening our ability to set reduction targets, identify efficiency opportunities, and take responsibility for our environmental impact. This work directly supports Purpose Pledge Commitment #8, Climate Action.
Electric = 97.6%
Natural Gas = 2.2%
Fuel = 0.2%
In 2025, we generated 35,115 kWh of solar energy to power our electric vehicle power station and contribute alternative energy back to our local power grid.
Water Usage
Mountain Rose Herbs tracks water usage to better understand our operational impact and identify conservation opportunities. This data helps us set reduction goals, improve efficiency, and remain accountable to our sustainability commitments.
When evaluating our water use, we saw the biggest area of improvement was within our use of irrigation and worked hard to reduce this water use throughout the year. We are proud to report that we saved 618,000 gallons of water from being used for irrigation in 2025 compared to 2024—a 35% reduction.
“It’s about taking responsibility for our impact and creating positive change—and helping to show other companies what that looks like.”
-Shawn Donnille, Owner & President
2025 Metrics
Potable = 610,000 Gal
Irrigation = 1,152,000 Gal
Drinking Water = 4,690 Gal
Total = 1,766,690 Gal
Waste, Packaging, & Climate
TRUE Zero Waste Certification
Since our initial certification in 2016, we have continued to improve many of our policies and procedures around zero waste. We have been working todeepen our engagement with the TRUE (Total Resource Use and Efficiency) Zero Waste Certification program, a third‑party certification that helps facilities redesign systems to reduce waste, improve resource efficiency, and achieve at least 90% diversion from landfill, incineration, and the environment. In addition, we have been expanding collaboration with our recycling and reuse partners to find creative solutions to waste.
In 2025, we attended a zero waste workshop in Seattle that highlighted innovative ways to divert waste and provided opportunity for networking with other zero waste companies.
Future Goals:
In 2026, we will re-certify with TRUE and include our new production areas.
Throughout the next few years, we have a goal to refine our zero waste tracking systems and identify areas of improvement.
We are also planning to collaborate with a third-party nonprofit to conduct waste assessments at our headquarters and campus locations.
By 2028, we aim to achieve a 95% diversion rate.
“Sustainability is such a broad term and can take on so many different meanings for people, but in the end, it is an effort to meet our needs without compromising that of future generations.”
-Joey Schneiderhan, Sustainability Specialist
2025 Zero Waste Metrics
| Category | Total Weight | Percentage Total |
|---|---|---|
| Recycle | 361,148.0 | 74.8% |
| Organics (compost, free table, etc.) | 67,893.2 | 14.1% |
| Reuse | 20,173.8 | 4.2% |
| Reduce | 0.00% | |
| Other | 0.00% | |
| Non-Diversion (landfill, hazmat, etc.) | 33,619.0 | 7.0% |
| Grand Total Weight | 482,834.0 | |
Packaging
Mountain Rose Herbs is dedicated to continually improving our packaging choices by prioritizing materials and designs that reduce environmental impact and support our long‑term commitment to sustainability.
Beginning in 2025, our Order Fulfillment department transitioned from using an 8×6×4 inch cardboard box to an 11×15 inch cushioned paper mailer. This change reduced the overall Global Warming Potential by 47% across the packaging lifecycle, while also lowering fossil fuel use by 48% and water consumption by 6%.
Future Goal:
In alignment with our Purpose Pledge commitments, we will develop a comprehensive Sustainable Packaging Policy in 2026.
Climate Action
Mountain Rose Herbs partners with Planet FWD to advance our goal of accelerating a just transition to a climate‑stable future by supporting science‑based greenhouse gas (GHG) measurement and credible climate action across the value chain. Through this collaboration, Planet FWD helps us complete a rigorous cradle‑to‑customer GHG inventory and identify priority reduction opportunities, aligning with Purpose Pledge requirements for transparent, protocol‑aligned reporting. Together, Mountain Rose Herbs and Planet FWD are building the foundation for long‑term emissions reductions, regenerative ecosystem investment, and verified climate progress.
Future Goal:
In 2026, we will complete a GHG inventory and document ongoing climate projects. This will help us establish our current emissions and identify primary reduction opportunities.
Friends of Trees Partnership
Mountain Rose Herbs proudly partners with Friends of Trees, supporting on‑the‑ground climate action in our local community. By supporting groups like Friends of Trees with funding and paid volunteer hours, Mountain Rose Herb helps to plant the trees, meet the people doing the work, and be part of direct local carbon capture that benefits our region for generations.
In 2025, Friends of Trees planted 39,100 trees with sponsors and allies. Once they’re mature, those trees can pull in about 1.8 million pounds of CO₂ every year. With each mature tree absorbing around 48 lbs. of CO₂ annually. This is a real, measurable impact.
“Wherever possible, Friends of Trees plants native, long-lived trees that provide habitat value to insects, birds, pollinators, and others while at the same time capturing carbon.
-Eric Burk (Friends of Trees, Eugene-Springfield Director)
Employee Wellness
Mountain Rose Herbs fosters a culture of employee wellness by creating a workplace where financial stability, hands‑on learning, and community connection are central to supporting the health and wellbeing of every team member. This commitment is reflected in efforts to empower employees through meaningful training, encourage long‑term personal and professional growth, and cultivate a work environment grounded in care, equity, and shared purpose.
In 2025, we accomplished our goals of:
- Increasing our 401(k) match to 6% to encourage staff to invest in their future retirement security.
- We also increased our entry wage from $17 to $18 an hour.
- We implemented paid hands-on sustainability and recycling training once a month. The training is designed to engage and empower our staff to be an integral part of our zero-waste commitment.
- We paid 20% toward employee purchases of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares from a local farm.
Future Goals:
We will continue to enhance our campus green space by converting a shipping container to a sheltered outdoor area next to our demonstration garden.
Our facilities will continue to be updated to include more employee amenities, such as better bike storage, recreation equipment, and free on-site outdoor gear rental.
Mountain Rose Herbs is working towards being able to pay a portion of the healthcare premiums for employees’ family members.
We will provide staff with regular, formal performance feedback and career development resources.
Alternative Commute
Mountain Rose Herbs encourages low‑impact transportation as part of our commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and supporting healthier, more sustainable lifestyles for employees. Our Alternative Commute Program provides financial incentives for human powered (walking, biking, skateboarding) and non-human powered (bus, carpool) transportation to and from work.
Future Goal:
In 2026, we will increase the incentive for human powered transportation from $0.35 - $0.40/ mile logged. Passengers of carpoolers will also be eligible for the incentive, in addition to the driver.
2025 Alternative Commute Impact
- Miles logged = 35,261
- Amount paid = $9,877
Free Herbalism Project ℠
In 2013, we launched the Free Herbalism Project event series to give back to herbalists and our botanical community. Since then, it has evolved into an ongoing series of in-person and virtual educational events featuring visiting herbalists, how-to workshops, live music, and herbal tea to inspire community engagement and herbal learning—all free of charge.
In 2025, we brought the event to Bastyr University in Seattle. Herbal experts Suzanne Tabert, Sajah Popham, Anjali Deva, and Nicole Telkes came to share their wisdom with hundreds of participants. In 2026, we are expanding Mountain Rose Herbs Free Herbalism Project as an umbrella over all our education initiatives.
Equity & Inclusion
In 2025, we raised awareness of the unique challenges faced by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) farmers by adding the book Farming While Black by Leah Penniman to our catalog. We also sponsored 2 screenings of the film inspired by the book. One screening was shown at the EcoFarm conference in Pacific Grove, CA and one online screening on Earth Day as part of our Free Herbalism Project.
Also in 2025, Mountain Rose Herbs’ leadership team participated in an Indigenous Peoples cultural awareness training and field day facilitated by Live Oak Training, a local consulting group.
Elderberry Wisdom
Just outside Salem, Oregon, Elderberry Wisdom Farm is a small, Indigenous-owned nonprofit organization doing inspiring work. Their work focuses on native plant cultivation, ecological restoration, and, most importantly, passing on Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to future generations. TEK combines centuries of Indigenous understanding of the land with modern conservation practices, and it's at the heart of everything they do.
We connected with Elderberry Wisdom through our 2024 Grants 4 Plants program, and we were immediately drawn to their mission. During our most recent visit to the farm, we toured their Native Plant Nursery, learned about local ecosystems, and had engaging conversations with the interns, many of whom shared how TEK and Indigenous knowledge are shaping their careers and lives.
Mountain Rose Restoration Project
Since 2009, Mountain Rose Herbs employees have been carrying out restoration projects coordinated and funded entirely by our company through our Volunteer Program. Employees are paid up to 24 hours every year for volunteering with local nonprofit organizations of their choice or through company-organized events. We organize events through the Mountain Rose Restoration Project in partnership with local nonprofits to help employees use volunteer hours and to support ecosystem restoration and environmental stewardship.
Activities Include:
- Removing invasive species and planting native trees and shrubs along eroded or compromised riparian corridors.
- Clearing litter from watersheds and other natural areas to prevent contaminants from entering our waterways and groundwater.
- Enhancing our campus bioswale, retention pond, and rain garden, which help prevent contaminants from entering our river system.
- In 2025, we organized 9 events, and employees used a total of 853 Volunteer Hours.
Future Goal:
In 2026, we will increase the number of allotted paid volunteer hours from 24 to 40 hours annually.
Highlights from 2025 Volunteer Projects
- River Float: Our amazing employees joined Willamette Riverkeeper for a river float in the spring, removing a significant amount of trash and debris.
- Bike Path Cleanup: Mountain Rose Herbs helped clean a section of the West Eugene Bike Path, collecting 71 pounds of debris with Ocean Blue Project, contributing towards the goal of removing 5 million pounds of garbage from the ocean and inland watersheds in 2025.
- Plaza de Nuestra Comunidad Work Party: We supported Beyond Toxics and Plaza de Nuestra Comunidad by helping maintain their community garden, which serves as a safe and empowering space for Latinx and immigrant community members.
Community Engagement
Charitable Giving
Mountain Rose Herbs maintains a charitable giving budget to strengthen the communities and ecosystems that support our work. By investing in local nonprofits and environmental partners, we help advance projects that align with our values and contribute to long‑term community resilience. This approach reflects Purpose Pledge Commitment #7: Community, which emphasizes building reciprocal relationships and sharing resources to support thriving, place‑based communities.
In 2025, we donated $181,696 to 47 nonprofit partners, including:
| 2025 Giving Back Recipients |
|---|
| American Botanical Council |
| American Herbal Pharmacopoeia |
| American Herbalist Guild Membership |
| American Herbal Product Association |
| American Spice Trade Association |
| AHPA ERB Foundation |
| American Herbalist Guild |
| Beyond Toxics |
| BRING |
| Cascades Raptor Center |
| Cascadia Wildlands |
| Center for Rural Livelihoods |
| Coins for a Cause Annual Allocation |
| Cornucopia |
| EcoFarm |
| Elderberry Wisdom Farm |
| Emerald Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon |
| Eugene Film Festival |
| Florida Herbal Conference |
| Friends of Trees |
| Good Medicine Confluence |
| Great Lakes Herb Faire |
| Herbstalk |
| Jubilee Justice |
| Long Tom Watershed Council |
| Mt. Pisgah Arboretum |
| Midwest Women's Herbal Conference |
| Northern California Women’s Herbal Symposium |
| Oak Hill School |
| Ocean Blue |
| One Step Closer |
| Oregon Organic Coalition |
| Oregon Wild |
| Organic Growers School |
| OSU Student Farm |
| Oshala Farm Herb Camp |
| Provender Alliance |
| Rodale Institute |
| Run for Peace by Palmo Center |
| Seed Savers Exchange |
| Spirit Weavers |
| Sustainable Herbs Initiative |
| TeaFestPDX |
| Western Environmental Law Center |
| Wild Salmon Center |
| Willamette Farm and Food Coalition |
| Willamette Riverkeeper |
Giving Back Program
Mountain Rose Herbs matches employee contributions to local nonprofit organizations through our Giving Back Program. Employees choose a dollar amount to be deducted from each paycheck, and Mountain Rose Herbs matches it dollar for dollar.
| 2025 Giving Back Recipients |
|---|
| Beyond Toxics |
| Cascades Raptor Center |
| Cascadia Wildlands |
| Friends of Trees |
| Native Plant Society |
| NW Center for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) |
| Oregon Wild |
| Western Environmental Law Center |
| Willamette Riverkeeper |
2025 Contributions
Employee Contribution = $5,749.00
Mountain Rose Herbs Company Match = $5,749.00
Total = $11,498.00
Volunteer Program
Mountain Rose Herbs’ Volunteer Program gave employees 24 paid hours to support local nonprofits, helping strengthen community partnerships while advancing sustainability goals (increasing to 40 paid hours in 2026).
In 2025, we organized a cleanup with Ocean Blue Project at Meadowlark Prairie where volunteers removed 70 pounds of trash from our local watershed. We also partnered with Beyond Toxics at Plaza de Nuestra Comunidad to help maintain a community space that serves Latinx and immigrant families in Lane County. This collaboration reflects our commitment to environmental justice and to building healthier communities through hands-on service.
Giving Back Program
Mountain Rose Herbs matches employee contributions to local nonprofit organizations through our Giving Back Program. Employees choose a dollar amount to be deducted from each paycheck, and Mountain Rose Herbs matches it dollar for dollar.
2025 Contributions
Employee Contribution = $5,749.00
Mountain Rose Herbs Company Match = $5,749.00
Total = $11,498.00
Oregon Benefit Company
In 2018, Mountain Rose Herbs intentionally rejected the corporate model of maximizing shareholder profits and became an Oregon Benefit Company, a legal corporate status which states our company must provide a general public benefit—a positive impact on society and the environment through our business decisions and operations. In compliance with Oregon state law, we amended our bylaws and selected B Lab’s Impact Assessment tool as a third-party standard by which to gauge our impact as objectively as possible.
In 2025, Mountain Rose Herbs earned a score of 162.3 out of 200 points on the B Lab assessment, a 20-point increase from last year’s score, and a substantial increase from our baseline year.
View our 2025 Benefit Report here
impact report
Mountain Rose Herbs began publishing a Sustainability Report in 2012, reflecting our early commitment to transparency and environmental responsibility. Over time, this work evolved and grew into the Impact Report, a bigger and more complete report that shares our initiatives in a more user-friendly way. For the first time, we have transformed the report into an interactive online based version designed to make our progress, challenges, and commitments easier to navigate and understand. We remain dedicated to updating this digital Impact Report every year as part of our ongoing commitment to stewardship and accountability.
our impact & future goals
Supporting Our Community
& Growing
Our Impact
