Quality of Herbs at Herbs Hands Healing ltd -Your Questions Answered.

Organic Wild Crafted and (Wild Harvested) What Do These Terms Mean?

What does 'Organic' mean?

'Organic' is a term which is strictly defined by law. All production of food intended for sale as organic must be inspected annually by an authorised body such as The Soil Association. The Soil Association's Symbol (like others governing organic quality) is only awarded to herbs processed according to their rigorous standards, which cover a broad range of aspects including growing methods, farm animal welfare, environmental criteria, processing and packaging. Organic herbs are grown without the used of chemical fertilisers, herbicides or pesticides and the use of genetically modified organisms is prohibited. Instead of these artificial methods, the development of healthy, fertile soil, growing a mixture of crops and encouraging a diversity of beneficial insects and other wildlife contributes towards healthy, healing plants produced in a vibrant, unpolluted countryside.

Once all criteria are met a constant surveillance or growing methods is kept up and certificates awarded on individual crops, which prove worthy of standards imposed.

What are Wild Crafted Herbs?
(Sometimes known as Wild Harvested Herbs.)

It is said that herbs effectively gathered from their natural habitats may be more potent than those that are cultivated. Wild crafting was a common and original worldwide process for collecting herbs; it was only superseded by commercial growing once demand and supply could not be met. It still is a frequently used method of collection and generally only reputable wild herb crafters who know how to correctly identify herb species and who pick from areas unpolluted by roads, industry or conventional farming, pursue this caring profession. Gathering takes place at the peak of each herb's growing cycle. All harvesting is done taking in mind the non-depletion of natural plant populations or damage to their habitats. The word 'crafted' conjures the care and knowledge that goes into such a special way of herb culling. Sometimes the word 'Wild Harvested' is also used, and to many it means the same thing, but some companies view the word as meaning those who collect without knowledge or care; something to be avoided at all costs. [Herbs Hands Healing does not necessarily take the view that wild harvesting necessarily means this lack of care and knowledge]

Many different herbs are collected in the above manner; for instance Lime Tree blossoms from French meadows, Rosehips from Alaskan wilderness and Rosemary from Spanish National Parks are but a few of the hundreds upon hundreds of herbs collected in in a monitored fashion.

Incidentally, where an organic herb is put alongside a wild crafted herb it can't be called an 'organic formulae' and cannot therefore be regulated at this stage by organic regulating associations. Therefore such regulation still lies within professional herbal practitioners and their knowledge of quality wildcrafting.

What are Cultivated Herbs?

At Herbs Hands Healing Ltd we prefer to avoid 'conventionally' grown cultivated herbs because of the toxic, contaminated aspects. Very occasionally, (about 15% of our materia medica) we may be forced to purchase these but generally we go without or choose a different herb temporarily. Our prices also reflect our choice in using purely organic and wild crafted herbs.

Against Testing On Or Use of Animal Parts

Whether it's our vegetable cellulose capsules (the majority of commercially supplied ones are made from animal gelatine) or the fact that we are against any research on animals in order to test the efficiency of herbs; Herbs Hands Healing Ltd is dedicated to animal respect and welfare. In accordance with present day western traditional herbal medicine we do not condone or use animal parts used with plants for medicine. All of our body care products reflect and honour the same intention, however we do use beeswax in our handmade ointments.

Herb Sourcing, Cultivation & Production

In 2004, Plantlife International, the wild plant conservation charity, claimed that the £11 billion global herbal medicine industry is causing approximately 10,000 herbs worldwide to become endangered. Wildcrafted herbs are over-harvested and species are destroyed as a result. [WHO (The World Health Organisation) has also flagged up serious concerns over this.] The majority of the herbs we use are grown in the UK on a local biodynamic organic farm. The organically grown and biodynamic farming method honours the relationship of planetary influences on plant life and the rhythms of nature, without the use of pesticides and other chemicals.

Environmental Sustainability & Ethical Values & Considerations

If carefully managed, herbal medicine production is a sustainable industry. The continued growth of herb sales can also help to protect and increase the biodiversity of many ecosystems around the world which are presently on a decline, due to problems such as over-farming and pollution. 75% of our herbs are grown locally, in lush fertile organic and biodynamic soil. The other 25% mostly comes from the rest of Europe and a small percentage of that from America. This is important to us, since the less herbs we import the less ‘travel miles’ and the more we support a real alternative to the conventional farming industry in Britain. We feel particularly strongly about environmental consciousness, since our relationship to Mother Nature is naturally a close one. We care about the quality and standard of all our products, right from the very beginning when the herbs we use are still growing, to cropping and production, and finally to when you, the customer, use our products. Therefore, our company ethos is to be intelligent and ‘in-tune’ with the environment. All our packaging and containers can be recycled or reused by you.

Good Manufacturing Practice & Taste Tests

Our formulae are mixed in accordance with good manufacturing guidelines with batch numbering and data for safety in place. When the raw material comes into the factory it is tested for correct botanical species and for non-contamination, using thin layer chromatography analysis and microscopic work. This means we can rely upon the raw plant material. Other stages mean that bio-chemists test, analyse, monitor and finally release the finished product. Otherwise many of the stages from plant to bottle are supervised by qualified herbalists who not least use their taste buds to analyse primordial flavours. As they say ‘the proof is in the eating’. Our flavours are strong and primal and their effect can be felt as strongly on the taste buds as in our organs, cells and blood stream.