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Organic Herb Trading Co.

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by KylieTastic (talk | contribs) at 12:54, 7 August 2015 (remove duplicate refs now added properly inline). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

  • Comment: Maintains a very promotional tone throughout the draft. The references under the "references" section are not reliable sources, while some of the inline citations are. The tone is the major issue, as can be easily seen just from reading the table of contents. The Average Wikipedian (talk) 14:15, 31 July 2015 (UTC)
The on-site Herb Field where fresh herbs are grown for the Organic Herb Trading Company to sell to their customers

The Organic Herb Trading Company is a supplier of Organic Herbs and Spices. It was founded by Mike Brook in 1982 in a small village called Hambledon near Henley-On-Thames. Over the last 30 years the company has grown and sourced the UK’s largest range of ingredients for a diverse range of customers in the herbal tea, food, health & beauty and medicinal markets. Their customers are based both in the UK and worldwide and include some much respected brands including Pukka Herbs, Neal's Yard Remedies and Riverford. It has been said that the Organic Herb Trading Company pioneered organic, Fairtrade and sustainable herb sourcing in the UK.[1]

How is all started

Founder, Mike Brook, began to grow his own herbs on an acre of land in a village called Hambledon – near Henley-on-Thames. He soon noticed that there was a gap in the market for high quality herbal ingredients, this, combined with his interest in the increasingly growing organic movement sparked his decision to establish a business to supply herbs and spices to the retail sector. Their first customer was Neal’s Yard Remedies who opened in 1981 and whose partnership remains strong today.[2] In 1985 the only certified organic range In 1994, both Mike and the business moved from Hambledon to Milverton in Somerset. With the new, larger location the company was able to expand from the sourcing of herbs and produce and added a range of machinery to the site which enabled the company to cut, mill and blend herbs for specific customers required needs. The branded arm of the business, known as Hambledon Herbs, was established to sell teas, herbs and spices to the retail sector, but was then sold in 2004 with the decision to focus more closely with mainstream retailers on a larger scale.[3] Today the Organic Herb Trading Company sources products from over 40 countries and has 725 products which to sell.

Philosophy

The company was built upon its commitment to both organic food and farming and ethical trade around the world. There has been much research into the benefits of organic such as organic crops having a higher nutritional quality with greater antioxidants, greater biodiversity.[4] Strict standards regarding what farmers can and cannot do meaning the products avoid artificial fertilisers and pesticides, which address the problem of climate friendly food production.[5] More information regarding the benefits of organic agriculture is discussed by the Soil Association.[6]

The Suppliers

In connection with the philosophy The Organic Herb Trading Company mission [7] has been to established lasting relationships with their suppliers across the world. The relationship with the suppliers is based on the following relationship; Ethical Trade – no attempt to negotiate or drive down prices and in some cases have offered to pay higher prices or provide broader financial support. Organic Integrity - Insistence of only the highest level of organic integrity. All suppliers are approved by certification bodies who comply with highest accreditation standards and are approved under EU organic regulations 834/2007 and 889/2008 annexes III and IV.

The Products

Typically holds in stock over 725 herbs, spices, superfoods, powders, extracts, oils, fats, butters hydosols, flavours, waxes and seaweeds. These products are both sourced internationally, as well as being grown on site in Milverton. Their products are organically certified by the Soil Association and covered by BRC approval at Grade A.


Superfoods

The so-called superfoods contain an unusually high content of antioxidants, vitamins or nutrients and is thought to have health benefits that may even for some medical conditions.[8] Because of this the superfoods industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years. The Organic Herb Trading has been responsible for many significant ‘firsts’ for the sourcing of many superfoods including helping to launch Baobab into the market[9]

The Herb Field

While most of the products are sourced, The Organic Herb Trading Company also grow some of their own medicincal and culinary herbs and sell them as fresh product, or process them for further use. Over 100 species are grown on site in Milverton on raised beds and both the growing and harvesting is managed by Sarah Western.

Fairwild

The Fairwild scheme established in 2008, promotes sustainable use of wild-collected ingredients ensuring that workers are treated with respect and receive a fair pay The foundation was built upon the increasingly important role in which wild ingredients are playing within ethical supply chains.[10] Many brands have started to adopt the label such as Traditional Medicinals, Pukka Herbs and Neals Yard Remedies.[11] Mike Brook – the Founding Director was a founding member of the Union for Ethical Biotrade and the Organic Herb Trading Company is also a founding member of FairWild. In September 2014 they became the UK first processor and distributor of FairWild certified herbs and spices[12].

References

  1. ^ Sebastian Pole, co-founder of Pukka Herbs
  2. ^ Beavis, Lynn."Fair trading for the future", The Guardian, London 30 April 2015. Retrived on 29 July 2015
  3. ^ "Hambleden Herbs - About > Overview". hambledenherbs.com.
  4. ^ The peer reviewed research, a 'meta-analysis' of 343 previous studies by Newcastle University, and published in the British Journal of Nutrition
  5. ^ 1.Bengtsson, J., Ahnstrom, J. and Weibull A-C. (2005) ‘The effects of organic agriculture on biodiversity and abundance: a meta-analysis’ Journal of Applied Ecology, 42(2), 461-269
  6. ^ "What is organic food and why choose organic? Soil Association". soilassociation.org.
  7. ^ "Organic Herb Trading Company - The Organic Herb Trading Company is a leader in the organic herb and spice sector". organicherbtrading.com.
  8. ^ http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/diet-and-cancer/food-controversies 24 March 2015. Retrieved on 29 July 2015.
  9. ^ http://www.fdin.org.uk/2010/04/unique-superfruit-ingredient-now-available-in-uk/"Unique superfood now available in the UK", 22/04/2010. Retrieved 07/08/2015.
  10. ^ "FairWild - Home". fairwild.org.
  11. ^ http://www.fairwild.org/news/2012/6/29/pukka-herbs-launches-fairwild-certified-herbal-tea.html"Pukka Herbs launches FairWild certified herbal teas", 29 June 2012. Retrieved on 29 July 2015.
  12. ^ Beavis, Lynn."Fair trading for the future", The Guardian, London 30 April 2015. Retrived on 29 July 2015

The Organic Herb Trading Company

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