SHI Toolkit 3.0 · Sustainable Herbs Initiative
Best Practices for Sustainable & Ethical Sourcing
Our goal is to shift the botanical industry from transactional to reciprocal relationships, where value and respect flow in all directions, and every actor in the herbal value network has intrinsic worth.
- What concrete tools can we use to support and respect stakeholders throughout the sourcing network?
- How do we make the risks borne by different stakeholders visible — and help reduce them?
- What can each of us do to build resilience in source communities rather than extract it?
- How can our actions become examples that strengthen trust and shared prosperity across the industry?
The Chapters
Browse the toolkit
Each chapter is a standalone guide with full content, a downloadable PDF, and a navigable table of contents.
Chapter 1
SHI Core Practices
The heart behind the tools. How to bring awe, gratitude, deep listening, and embodied presence into the work of sourcing herbs.
Chapter 2
The 5 Sourcing Principles
Five commitments, traceable sourcing, fair prices, collaborative relationships, producer investment, and research, that guide every decision.
Chapter 3
Sourcing Self-Assessment
A three-part questionnaire to assess where your company stands, identify what’s working, and build a practical action plan.
Chapter 4a
Building Relationships in Sourcing
The PPP (People–Plants–Place) framework and the practical shifts that move trade from transactional to genuinely reciprocal.
Chapter 4B
Importance of Supplier Visits
How to plan, conduct, and follow up on supplier visits that build real trust — and what to avoid so visits don’t damage the relationship.