The American Botanical Council's (ABC) Sustainable Herbs Program (SHP) has ushered in its new era as an independent Sustainable Herbs Initiative (SHI). Started in 2016 by SHP Founder and Director Ann Armbrecht, Ph.D., the program was launched as a web-only education project to inform visitors on the backstory of the herbs. Two years later, the project was turned into a full-fledged program under ABC and was added to the lineup of ABC research and educational programs which included HerbalGram, HerbClip, the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program (BAPP), and HerbMedPro.
ABC Founder and Executive Director, Mark Blumenthal, WholeFoods Magazine's 2023 Person of the Year, discussed the impact of SHP: "Ann Armbrecht and SHP have made an enormous, unparalleled contribution to the awareness and consciousness of the herb and medicinal plant industry in North America and worldwide about the global imperative of operating herb businesses in a sustainable and regenerative manner. SHP’s focus has been not only on the value and importance of plants, but on the value and importance of the people who are involved in producing botanical materials for health products."
Last month, after six years under ABC and providing monthly newsletters, more than 40 webinars exploring the different facets of the plant-people dynamic, educational video content for the SHP website, and other key information on the sustainable and regenerative sourcing of herbs and medicinal plants, the program was established as an independent initiative to build on its collaborations and further support the sustainable and ethical sourcing of medicinal plants in the botanical industry.
“This exciting new development represents the increasingly collaborative model that SHP has been engaging. ABC has been a wonderful home to incubate and help grow SHP," said Armbrecht.
Later this summer, a report detailing the growth and overall impact of SHP during its time as an ABC program will appear in issue #141 of HerbalGram. In addition to its continued support, the American Botanical Council will also be reporting on the initiative's progress and collaborations throughout ABC publications.
