Louisville firm WishGarden Herbs has gained B Corp certification and become the first North American brand to sponsor a FairWild‑certified collector, moves the company says formalise decades of sustainable sourcing, domestic wild‑crafting and community‑focused practices.
WishGarden Herbs of Louisville, Colorado, has marked two notable steps in its corporate evolution: the company has achieved B Corp certification and is sponsoring the first FairWild‑certified collector operating in North America, moves it says underpin a long‑running commitment to sustainable herbalism.
According to the company, B Corp status represents more than a marketing badge; it is the culmination of decades of policies and practices woven into the business. WishGarden describes a suite of initiatives — from sustainable sourcing and partnerships with small‑scale producers to renewable energy transition, water‑use reduction and waste‑diversion strategies — that it says reflect the values set out by founder Catherine Hunziker nearly half a century ago. Anna Harshman, vice‑president of impact & development and Hunziker’s daughter, said in coverage of the announcement that independence gives the firm “the freedom to lead with our values” and helps make those commitments “concrete.” That statement was published alongside the company announcement.
Independent verification of the B Corp milestone is publicly available: B Lab’s directory lists WishGarden Herbs as a Certified B Corporation with a B Impact Score of 86.2 and records the certification in May 2025. The B Lab profile breaks down performance across governance, workers, community and environment, providing a degree of external accountability for the claim that the firm now meets the standards required for B Corp status.
The FairWild sponsorship is intended to extend that traceability and conservation focus to wild‑crafted supply chains. WishGarden says it is sponsoring a US‑based forest‑farming partner to complete FairWild certification in 2025 and that it is the first North American brand to register with FairWild in this way. FairWild’s participant listing confirms WishGarden as a FairWild registered licencee in 2025 and identifies several FairWild‑certified wild‑harvested ingredients used by the company, including goldenseal, wild cherry bark and black haw bark. The organisation’s standards are designed to protect at‑risk plant species while ensuring fair pay and ethical harvesting — an outcome the company’s senior sourcing manager, Lauren Ann Nichols‑Sheffler, described as central to “strengthening local herbal economies” in the announcement.
WishGarden and its press material set out a number of specific sourcing and environmental metrics. The company states that 98% of its botanicals are organic, regenerative, sustainably wild‑crafted or forest farmed; 37% are sourced from small‑scale producers; and 63% are grown or wild‑crafted in the United States. Environmental targets and outcomes cited in the company release include running on around 40% renewable energy, offsetting roughly 75% of emissions through carbon projects, a reported 13% reduction in water use and a 73% waste‑diversion rate. Those figures appear in the company’s statement to the trade press and on its own sourcing and quality pages, which describe a Vendor Verification Programme, regular botanical safety reviews using the American Herbal Products Association’s Botanical Safety Handbook, third‑party testing, and in‑house quality controls performed at a CGMP‑regulated, FDA‑inspected facility in Boulder, Colorado.
Some of the company’s climate‑mitigation work is customer‑facing: WishGarden offers a carbon‑neutral ordering option through a partnership with EcoCart, which funnels funds to verified forestry and ecosystem projects such as peatland restoration and large‑scale reforestation schemes. The firm casts these actions as part of an integrated approach to reducing and offsetting the footprint of production and distribution.
Taken together, the independent listings from B Lab and FairWild provide external corroboration for the two headline claims — B Corp certification and FairWild registration — while much of the operational and environmental detail (renewable energy share, offsets, domestic sourcing percentages and waste‑diversion rates) currently rests on company reporting. Those figures are specific and measurable, and therefore amenable to future verification through disclosures such as B Lab’s impact assessments, FairWild audit reports, and third‑party sustainability assurance.
For an industry that relies heavily on wild‑harvested and regionally specific botanicals, the combination of B Corp assessment and FairWild participation is likely to be read as an attempt to lock in stronger traceability and social safeguards. If realised at scale, the approach could bolster domestic sourcing and support livelihoods among small‑scale harvesters and forest farmers while reducing pressure on at‑risk native species.
WishGarden frames the moves as continuity rather than change: the company traces woman‑led ownership back to 1979 and positions these certifications as structural steps to keep those values intact as it grows. Observers and purchasers seeking to judge progress should look for the published B Lab Disclosure Report, FairWild certification audit outcomes, and recurring third‑party testing or assurance statements that can track whether the company’s operational claims translate into sustained, verifiable outcomes for plants, people and place.
Source: Noah Wire Services
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