Over the past couple of years I have been doing some pretty deep soul searching on ways I can strengthen the ethical backbone of Healingscents. The ways in which I source my oils has always been an integral part of my company, but I wanted to figure out new ways to give back to my community and help the planet. There is a big difference between having an idea and actually executing that idea into fruition. Trust me, I know… I’m full of ideas that I never act on. Being an entrepreneur often means that you are a visionary of sorts. As this is definitely in my nature, I am never short of ideas on how to improve things in all areas of my life. Those who know me best know that I am always plotting and scheming my next “great” idea…be it a good one or not! This is not necessarily the greatest quality as it generally means that I can’t sit still and enjoy the present. I’m always looking ahead, planning my next project, product, marketing idea, garden bed etc. Every once in a while I get an idea and execute it all the way through to the end. Joining forces with Eden Reforestation, thankfully, has been one of those ideas. Before I decided on Eden, I did a lot of research, made a lot of phone calls, talked to a lot of people and asked some hard questions. In the end, what sold me on Eden was the fact that governing bodies around the world often use Eden’s projects to plant trees on behalf of their reforestation projects. I also love that I can choose which country in which to plant my trees. I source my oils from all over the world and I want to be able to directly impact the communities that my oils come from. Hopefully, it is common knowledge in the Healingscents community that essential oils take an incredible amount of resources to procure, so it only makes sense that we give back to those communities in some capacity or another. Eden also has systems in place to ensure the survival of the seedlings. Seedling survival is obviously a critical aspect of the reforestation process. I have been quietly donating the funds to plant one tree for every oil that I sell for the past year. I don't have the exact numbers to date but I would estimate that it’s somewhere around 7000 trees. I’ve chosen to plant in Madagascar since I have a large selection of oils from there. I know that’s not enough trees to save the planet, but that’s 7000 more trees than there were before. So thank you to all of you who have helped me reach that number in just one year without even knowing it! The Black Lives Matter movement in the U. S. has raised my awareness of rampant and violent racism against Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour communities here in Canada, as well as in the rest of the world. In addition to educating myself about the impacts of racism, and beginning to unpack my privilege as a white woman in the world, I am donating 25% of all online sales during the month of July to Black Lives Matter Canada. If this is an issue that is of importance to you and you are in need of some oils, I encourage you to order in July so that your impact that be felt in these communities that are in need of support. If you need a bit of inspiration on how good humans can be, check out the video of trees planted by Eden Reforestation projects just in the month of April! Yours in love & aromatics Leah
