(Brevard, NC) – Gaia Herbs has been awarded the 2008 Environment and Sustainability Award from Nutrition Business Journal. Each year, this award is presented to organizations within the nutrition industry that demonstrate innovation in supporting the environment and related causes. A committee of natural products industry leaders, many of whom are past award winners themselves, made the selection after an exhaustive evaluation process.
The factors causing Gaia Herbs to be chosen include a dedication to organics throughout the supply chain, innovative product development, energy use, and charitable giving. The dedication to organics is highlighted through Gaia Herbs’ own certified organic farm and manufacturing facility located in the mountains of Western North Carolina. According to Ric Scalzo, founder and president of Gaia Herbs, “We try to accomplish as much as we can in the soil and harvest the plant at its peak performance so that we end up with a product that is as close to the chemical profile found in nature as we can deliver. We do this without doing any damage to the soil or to the ecosystem, including the people and animals around that soil.”
Charitable giving in 2008 included the donation of over 17,000 pounds of organically-grown produce both to employees and to the local community, as well as founding sponsorship of an 800-acre botanical sanctuary in Costa Rica. Once completed, this preserve will protect medicinal plants native to Central America, generate skilled employment for local people, and provide a place for regional sustainability research.
One of the more groundbreaking achievements of 2008 was the creation of the EarthBottleTM– the world’s first all-natural, plant-based, biopolymer composite resin technology for dietary supplements. The EarthBottleTM was developed by Gaia Herbs using technology licensed from Clemson University and resulted in the founding of Earth Renewable Technologies, a research-based company dedicated to bring “bio-plastics” to a variety of applications including rigid packaging, industrial/agricultural fabrics, and construction materials.
Gaia Herbs also will be honored at the 2009 Nutrition Business Journal Summit to be held July 22-24 in Dana Point, California.
About Gaia Herbs
Gaia Herbs is a certified organic, vertically-integrated grower & manufacturer of premium quality botanical wellness solutions based in western North Carolina. We cultivate 250 acres of medicinal herbs which, along with all operations at our 45,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility, are certified organic each year by Oregon Tilth. Gaia Herbs’ extensive line of all-natural herbal products is carried by national and regional natural products stores, independent health food retailers, naturopathic doctors, herbalists, and other health professionals nationwide.
Visit us online at http://www.gaiaherbs.com or
http://www.gaiaprofessional.com
Contact: info@gaiaherbs.com
