The rose harvest in a warehouse in Turkey.
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This time of year is always difficult for gardeners. The days grow short, the garden is covered with snow and winter settles in. It’s too early to start seeds—the catalogs have only just begun arriving. What’s more, it seems like you just finish lunch, and the sun starts going down.
Flowering houseplants and pots of forced bulbs are sure to lift the spirits, but there’s another way to get relief: aromatherapy. The sense of smell is so powerful, it can take you back to the garden. Just a close your eyes and inhale.
We’ve always carried a line of aromatherapy products, but I’ve recently broadened my horizons with Know Your Source, a fellow Vermont-based company.
The goal at Know Your Source (KYS) is the same as the company name: to know where their products come from, how they are made and what makes them sustainable.
When browsing products on the site, you can get thorough details on each product and the people who make it. For instance, KYS offers an essential oil made from roses that comes from a company that sources oils from small-scale distillers around the world. The rose oil comes from Turkey, where it takes 60,000 roses to create a single ounce of the essential oil. One whiff is sure to take you back to the garden.
Rose oil from Know Your Source.
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As “green” products become more and more common, it’s harder to tell what the term means. KYS provides plenty of specific information, making it easy for shoppers to make thoughtful choices. For instance, products are marked with icons for “sustainable”, “handcrafted”, “vegan”, etc., but the company takes it a step further by explaining what is meant by the icons. Their definition of “sustainable” includes the following: “The designation indicates that the raw materials used in the product are from relatively sustainable sources … It’s all relative, of course. A hybrid car is better than a SUV but not as sustainable as a bicycle.”
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