We care for biodiversity around the world

Everything that grows and thrives in our gardens is cultivated according to the principles of biodynamic farming. Of course we don’t use chemical fertilisers or pesticides. We see our gardens as ecosystems, with plants, soil and animals thriving both above and below ground. We want these organisms to be healthy and in balance: it’s the only way to ensure that nature and people are healthy, too. Our founders helped bring the idea of biodynamic agriculture to life. Now we are helping our raw material partners to adopt this sustainable way of farming.

At Weleda, our sustainability commitment goes beyond sourcing high quality, organic raw materials. We also care about how they are grown. The soil plays an important role: it is a prerequisite for plants’ healthy development. Our natural farming methods keep the soil healthy and full of nutrient-rich humus, providing a home for plenty of beneficial organisms, like earthworms. They make the soil fertile so that healthy plants can thrive. We extract nourishing substances from these plants for our natural skin care products and medicines.

Our eight Weleda medicinal plant gardens are spread across different continents and are centres of biodiversity. This is where we grow healthy plants for our medicines and natural skincare products. By applying the principles of biodynamic farming we have created resilient ecosystems that cope well with heat, rain and drought, where biodiversity can thrive.

Seeds must be open-pollinated. This is because plants with the same characteristics, such as resistance, can only be grown again from open-pollinated seeds. With our seed strategy, we are working to preserve biodiversity and safeguard the existence of natural raw materials. As part of this effort, we are supporting other initiatives as well, like Save our Seeds. We are a founding member of the Sunflower Initiative for Bio-Seeds (IBS, Initiative Bio-Saatgut Sonnenblumen), which aims to breed open-pollinated organic seeds from hybrid seeds. We are also a member and co-founder of Hortus officinarum, an association that promotes biodynamic cultivation and propagation of medicinal plants.

Compost, fermented nettle tea, and other preparations play an important role in biodynamic farming: they ensure that the soil is fertile. Our goal in caring for the soil isn’t to exhaust the soil through overuse but rather to aerate the soil and enrich it with natural nutrients. Here are three ways in which we naturally strengthen our plants and improve their resistance to pests: