New report highlights business risks and potential for social good in wild plant supply chains
May 2022 – FairWild Foundation’s partner TRAFFIC, along with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), and the IUCN SSC Medicinal Plant Specialist Group have released a new report on the social and biological risks in supply chains for 12 diverse wild plant ingredients: the wild dozen.
A staggering 60-90% of medicinal and aromatic plant species in trade are wild-harvested, yet the sustainability of their harvest is relatively unknown. The WildCheck report seeks to safeguard the future of people and plants by assigning low, medium or high social and biological risk ratings to wild harvested plant ingredients, to help businesses and consumers uncover the hidden stories behind their ingredients and make informed, responsible decisions about what they buy.
One of the species looked at was Candelilla (Euphorbia antisyphilitica), a source of candelilla wax, or E902. Harvested only from the vast wilderness of Mexico’s Chihuahuan Desert, yet encountered daily by people the world over, candelilla wax demonstrates the social and biological risk in many wild plant supply chains. Its sourcing raises health and safety and environmental impact concerns, yet also provides significant development opportunities for local communities.
Candelilla wax is found in a wide range of products. In fact, its versatility as an ingredient makes it the most traded wild-sourced medicinal and aromatic plant listed on CITES Appendix II, by volume.
Wax from the plant stems is used in cosmetics (often as a vegan alternative to other waxes like beeswax), chewing gum, food, medicines, and other industrial products such as adhesives and polishes.
The report reviews options to ensure the sustainable sourcing of Candelilla and the other wild plant species featured, and highlights the FairWild certification scheme as a framework to ensure responsible use by the industry.
“We encourage industries using the Wild Dozen, or any other wild plant ingredients, to delve into their supply chains - to understand the working conditions of harvesters that are supplying the ingredients they use, and consider how they can support a sustainable harvest and good working conditions. The report provides plenty of suggestions of how to achieve this.”
Sven Walter - Senior Forestry Officer at FAO