From Bottles to Bricks: How WishGarden Is Closing the Loop on Plastic Waste

At WishGarden Herbs, doing what’s right has always mattered more than doing what’s easy. From my mother, founder Catherine Hunziker, I learned that the best herbal medicine starts with respect—for people, plants, and the planet that sustains them. Her example taught me that true stewardship isn’t about perfection—it’s about persistence, showing up for what matters, and leaving every system a little better than we found it.

That same conviction is what drives our newest milestone: WishGarden Herbs is now officially Plastic Neutral Certified through rePurpose Global. This means that for every ounce of plastic we use across our operations, we fund the ethical collection, sorting, and recycling of that same amount from nature-bound environments—keeping it out of our oceans and ecosystems, and turning it into new materials like bricks and playground equipment.

So far in 2025, our partnership has already helped recover 6,944 pounds of plastic waste—the equivalent of 7.5 million straws, 175,000 bottles, or more than half a million plastic bags—through Project Laut Yang Tenang in West Java, Indonesia. And that number continues to grow: by year’s end, we’ll have supported the removal of even more ocean-bound plastic, keeping thousands of additional pounds of waste out of nature.

This initiative not only defends Indonesia’s biodiverse ocean ecosystems, it also supports 77 local workers—providing fair pay, safer conditions, and dignified jobs for communities traditionally excluded from the formal economy.

A Low-Plastic Legacy

While achieving Plastic Neutral certification is a major step, it’s also a continuation of how we’ve always done things at WishGarden. Our products have always come in glass bottles, not plastic, because we’ve never believed in excess or unnecessary waste. We don’t use cardboard boxes for marketing flair or layers of packaging to “look” sustainable—we’d rather simply be sustainable.

To us, waste minimalism isn’t a trend or talking point; it’s the natural outcome of caring about what we make and how it moves through the world.

This year, we carried that same mindset into the relaunch of our legacy body care line, replacing old plastic packaging with recyclable glass. In our shipping department, we’ve eliminated all plastic materials except for tape and pallet wrap—and even those are on track for replacement by 2026.

Every decision, every redesign, is a small but deliberate act of alignment between our values and our operations. We don’t just want to make herbal formulas that heal people—we want to make sure they don’t harm the planet in the process.

Offsetting What We Can’t Yet Eliminate

Plastic Neutrality isn’t an excuse—it’s a bridge. It allows us to take immediate, verified action while continuing to design out plastic use wherever possible. Through rePurpose Global, our contributions directly fund collection and recovery systems in areas most impacted by pollution—helping to create global equity and environmental regeneration at the same time.

This certification joins our broader suite of impact initiatives, including our EcoCart carbon offset program, through which WishGarden has already offset over 2 million pounds of CO₂ emissions. These contributions support the Envira Amazonia Project in Brazil, protecting more than 100,000 hectares of rainforest and preserving vital biodiversity in the Amazon basin.

At home, we’ve also made measurable progress toward zero waste, diverting over 70% of our production materials from landfills through smarter packaging choices and improved recycling and reuse systems. Combined with our renewable energy transition, with 40% of our manufacturing powered by wind and solar, these steps ensure that every bottle we make carries less impact and more integrity.

Together, these efforts form a single, living ecosystem of accountability—proof that small actions, compounded over time, truly add up to big change.

A playground made from reclaimed recycled plastic

Building the Future, Brick by Brick

Through our partnership with rePurpose, we’re not just offsetting plastic—we’re investing in a circular future where waste becomes resource and responsibility becomes culture.

As a family-run, women-led herbal company, we’re proud to help shape that future—not with perfection, but with persistence. Because the choices we make now, from the bottles we fill to the packaging we ship, are the building blocks of the world we’ll leave behind.

Together, we’re keeping plastic out of nature—and hope in motion. 🌿

Anna Harshman is Vice President of Impact & Development at WishGarden Herbs, a family-founded herbal medicine company where she's also a part owner. She leads sustainability and market expansion initiatives, bringing diverse operational experience and international perspective from working abroad. Anna holds a BA in International Studies and Political Science from UC San Diego and is passionate about advancing WishGarden's mission of empowering health through quality herbal medicine while supporting environmental health and farming communities globally.

For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, or to sell any product.