Biodiversity Preservation
South Africa is home to more than 20 000 species of flowering plants. Even the small province of Kwa-Zulu Natal (home base for Esse) has eleven times as many tree species as the whole of Europe. This plant diversity is an enormous resource and has already yielded many new actives for skincare and several pharmaceuticals.
Our plants are, however, under considerable threat from vastly increased human pressure on the environment, invasive alien plants and unsustainable harvest to supply the local “muthi” market.
We are making an effort to retain genetic diversity of plants that are under particular threat. 5% of our net profit is directed toward growing threatened plants from seed and maintaining populations of these plants.
We are also very conscious of how our raw materials are sourced. The community projects that harvest many of our raw materials from the wild are externally monitored to ensure sustainablility. These projects have given the bushveld a commercial value to the local people and will help to protect these vast tracts of pristine land.
