Wildcrafted Essential Oils

So how about wild-crafting? Wouldn’t it be better to distill essential oils from plants that have endured the stresses of the wild? This is often the case, though the prices of these oils reflect the difficulty of harvesting relative to the efficiency of farm operations.

Another consideration is the ethics of wildcrafting. Ethical wildcrafters do not pull every plant in the area. They are careful not to disturb the sustainability of the local ecosystem. This is not always the case when profit is the motive. In several cases (sandalwood and rosewood) over-harvesting of wild populations has done severe damage to local ecosystems.

Finally, wild crafted oils from areas of heavy industrial pollution or even nuclear plant meltdown may well carry higher level of toxins than agricultural products. Alma del Sol chooses not to purchase oils from China or Russia for these reasons.