Remedy’s Sustainable Choice
Sustainability is a core pillar of Remedy’s company ethos. This value extends to all aspects of our business, from packaging to curating to client health education. We are passionate about not only 1) empowering folks with the knowledge to make informed, sustainable choices towards their health, but 2) reducing our environmental impact for the health of our one and only planet.
We have continued to commit to our sustainability practices and are continually looking for new ways to improve upon them. In this blog post, we outline the key foundational points of our sustainability principles and some specific examples of how we have stood by them over the past year!
Eco-friendly packaging materials
It goes without saying that waste is a HUGE problem in the US. Unlike glass or metal which can be recycled indefinitely, or even paper which can be recycled up to 7 times, plastic can only be recycled once or twice before ending up in a landfill for good (1). What’s more, it can take a plastic bottle from anywhere between 70-450 years to degrade (2).
Since our opening in 2019 we have only used biodegradable prescription vials which completely break down into organic matter within 3 years. We are the ONLY pharmacy in San Diego offering green vials, so if a commitment to sustainability is something you value in your pharmacy, you are in the right place.
This year, we set out to improve the shipping materials we use to ship out our prescriptions and online orders. This sounds simple, but it has been a challenging task to find a cost-efficient, low-plastic option that also protects the products we ship. We are excited to have transitioned our outer packaging from plastic envelopes to recyclable ones for all our prescription packages and are soon to convert all of our supplement/retail packages.
At the beginning of 2022, we launched an in-house, curated custom herbal tea service. Compared to typical petroleum-based plastic bags, our teas are packaged in 100% compostable, bio-based, and non-GMO kraft stand-up pouches. The labels we use are matte paper– not lined with plastic film– making them 100% compostable as well. We make all of our teas in-house at Remedy in small batches, prioritizing our local community.
Shopping Local
Shopping locally is inherently eco-friendly and we aim to bring in local products whenever possible so as to reduce shipping emissions of our products. This is particularly true of heavier products, which are innately less eco-friendly to ship because they require more fuel, especially if shipped by air (3).
Some of our local brands include Nattybratty, Dhaerma, Amahu.
We love featuring local products and local brands, we are always on the lookout for these opportunities, and if you have a local brand you would like to introduce us to, please let us know!
Curating brands based on similar values
We always vet our suppliers based on their commitments to environmental sustainability. Specifically, we look for:
- Organic ingredients, free of pesticides and harmful chemicals
- Packaging with recycled and/or recyclable materials
- Sustainably sourced botanicals harvested through regional wild-crafting techniques or confirmed sustainable farming practices
Culturally conscious products
This is a continuous work in progress, but we happily welcome any and all suggestions for introducing products that are not only environmentally sustainable but also socio-culturally conscious. Over the last year we worked to bring in white-sage alternatives for smoke cleansing and burning. There is a lot that goes unsaid in popular wellness discussions regarding the history of native plants, their unethical overharvesting, and the specific roles these plants play within indigenous spirituality. We want to be advocates for such awareness and look forward to growing in this regard.
We know that sustainability is a marathon, not a sprint. The only way for sustainability to really take hold is to commit to small, consistent actions over time. These consistent choices become habits, which may eventually influence other stakeholders to prioritize our planet’s future. Whether you are one person, a small business, a third party, or a large corporation, sustainability is our responsibility!
Updated: April 2025
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