To Your Health!

Sustainability Meets Wellness in the Evergreen State

Washingtonians are known for their healthy lifestyle. It’s the ninth healthiest state in the country, according to Sharecare’s annual Community WellBeing Index. It’s also a state that prides itself on sustainability and ecoconsciousness. WalletHub ranked it the ninth most environmentally friendly state in the U.S. Is it Washington’s unprecedented access to medical cannabis that’s driving a trend toward health and environmental wellness?

There aren’t many metrics to measure causation between cannabis legalization and citizen health, but states led by Democrats tend to be more eco-friendly, according to WalletHub. Plus, blue state citizens are on average healthier and more accepting of cannabis decriminalization. At the intersection of these areas are health and wellness companies specializing in sustainably-produced products. Verdant Leaf, a cannabis company and beneficial mushroom producer has been selling mushroom supplements in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and nationwide since 2018. Wes Parks, Verdant Leaf CEO, uses his knowledge of organically-grown cannabis to create beneficial mushroom compounds ideal for the Washington marketplace.

“We were growing hemp and cannabis organically for a long time and used mushrooms and biology, in general, to drive those cropping systems. As hemp markets started to decline, we used our knowledge of fungus to start blazing a trail into that industry and combining phytocompounds from cannabis and hemp with the medicinal qualities of these mushrooms,” Parks shared.

What sets Verdant Leaf apart from many other cannabis and mushroom producers is its commitment to sustainable packaging. Its packaging is made from hemp-based paper and post-consumer recycled material, along with ocean-recycled plastic containers and hemp/soy-based inks. “What we like to do is produce as many of the ingredients that we use for our products as we can. The CBD in our products is grown on our USDA Organic farm, along with the mushrooms you get in those products,” Parks noted.

The company is also taking advantage of the techforward atmosphere of the PNW to create innovative product lines. Verdant Leaf is launching a line of Mycosonic capsules developed with Mycosonic Extraction Technology. “We’re taking our Mycosonic Extraction and turning it back into a powder and putting that in our capsules. It’s a proprietary sonicated extraction where we’re taking molecules that are generally measured in micrometers and breaking them down into the nanometer range. We do this already with our cannabinoid products, so it just made sense for us to take that equipment and apply it to what we’re doing in the mycology space,” Parks explained.

According to the Council for Responsible Nutrition, 75% of Americans use supplements, like multivitamins, beneficial mushrooms, or CBD. As Washingtonians continue to set new standards for environmental stewardship and citizen health, companies like Verdant Leaf will serve as an example of responsible production and sustainable manufacturing. ❖

What sets Verdant Leaf apart from many other cannabis and mushroom producers is its commitment to sustainable packaging. Its packaging is made from hemp-based paper and post-consumer recycled material, along with oceanrecycled plastic containers and hemp/soy-based inks.