Co-Impact Sourcing
®
Arborvitae
&
Nootka
British Columbia, Canada
The Pacific Northwest is home to the largest temperate rainforest on the planet where more
than 40 indigenous tree species grow, including the Giant Arborvitae and the Nootka
coniferous trees. Both trees are an important part of the aboriginal First Nation history in
British Columbia, Canada. In 2015, do-TERRA introduced Arborviate (Thuja plicata) as a
single oil and the recently reformulated do-TERRA TerraShield Outdoor Blend introduced
earlier this year, both Arborvitae and Nootka essential oils are featured as key oil ingredients.
®
T
he name arborvitae comes from the francophone version
of the First Nation name meaning the “tree of life.” For
10,000 years, this tree has been instrumental in their everyday
lives. They used the tree to build canoes, long houses, and
totem poles.
The Nootka tree is named after the Nootka tribe who resided in
an area called the Nootka Sound. It is considered a “twin” to the
arborvitae tree, and it has been used in many sculptures that
are a significant part of the First Nation culture in that region.
Both trees also play an important part in the Pacific Northwest’s
forestry industry, which is one of the largest and yet most
environmentally sustainable in the world. This industry also
produces tons of sawdust every year that is normally burned for
energy. But, there are other uses for it too. do-TERRA partners
with a Canadian distiller that has perfected the productive use
of the sawdust from these two unique trees to produce pure
quality oils with powerful properties. They are the only distillery
in the world producing Arborvitae and Nootka essential oils.
6 / SUMMER 2016 LIVING MAGAZINE
FOREST SUSTAINABLTIY
British Columbia is well-known for its sustainable foresting
practices. Their rate of deforestation has been virtually zero for
more than 20 years. Their entire annual harvest comes from
less than 1 percent of the working forest. By law, all harvested