Oil Sourcing
dōTERRA responsibly partners with artisans from over 40 countries who champion the best seeds, soil, and growing environments. In these exclusive partnerships, we know the smallest details matter.
The Process
Growers - Distillers - Scientists - Practitioners - You
The dōTERRA Difference
While others in the essential oil industry cut corners during the planting, growing, and harvesting process, or even try to “extend” pure oils by adding less expensive ingredients, dōTERRA is uncompromisingly selective.
While the temptation for a company as large as dōTERRA may be to buy large plots of land and mass produce oils, dōTERRA places great value on the expert knowledge of local farmers—many of whom have nurtured essential oil plants for generations. dōTERRA recruits their expertise into a Global Botanical Network and, in doing so, responsibly supports thousands of jobs around the world.
dōTERRA’s extensive sourcing partnerships empower dōTERRA to produce exclusive, proprietary oils and blends that preserve the purity and potency of each plant. Ninety-six percent of dōTERRA single oils and oil blends are exclusive, ensuring that essential oil users receive a product that is truly special and sweet.
Co-Impact Sourcing
When dōTERRA looks for sourcing partnerships, we deliberately choose locations where we can improve the individual, social, economic, and environmental well-being, while producing the highest quality essential oils.
As many of our essential oils grow best in developing countries, dōTERRA is in a unique position to build and support ethical supply chains that benefit rural communities in need.
Often times, experienced essential oil farmers, harvesters, growers, and distillers in underdeveloped areas are paid unfairly or taken advantage of, limiting their ability to escape poverty. Co-Impact Sourcing provides the tools needed to help lift these families and communities out of poverty and promote economic development. dōTERRA adheres to additional Sourcing Guiding Principles when working in developing nations.
Distillers
dōTERRA partners with expert distillers who apply custom pressures and temperatures to extract each essential oil—ensuring the most potent and beneficial chemical profile.
Preserving a plant’s chemistry
Once an aromatic plant has been properly harvested, it is transported to a distillery where its oil is captured. Extracting essential oil is an extremely delicate process. If done improperly, distillation can dramatically alter or destroy a plant’s aromatic compounds. If distillation is completed with customized care, the resulting essential oil retains a strong chemical profile to provide therapeutic benefits to its users.
Steam Distillation
In the steam distillation process, steam from boiling water passes through the plant material and then carries the volatile aromatic compounds from the plant into a collecting tube.
In the tube, the steam is cooled and condensed into water. The lipid-soluble essential oil then separates from the water and the oil is collected. Time, temperature, and pressure are carefully monitored in this process and are catered to the needs of each plant so that the oils retain their beneficial chemical components.
Expression
Expression, also known as cold pressing, is used to produce several of dōTERRA’s citrus oils. During this process, oil is extracted from the rinds of the fruit under mechanical pressure.
The fruit grazes against sharp rasping cylinders that scrape the surface of the rind, opening microscopic sacs containing essential oils. Water is then sprayed over the fruit to collect the released essential oil and the watery mixture passes through a filter removing remaining pieces of the fruit’s rind. The citrus oil is then separated and collected from the water. This expression process produces oils that are potent, effective and fragrant.
For more information see the Source to You website.
You can also check the quality of your individual dōTERRA oils by typing the quality ID found on the bottom of every bottle into the Source to You Website here.