The Natural Step is an internationally recognized framework, created by a large group of collaborating scientists and policymakers, which distills complex physical and ecological laws (like the rules of thermodynamics) into a set of four System Conditions which must be fulfilled to create a truly sustainable human economy.

The Natural Step System Conditions. For a society to be sustainable:

1.  The biosphere must not be subject to systematically increasing concentrations of substances extracted from the Earth's crust.
2.  The biosphere must not be subject to systematically increasing concentrations of substances produced by society.
3.  The biosphere must not be subject to degradation by physical means.
4.  People in the society are not subject to conditions that systematically undermine their capacity to meet their needs.

Sustainablility is a complex issue and difficult to achieve in our resource intensive, fossil-fuel powered society. We are striving to reach this goal and will update this site as we make progress. At Sapothecary we are continually viewing our business operations through these four guidelines and changing our practices to be ever more ecologically and socially sustainable. For a more thorough explanation of our sustainability initiatives click here. For a more thorough explanation of the Natural Step click here. Please check back to see what our latest changes are.