EAST GARAFRAXA, Ontario — (AP) — Julie Thurgood-Burnett had no idea that her COVID-19 lockdown whim of starting a lavender patch on her husband’s family farm outside Toronto would turn into a small business. She had never been a farmer, but before long she had a bright purple field and a new hobby of creating lavender oil for her friends and family, who liked it so much she ran out.
And then she had a brand, Hereward Farms, which she wanted to be “authentically sustainable.” To her that meant avoiding plastic packaging, even though it would have been cheaper. It also meant sourcing as many raw ingredients from Canada as possible, which turned out to be much harder than she expected. She was able to get Canadian-made beeswax and sunflower oil, and work with a Canadian supplier, but not everything comes from Canada. Most of Hereward’s essential oils and all …