Since 1976, L’OCCITANE’s philosophy has remained unchanged: people and nature matter. The brand cares for people and shows this through the work of its dedicated teams. Thanks to their actions, the brand has been supporting women’s entrepreneurship in Burkino Faso and helping new parents as they navigate important new chapters in their lives.
• L’OCCITANE has been purchasing fair trade-certified shea butter from female producers in Burkina Faso since the 1980s, supporting and diversifying their activities to increase profitability for the women and maintain the sustainability of the shea parklands
• The Foundation focuses on education, occupational training, and entrepreneurship for women, with an emphasis on environmental and social factors.
• EDUCATING girls through two main educational projects, one in partnership with the NGO Aide & Action and the second with UNICEF
• Occupational TRAINING: the Foundation supports the NGO Empow’Her’s BLOOM project, helping women to access the job market through training in artisanal trades that support and respect the environment
• ENTREPRENEURSHIP through three main projects supported by the L’OCCITANE Foundation: 1. Socioeconomic training and access to microcredits through a program developed by Entrepreneurs du Monde 2. A sustainable agricultural entrepreneurship project put together by Green Hope and Les Amis de la Fabrique. Helping women in rural areas become agricultural entrepreneurs by improving their technical skills and giving them financial support and new market access. 3. The ‘L’OCCITANE pour Elles’ competition was launched by the brand in 2016 to give visionary female business leaders technical and financial support in their business activity or creation.
• 2020 marked the unveiling of L’OCCITANE’s new global parental leave policy, which gives primary caregivers a minimum of 20 weeks’ fully paid leave and secondary caregivers a minimum of 12 weeks’ fully paid leave to bond with their new child – whether the child is welcomed by birth or through adoption or surrogacy.
• L’OCCITANE introduced new policies to support women within the business, including menopause support, fertility journey support, and pregnancy loss support.
• The brand is a Real Living Wage employer, positively impacting the financial stability of its employees.