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OUR SHEA BUTTER PRODUCERS
The story of L’OCCITANE’s commitment to Empowering Women began in Burkina Faso in 1981 as our founder, Olivier Baussan, learned that the nuts of the shea tree are harvested exclusively by women.
L’OCCITANE has been working with women’s cooperatives in Burkina Faso since the 1980s, and more recently in Ghana, to improve the lives and working conditions of Burkinabè and Ghanaian women, building long-term and 100% Fair Trade partnerships* (since 2009) to provide educational and financial resources in collaboration with the L’OCCITANE Foundation.
Shea Butter
Derived from the kernels of the wild Shea fruit trees, shea butter is, in its most natural state, a fatty substance which can change and alter its state according to the temperature it is kept at.
When melted a little between the palms, shea butter can be applied directly as a moisturiser both to skin and to hair.Shea butter, through creating an impressive reputation, has often received the colloquial term 'women's gold'. The term refers to two impressive characteristics of the ingredient: the first part refers to the fact that the nuts of the shea tree are harvested exclusively by women while the second part of the term links to the fact that the ingredient has an array of benefits.
Our Producer Salimata
In Burkina Faso, Salimata transmits her love for the Shea butter tree to her daughter Mariétou.
The process of making Shea butter is a secret passed from mother to daughter. Thanks to this love, L'OCCITANE offers exceptional products that guarantee a fair trade to the women L'OCCITANE works and partners with.
Empowering women is a key commitment for L’OCCITANE, we believe in gender equality and empowering women to achieve their goals. We purchase the shea butter directly from the producers, which is financially advantageous for the women, providing more economic security so they can achieve a higher level of independence. This also helps them to invest in improving working conditions and making production chains more sustainable. Every year, we sell fund-raising products to promote women's leadership. These may seem like little steps, but they can make a big difference!
Our Commitment to Empowering Women
At L'OCCITANE, we believe in gender equality and empowering women to achieve their goals. Our aim: to support 60,000 women in their socio-economic development in 2025.
In 2018, we launched the RESIST program (Resilience, Ecology, Strengthening, Independence, Structure, Training) to support the women’s cooperatives. Aimed at also protecting natural resources, improving sustainability, enhancing governance and diversifying income, this $2 million project is a strong example of our commitment to empowering women!
Since the creation of the foundation in 2006, 30,000+ women have been supported by the foundation in Burkina Faso.
Our Aim: To support 60,000 women in their socio-economic development by 2025.
Discover Our Shea Collection
At L'OCCITANE, we have a Provence-only rule, but when it comes to special ingredients like organic Shea Butter, we had to make an exception. Explore our collection of shea butter beauty products.
Shea : The start of never ending good
Shea Favourites
