This post tells a story of one noble natural material that connects women from different parts of the world in an effort to make skincare more socially and environmentally conscious.
Female-produced, raw, organic Shea Butter
To celebrate International Women's Day 2022, we thought we'd showcase one of our most inspirational suppliers, Jilima Co-op in Ghana. It includes 54 women of all ages, who work together to produce premium-quality organic Shea Butter.
Organising themselves in a co-op means the women receive employment-related safeguards and are able to speak with a stronger voice in order to obtain a fair price for their beautiful product. This is empowering for the women themselves, as well as their families, as a steady income allows their children to stay in education for longer.
The precious Shea Butter is pressed from hand-collected nuts of the shea tree and hand-churned, before it makes its way to us, also a women-owned business based in the United Kingdom. We then turn it into luxury soap and other skincare treats, including hand and lip balms. Our Magic Hand Balm, for example, is almost 20% Shea Butter from Jilima co-op. Read more about the many benefits of Shea Butter and browse our products in our online store.
What is International Women's Day all about?
International Women's Day (8th of March) has been observed since 1911 and is a day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also encourages a call to action for accelerating gender parity. As part of the celebrations, people come together to mark women's impact, achievements, or rally for women's equality. Some key focus points for IWD campaigns include
celebrating women's achievements
raising awareness about women's equality
lobbying for accelerated gender parity
fundraising for female-focused charities
supporting women-owned businesses
The 2022 theme for International Women's Day 2022 is #BreakTheBias. Whether deliberate or unconscious, bias makes it difficult for women to move ahead in many areas of life, from health and social expectations to business funding. This year's campaign aims to incite action that is needed to level the playing field.
How can you get involved with International Women's Day?
The International Women's Day website is a great resource with plenty of ideas for making IWD special. One small way to celebrate we can suggest is to support a local women-owned business: purchase their goods or services, give them a review, recommend them to your friends - it all adds up and helps! And statistically, more women in successful, healthy businesses represent more diversity and equality, more conscious business practices, and better ethics for all.
Yes, we are one of these businesses too, so go ahead and treat yourself to some seriously good, ethical, feel-good soap and skincare now, while supporting a socially conscious movement.
