VIRGIN SHEA BUTTER & AFRICAN BLACK SOAP FROM TOGO,
WEST AFRICA
FAIRLY TRADED SHEA BUTTER & BLACK SOAP ·
SUSTAINABLY HARVESTED & PRODUCED
WHAT DOES FAIR TRADE MEAN?
 Unrefined
shea butter is a natural resource of high value for
West Africa and could be an important tool in empowering
the local communities. Unfortunately, most of the shea
butter, available on the US & European markets,
is not fairly traded. The women who gather the shea
nuts themselves without the use of machines and hand
craft this remarkable oil receive only a tiny fraction
of the final price.
Fair Trade means paying a fair price or wage to the
local producer, providing equal employment opportunities,
engaging in environmental sustainable practices, providing
healthy and safe working conditions and reducing the
number of middlemen between producers and consumers.
 Fairly
traded, handcrafted Shea Butter benefits the communities
that produce it, as well as the consumers who purchase
it because they are receiving an authentic product directly
from the source.
All members of the Agbanga
Karite/Alaffia Shea Butter Co-operative (who we
are proud to have as our unrefined shea butter &
black soap manufacturers) gain pride as they are
able to use their traditional knowledge and skills to
support their families.
Traditional shea extraction is made up of several critical
steps. It is estimated that it takes 20 to 30 hours
to produce 1 kg of handcrafted shea butter, which is
traded at $1 or less in today’s market. Concequently,
a woman making shea butter in West Africa and working
30 hours per week, will not receive even a dollar for
her efforts. Even if she did receive the full trade
price of $1 for 1 kg of shea butter, this is still far
off the living wage standards for West Africa.
 Through
the direct involvement of Agbanga Karite in the entire
process - from gathering the wild shea nuts and crafting
the butter, to distribution locally and abroad - the
co-operative's members (the women making the shea butter)
receive fair & steady incomes.
In addition, 10% of Agbanga Karite's sales go directly
back to the Togolese community in West Africa in the
form of community enhancement projects, AIDS and malaria
outreach, and educational scholarships.
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
 Sustainable
harvest of wild Shea fruit helps preserve Togo’s
wooded savanna. Fair trade of shea butter gives economic
value to this highly valued resource and discourages
cutting of shea trees for firewood. Traditionally handcrafted
Shea Butter is one of the most sustainable ingredients
in the natural skin care industry.
Shea trees grow wild in their natural environment
and are not grown in massive plantations; therefore
they do not need synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
Shea fruit for our skin care products are hand gathered;
there are no massive harvesting machines burning fossil
fuels and compacting the soil. In addition, every part
of the harvested shea fruits are used in some way. While
the Shea Butter is the marketable product, the shells
and the non butter particulates are not. However, they
are not thrown away and wasted, instead they are used
as natural fertilizers on the fields.
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