MY PASSION
What’s the link between ingredients and community?
With our careful selection of unique African ingredients, we’ve made it our mission to consider both the land and community in which these sacred extracts come from. We have consciously pursued a path of sustainability and community caring.
We are committed to preserving our African land, with a pledge to respect and honor the very soil our ingredients are extracted from. All of our African ingredients are sourced locally, supporting and uplifting local farming communities.
We endeavor to source our unique African extracts from suppliers who are committed to following fair trade principles and the support and upliftment of the rural communities in which they operate.
In order to meet this commitment we’ve partnered up with Zuplex and Botanica who have made it their mission to combine both environmental sustainability and social upliftment at the core of their operations. Zuplex is cosmos approved and supports environmental best practice, striving to minimize adverse environmental effects across it’s process including; sourcing, packaging and transportation.
The operation supports a local community called Dakeni, situated on the banks of the Thukela River, South Africa.
The African village is part of the Zuplex community trust which owns 32% of the company.
The trust allows for two diverse income streams; firstly the local woman who are employed by Zuplex receive direct income from plant materials, then when the plants are beneficiated into cosmetic ingredients and sold, dividends from Zuplex can be ploughed back into community development projects. Such projects could include clean drinking water, food gardens, schools and creches.
Botanica’s production facility meets European standards and the agricultural process ensures that all of their practices are environmentally sound, from energy conservation to the sustainable cultivation and use of indigenous plants.
The operation also supports the local rural community, providing employees with job training, including first-aid and business development. All employees also receive free access to medical care and family planning support.