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Event Details

Event Date

Event Date: Monday, August 31, 2015

Event Time

Event Time: 11:00 AM - to 1:00 PM

Event Description

On Monday, August 31, stop by Harvest Market and sample from our selection of Alaffia products and learn about their company’s mission to alleviate poverty in Togo, West Africa. Enjoy 20% off all Personal Care products during the month of August, so stock up during the last day of this sale!

Alaffia Certified Fair Trade Shea Butter

To Alaffia, fair trade means paying a fair price or wage in the local context, providing equal employment opportunities, engaging in environmental sustainable practices, providing healthy and safe working conditions, being open to public accountability, and reducing the number of middlemen between producers and consumers. Alaffia believes fair trade should be environmentally, economically and culturally sustainable and give local communities the opportunity to self empower.

Fair for Life: Social and FairTrade

What is Fair Trade?
Fair Trade is a movement of individuals and organizations working to ensure that producers in poor countries receive a greater percentage of the price paid by consumers. While there are several definitions of fair trade, they all include:

  • Fair Trade Price – base price for raw ingredients or goods is adjusted higher than the open market price
  • Price Premium – a percentage above the base fair trade price is paid into a separate account for development projects in producer communities.
  • Working Conditions – Fair Trade operators must adhere to basic human and labor rights – including the right to organize, no child labor, access to health care, and so on.
  • Environmental Stewardship – Fair Trade organizations must minimize environmental impact.

What does Fair Trade Certified mean?

Fair Trade certification in an independent, neutral third party certification verifying that an organization upholds to fair trade, social and environmental standards in their operations.

Alaffia shea butter is certified Fair for Life: Social and FairTrade by IMO – the Institute for Marketecology, one of the first and most renowned international inspection and certification agencies for organic and social (fair trade) accountability. IMO’s Fair for Life certification combines strict social and fair trade standards with adaptability to local conditions. You can read more about IMO at their website, and more about the Fair for Life certification at www.fairforlife.org.

Fair for Life: Social and FairTrade

Why is Fair Trade of shea butter important?
Unrefined shea butter is a valuable natural resource for West Africa and could be an important tool in empowering local communities. However, most shea butter on the market in the United States and Europe is not fairly traded. Without fair trade, the women who gather shea nuts and hand craft this remarkable oil receive only a tiny fraction of the final price.

It is estimated to take 20 to 30 hours of labor to produce one kilogram of handcrafted shea butter, which is traded at $1 or less in today’s market. A woman making shea butter in West Africa will receive only a fraction of this price. Therefore, a person working for 30 hours, almost a week’s worth of work, will not receive even a dollar for her efforts. Even if she received the whole dollar, this does not even begin to reach living wage standards.

Alaffia Fair Trade Shea Butter
The cost to handcraft shea butter at the Alaffia Cooperative is over two times the price of shea butter at West African ports.Why is Alaffia’s cost higher?

  • Nut prices – Alaffia pays 15-25% above market price for shea nuts
  • Fair wages – Cooperative members receive a salary that is more than 4 times the average family income in Togo.
  • Benefits – Cooperative members also receive full medical care, employment security, and one paid month of vacation each year.

Through Alaffia’s direct involvement in the entire process – from gathering the wild shea nuts and crafting the butter, to distribution locally and abroad – their members receive fair and steady incomes. In addition, 10% of sales always go directly back to community empowerment projects. Alaffia believes combining fair wages and prices with community projects can lead West African communities out of poverty and make our world a healthier place.

Fair for Life: Social and FairTrade
Alaffia Certified Fair Trade Shea Butter Cooperative members, Sokode Togo, August 2009.

Location Details

Harvest Market Natural Foods

Address for Harvest Market Natural Foods

7417 Lancaster Pike
Hockessin, DE 19707