They work wonders for your skin – and for the communities that support them, say’s Liz Hancock. To mark Fairtrade Fortnight we bring you the most ethically sound cosmetics out there.
The exotically named ingredients of our beauty products promise many miracles, but most important results come when they also benefit local people and environments. Biological degradation, community displacement, slave labour, intimidation and even torture can occur when the harvesting of common cosmetic ingredients such as sandalwood and palm oil. Indigenous tribes are exploited by large companies for their plant knowledge with little financial recompense. But thanks to the rise in public awareness, increasing numbers of beauty companies are now using fairly traded ingredients (the term fair-trade only applies to goods baring the Fairtrade Foundation certification) which are harvested in partnership with local communities to offer them fair financial terms and protection of their traditions. So, why not make you next beauty buy one of the fairest of them all?
Iran
The ingredient – Iranian Rose
Harvested at high altitude at dawn, for greater potency, this rose is grown organically and is calming and refreshing on the skin.
The Products – Formulated by Dr Speizia (formerly a range of Speizia Organics), the new INLIGHT ORGANIC NIGHT BALM contains rosebuds collected by a co-operative of 500 smallholding rose farmers from the highlands of Iran.
Brazil
The ingredient – Buriti Oil
Harvested from the fruit of the buriti palm tree, its natural SPF booster is the richest known source of the antioxidant beta-carotene. It is also high in vitamin E, which helps protect hair and skin.
The products – The SUNSCREEN VEIL, SUNSCREEN MILK AND SUMMER OIL in L’OCCITAINE’S new Brazil Sun Range contain wild buriti – sustainably harvested by Amazon co-operatives that provide jobs for people who otherwise leave the region to seek work. Currently undergoing Fairtrade certification, the products in Amazonia Preciosa luxury haircare range by Suria Brasil (such as there nourishing BURITI HAIR MASK for damaged hair include ingredients that have bee harvested by locals.
Britain
The ingredient – Camomile
Camomile is quintessentially an English herb that has been harvested for years for its soothing, calming and relaxing properties.
The product – not all fairly traded ingredients have to come from far-flung places. Camomile farmers in Norfolk face a decline in business and community dispersal. The Body Shop’s GENTLE CAMOMILE EYE-MAKE REMOVER uses camomile oil from a co-operative of small-scale Norfolk farmers who use wildlife protection methods.
Australia
The ingredient – Sandalwood Oil
A good antiseptic, sandalwood is one of the perfume industry’s leading ingredients. It’s obtained from the wood of the mature sandalwood trees and gives fragrances a creamy, milky quality.
The product – When AVEDA discovered the majority of Indian sandalwood used by the beauty industry was being harvested unethically and non-environmentally, it switched its sourcing to a small aboriginal community in Western Australia, which harvests the sandalwood found in LOVE PERFUME ESSENCE. The company also supports the development of the Songman Circle of Wisdom, a certification body of products created in fair partnership with indigenous people.
Lesotho
The ingredient – Rosehip Oil
Rosehip oil, extracted from the root of the rose plant naturally accelerates cellular growth and boost collagen levels. It also gives the skin a healthy glow and is acknowledge by dermatologists as an affective treatment of scars.
The product – The New Zealand sSkincare Company TRILOGY uses certified organic rosehip-seed oil from co-operative farmers in locked-land Lesotho. It’s in all of its products, such as the new BOTANICAL MOISTURE MASQUE FOR HAIR.
Morocco
The ingredient – Argan Oil
Seen as a cure-all ingredient by Morocco’s indigenous Berber people, argan oil is extracted from the fruit kernals of the argan tree and has been used for centuries to hydrate hair and skin, and reduce scarring. Much of the oil is harvested by co-operative projects, improving social conditions for Berber women.
The products – Superbly Restorative Preparations is a new range of hydrating and restorative products from KIEHL’s containing argan oil, which is responsibly sourced by 2,000 women in Targanine co-operative in the Atlas mountains. The oil helps the community with income and provides essential healthcare and education. Fairly traded argan oil can also be found in NUDE’s AGE DEFENCE MOITURISER.
Ghana
The ingredient – Shea Butter
This is a staple cosmetic industry ingredient. It’s a fat extracted from the fruit from the shea tree and is highly moisturising for even very dry skins.
The product – The vegan and eco-friendly shop LUSH has recently funded the development of a new craft village in northern Ghana which is under-going International Fairtrade association accreditation. When finished it will provide a school, medical centre and a safe place for women to harvest the Shea Butter used in products such as LUSH’s HANDY GURUGU HAND CREAM. Fairly traded shea butter from Ghana can also be found in ORGANIC PHARMACY’s JASMINE BODY LOTION and B NEVER TO BUSY TO BE BEAUTIFUL’s CREAM ANGALESE BODY LOTION.
Paraguay
The Ingredient – Sugar
Brown Sugar has long been used for exfoliating, moisturising and anti-inflamatory affects on the skin.
The product – URTEKRAM’S brown sugar range is the only entire body range to gain the Fair-trade Foundation’s certifications mark. This Danish organic beauty company sources its sugar cane from a remote Paraguay co-operative. ‘With the money from the organisations I could pay for my daughter's education,’ say’s Salavador Delgadillo, the 51 year-old head of the co-operative. ‘The extra water also made it possible for me to get running water to my house.’