AAK is pleased to confirm that FairWild certification of the Kolo Nafaso direct sourcing program now extends to the Personal Care shea-based portfolio. Customers can choose from products made from FairWild certified segregated shea kernels, which are fully traceable to the program, as well as products made from FairWild certified mass balance shea kernels. Product-level accreditation ensures that customers of AAK’s shea-based emollients can trust the origin and positive impact of the supply chain, which supports environmental conservation, rural livelihoods, and community development. Brands may apply directly to FairWild to register for use of verified claims in their consumer communications.
Established in 2009, Kolo Nafaso has long been a pioneering shea sourcing model, centered around two core principles: direct trade with individual women and freedom to do business. Now, as the first supply chain to achieve FairWild certification for shea kernels, it is setting a new benchmark for ethical, sustainable, and traceable wild plant supply chains. This milestone ensures legal and responsible collection of shea across 400,000 hectares in West Africa and directly empowers over 230,000 women who rely on harvesting and selling kernels as a seasonal source of income.
In another first, AAK Personal Care now offers shea-based emollients made from either FairWild certified segregated or FairWild certified mass balance shea kernels. In the segregated model, certified shea kernels from Kolo Nafaso are kept separate at every stage of the supply chain. In the mass balance model, kernels from both certified and non-certified supply chains are mixed during production. So, while a mass-balance emollient may not contain any certified content from Kolo Nafaso, customers can be assured that the volume AAK purchases from Kolo Nafaso for all its divisions equals the volume needed to produce all shea-based emollients in the Personal Care portfolio.
“Offering both segregated and mass balance models means all our shea customers can contribute to strengthening the impact of the Kolo Nafaso program on the ground in West Africa,” explains Lisette Townsend, Global Business Development Director for AAK Personal Care. “For the women shea collectors, whether the shea kernels end up in a segregated or mass balance has no material impact on them or their communities. What matters to them is that they receive the financing, training, and support that enables them to improve their income and livelihoods.”
“Recognizing the potential to significantly increase positive impact for women shea collectors through AAK’s mass balance model, FairWild is partnering with AAK to offer FairWild-certified mass balance shea products,” says Deborah Vorhies, CEO of FairWild. “The strength and scale of the existing Kolo Nafaso setup ensure tangible conservation and livelihood benefits at source, while enabling a wider range of companies to support the program who might otherwise be unable to due to supply chain constraints.”
Visit the AAK stand (3M20) at in-cosmetics Global, 14-16 April, to explore the certified shea-based portfolio, and the FairWild Stand (1C101) to learn about the ecological, socio-cultural, and business principles covered by the standard.
About AAK and AAK Personal Care
Everything we do is about Making Better Happen™. AAK specializes in plant-based oils and fats, the value-adding ingredients in many of the products people love to consume. We make them better tasting, healthier, and more sustainable.
Our AAK Personal Care division is one of the world’s leading suppliers of sustainably sourced plant- based emollients for the beauty industry. Our technologically advanced solutions offer
new opportunities for cosmetic formulators to help positively change perceptions and drive increased use of natural ingredients.
About FairWild
FairWild is an international organization dedicated to creating a global sustainability framework for wild-collected ingredients. We are all about enacting a sustainable future by embracing the power of wild and its complexity. We believe in a world where the well-being of our planet and its inhabitants go hand in hand, creating a harmonious and prosperous future we all can share in.
The FairWild Standard guides businesses in sustainable collection and resource management, while ensuring that collectors have ethical working conditions and a fair wage. Essentially, FairWild ensures both the wild plants and the people who harvest them are protected.
By earning the FairWild certification, products provide buyers, from ingredient traders to final consumers, with verified proof that the ingredients were collected legally, ethically, and sustainably from the wild.
This partnership, which commits to FairWild’s rigorous, third-party audited standard, is a replicable blueprint for sustainability. It demonstrates that commercial success and environmental stewardship can be achieved together, contributing to a biodiversity-positive world where both ecosystems and communities flourish, ensuring human rights are respected and economic equity is delivered.
