Alaffia

The story of Alaffia grew out of West African soil. A young man from Togo, West Africa, met a young woman from rural Washington State in 1996 and, inspired by a shared calling, Alaffia was born. As a unique social enterprise, Alaffia redefines natural hair, face and body and children’s care through its values of beauty, equality, empowerment, and fair trade.

Alaffia products are made with effective, safe, and fair-trade indigenous ingredients using traditional handcrafting. Their emphasis is on raw shea butter, coconut, and African black soap sourced from women-led cooperatives in West Africa. Products contain no sulfates, parabens, phthalates, mineral oil, petrolatum, silicones, artificial fragrance or coloring. They are proudly cruelty-free and do not test on animals. Your purchase helps alleviate poverty and encourage gender equality in African communities.

Empowering Women & Fighting Poverty

Alaffia proudly supports women and families in West Africa by sourcing certified fair trade ingredients from West Africa women cooperatives. Alaffia has empowered thousands of lives in West Africa, preserving traditional knowledge. There have been hundreds of cooperative members and thousands of women who have supported Alaffia production. To achieve their goals, Alaffia partners with GACE and other organizations on Empowerment Projects, including School-Building and Education-Based Projects, Maternal Health, and Environmental Sustainability. In 2018, Alaffia received the Award for Corporate Excellence from the U.S. State Department for Women’s Economic Empowerment.

Helping Mitigate Climate Change

Africa is disproportionately affected by increasing global temperatures. Alaffia’s goal is to increase resilience of West African communities to climate changes. Africa’s Sahel grasslands form a vulnerable “green wall” against encroaching deserts of North Africa. To help mitigate this threat, Alaffia partners with Global Alliance for Community Empowerment (GACE) to build and operate tree nurseries and provide housing for women in conservation and parklands management. The Namare Tree Nursery has been overseen by 60 women who prepare and build tree nursery sites, as well as help irrigate the newly planted seeds so they germinate into seedlings and young trees.