Fair Trade Shea Butter

The words "fair trade," "ethically sourced," and "women-made" are not regulated on natural ingredient labels. Any supplier can use them. The only reliable indicator is whether a supplier can answer specific questions: Who processed this batch? Where? Can you name them? Can you show documentation? Factory processing of shea butter uses chemical solvents and achieves a yield of 45–60% of the nut's weight. Traditional hand-processing uses water and achieves roughly 30%. The higher factory yield comes from chemical extraction reaching fats that water cannot. The result is a higher-volume product — but one that has had chemical contact and that typically removes women from the production process entirely, replacing skilled cooperative labour with industrial equipment. Traditional hand-processing preserves roughly 100% of the naturally occurring compounds in the nut. It also preserves the cooperative production model — the structure that gives women economic independence, fair pricing, and documented income. Baraka's shea butter is hand-processed by the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Ghana's Upper West Region, with complete chain-of-custody documentation available for every batch.