FairWild Certifies AAK’s Kolo Nafaso Shea Program – Empowering 230,000 Women and Protecting Wild Shea Landscapes
By becoming the first company to adopt the FairWild standard for shea, AAK is now verifying the legal and sustainable collection of wild-harvested shea across approximately 400,000 hectares of West Africa’s shea landscapes. The partnership between AAK and FairWild is transforming ethical sourcing in the shea sector and sets a new industry benchmark, assuring the impact of directly empowering the families of more than 230,000 women collectors across the region.
“This first-ever FairWild certification for shea sets a new ethical sourcing benchmark and shows the power of collaboration between industry and independent voluntary standard organisations”
Already a global leader in impact-driven shea sourcing, AAK has partnered with FairWild to benchmark their Kolo Nafaso program against the FairWild Standard, the only standard to exclusively target wild plant collection. As part of a year-long project, AAK and FairWild worked together to elevate the Kolo Nafaso program to meet the rigorous requirements of the FairWild Standard, culminating in a tailored audit to provide assurance of the impact of AAK’s sourcing.
Kolo Nafaso is the first-ever shea sourcing program to receive FairWild certification. With product level accreditation expected in early 2026, the Standard will provide buyers with traceable, high-integrity ingredients, offering dependable proof that benefits flow directly to the source.
The adoption of the FairWild standard assures AAK’s sourcing has multiple positive outcomes:
Kernel collection is done in a way that provides for regeneration of the shea parklands, aided by replanting trees in areas which have historically been depleted.
Women collectors are empowered and assured a fair income, with tangible benefits flowing directly to communities across the “shea belt”.
Working conditions are significantly improved by reducing health and safety risks for female collectors.
Shea trees are safeguarded by removing the economic incentive to harvest them for fuelwood, helping to reduce desertification and lock-in carbon.
Ethical practices are embedded across the entire supply chain.
Through this collaboration, AAK and FairWild are setting a new global benchmark for sustainable and ethically wild-harvested ingredients, ensuring transparency from the ground to the final formulation.
“The FairWild certification of Kolo Nafaso validates our long-standing commitment to ethical sourcing and motivates us to continue evolving to ensure lasting impact for the shea landscape and the women who depend on it — now and for generations to come”
This milestone marks the beginning of a new chapter in ethical sourcing for wild ingredients - one that promises long-term benefits for ecosystems, communities, and conscious consumers.
about shea
Shea is a valuable export, primarily as raw kernels or as shea butter, contributing to a large global industry. Shea butter, rich in vitamins and fatty acids, is a versatile ingredient, used in moisturising, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant beauty products for skin and hair, as well as in food products, like chocolate.
Unique to the “shea belt”, spanning from Uganda to Senegal, the slow-growing shea trees require no fertilisers or pesticides and thrive in dry environments. These long-lived trees (200-300 years) are slow to yield: only beginning to produce fruit at around 15 years and reaching full productivity at approximately 30 years.
The kernel is traditionally collected and processed by women. The income generated from this collection provides them with critical funds to help alleviate poverty and hunger, invest in education, and secure capital for other income-generating activities.
About AAK
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.
At the heart of AAK’s offer is Customer Co-Development, combining our desire to understand what better means for each customer, with the unique flexibility of our production assets, and a deep knowledge of many products and industries.
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.
AAK has been Making Better Happen™ for more than 150 years.
Visit AAK’s operator page for more about the program.