Shea trees are native to Ghana and West Africa, and they thrive with minimal water and without the need for fertilizer or pesticides. No trees are destroyed in the harvesting process, and once the fruit is picked it grows back season after season. We also rely on women-led cooperatives to harvest our shea butter, which gives them the opportunity to support their families and communities through the natural resources that surround them.

Mother Nature is our “supermarket” when we create the “recipes” for our products. Beyond the potential health side effects associated with ingredients like parabens and phthalates, these are on our “no” list because of the impact their manufacturing and post-use run off can have on the environment as well.

All Karité products are certified as cruelty-free by the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics' Leaping Bunny Program. We never test on animals and neither do our suppliers or manufacturers. You can find us listed in Leaping Bunny's Compassionate Shopping Guide.

We use bamboo for all of our caps because this sustainable crop grows quickly without the need for fertilizer or much water. We have never used additional outer cartons for our products to minimize waste.

All of our packaging—from our jars and tubes to the box and filler your order comes in—is 100% recyclable. (Please be sure to break down your boxes, wash out your jars and separate the caps before recycling.)

Our family’s palm oil factory in Ghana generates its own electricity so it is “off the grid.” Our palm trees live just a few miles from the factory so transportation-related carbon emissions are minimal. We also oversee all oil sourcing so we know our production process prevents deforestation or harm to animals.

We eliminated sample-sized products for retailers, media and gifting a few years ago to minimize unnecessary plastic-based waste.

Thanks to our Ecocart integration, you can now choose to offset the carbon footprint of your purchases with a positive environmental impact. If you agree to contribute, a donation will be made to counterbalance the emissions from manufacturing and shipping your favorite Karité products and make the process 100% carbon neutral!

Aside from our shea butter and palm oil sourced from Ghana, we minimize our carbon footprint by using as many local suppliers as possible for additional ingredients. We also manufacture and fill our products close to our New Jersey headquarters to minimize our carbon footprint.

After the fresh palm fruit bunches are processed, the energy plant that the factory has on site uses a mix of the palm fibre, palm kernel shells and empty fruit bunches as fuel for the turbine to sustainably convert superheated steam into electricity. The energy plant generates 100% of the electricity that the factory needs so the factory is able to operate off the grid.