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| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Cosmetics |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Headquarters | Holon, Israel |
| Number of employees | 200 |
| Website | http://www.ahava.com/ |
Ahava (Template:Lang-he) (lit. Love) is an Israeli cosmetics company that manufactures skin-care products made of mud and mineral-based compounds from the Dead Sea.
History
Dead Sea Laboratories (DSL), the company that manufactures Ahava products, was established in the West Bank in 1988 by three Israeli settlements on the Dead Sea shore. The company is now co-owned by Gaon Holdings, one of Israel's largest holding companies. Ahava exports to over thirty countries worldwide, and exports account for 60% its sales. Ahava products, popular with tourists, are available in shops all over Israel, with an outlet store at the Mitzpe Shalem settlement in the Palestinian territories.
Ahava's shareholders include the Israeli settlement of Mitzpe Shalem (41 percent); Hamashbir Holdings and Gaon Holdings (41 percent); Ein Gedi and the Israeli settlement of Kalya (18 percent). The main manufacturing plant and showroom is at Mitzpe Shalem on the Dead Sea coast, with administrative headquarters in Holon.
Ahava products are based on the belief that minerals have an extraordinary capacity to act as "intercellular messengers," transmitting information to skin cells and impacting positively on their health and vital functions. The company believes that the black mineral mud on the shores of the Dead Sea has healing properties and beneficial effect on joint diseases and skin conditions. According to the company, it is made of layers of sedimentary clay formed over thousands of years and contains a very high concentration of minerals, which Ahava products use to promote skin health.
Ahava's Dermud series for dry and sensitive skin includes hand cream, foot cream, facial cleanser, body milk, facial nourishing cream, facial moisturizer, moisturizing shower cream and body cream.
Controversy
In 2007, actress Kristin Davis, known from the TV series Sex and the City, signed on as a spokeswoman for Ahava cosmetics, generating criticism from Oxfam. Boycott campaigns have been organized by several organizations, such as Code Pink which allege that " products actually come from stolen Palestinian natural resources in the occupied territory of the Palestinian West Bank, and are produced in the illegal settlement of Mitzpe Shalem." According to the Dutch Socialist Party the Dutch Foreign Minister intended to launch an investigation to determine whether Ahava's products are produced on Palestinian territories.
References
- MarketWise, Greer Fay Cashman, Jerusalem Post, January 3, 2008.
- Will the British buy love from the Dead Sea? Haaretz
- From Israel with Ahava, Haaretz
- Ahava website
- Ahava website
- MarketWise, Greer Fay Cashman, Jerusalem Post, January 3, 2008.
- 'Charlotte' gets no love for Ahava, Jerusalem Post
- Code Pink protest calls for Ahava boycott (Ynet News, July 30, 2009)
- Holland to probe if Ahava products made on occupied land (Ynet News, Nov. 18, 2009)