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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 cosmeceutical company that manufactures skin-care products made of mud and mineral-based compounds from the Dead Sea.
Dead Sea Laboratories (DSL), the company that manufactures Ahava products was established in Israel in 1988 by three kibbutzim in the Dead Sea area. 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 for their quality and unique properties, are available in shops all over Israel, with an outlet store at the foot of Masada.
Ahava's shareholders include Kibbutz Mitzpe Shalem (41 percent); Hamashbir Holdings and Gaon Holdings (41 percent); and kibbutz Ein Gedi and kibbutz Kalia (18 percent).
Ahava has 200 employees, 180 of whom work in Israel. The plant is located at the Dead Sea, with administrative headquarters in Holon.
In Britain, Ahava's products sparked controversy because they are manufactured in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. The store chain Selfridge was pressued into withdrawing Ahava's products (among others) in December 2001 after a boycott campaign launched by anti-Israel groups, but reinstated them a few weeks later. Critics denounce that the products are labelled as of 'Israeli origin' whereas the European Union does not consider goods originated in the West Bank or Gaza as being of Israeli origin because "according to international public law, including the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, these territories cannot be considered to be part of the State of Israel", and does not include them in the Trade Agreement signed with Israel . Oxfam International recently dumped Sex and the City star Kristen Davis from its corps of celebrity ambassadors because she is currently contracted as the ‘face’ of Ahava.
References
- MarketWise, Greer Fay Cashman, Jerusalem Post, January 3, 2008.
- Will the British buy love from the Dead Sea? - Haaretz - Israel News
- From Israel with Ahava - Haaretz - Israel News
- Selfridges bans sale of goods from occupied territories The Guardian, Dec. 22, 2001
- Harrods reinstates Israeli products in battle with ongoing shelf life israelinsider, 25 Jan. 2002
- Implementation of EC/Israel Trade Agreement - House of Commons, European Legislation, Thirty-First Report (1998)