Shea Butter

Shea butter is a common moisturising ingredient in cosmetics such as lotions, and can also be found in chocolate as a cocoa butter equivalent. It comes from the nut of the shea tree and is typically collected and produced in west Africa by women.

 

Names

Shea, Vitellaria paradoxa

Found in ingredients as

Shea butter, karité, Butyrospermum parkii, vegetable fats (shea)

Used in

Top producers

Ghana, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire

Conservation status

IUCN Red List:

CITES:

Not listed

 

Opportunities

Shea nut processing in Burkina Faso. Photo: TREEAID

 
 

 Standards & Certification

Certifications can be a supporting tool to ensure responsible sourcing. A wide range of standards are available that can be applied to wild-harvested plants, such as FairWild, Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT), Fairtrade, FairForLife, Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Organic, Rainforest Alliance, and Certificate of Origin (e.g. DOP/PDO, PGI, TCG). 

FairTrade shea butter is relatively abundant in the cosmetics sector and has been demonstrably beneficial in terms of the prices paid to harvesters and processors. There is also an international food standard (Codex Alimentarius) that has been established for unrefined shea butter which can support harvesting communities to gain access to wider international markets.

 Partnerships & Associations

Linking up with local groups, unions, or NGOs working in shea-producing regions, such as the Shea Butter Union and the Global Shea Alliance, can ensure that action taken to address risks is meaningful and beneficial for producer communities.

 Conservation & Restoration

Protection of existing shea trees and the planting of additional ones can address biological risks, protect local livelihoods, support community development and fairer wages, and even conserve the shea caterpillar, an important edible insect for the nutrition and income of many farmers in the shea belt region. Shea trees can also contribute to restoration initiatives such as the Great Green Wall Project.

Biological Risk

 
 
 

Classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

Regeneration is slow as the tree is slow-growing.

Facing multiple threats: 

  • overexploitation for timber and charcoal production 

  • agricultural encroachment  

  • increasing human population pressure  

  • Climate change  

It has multiple uses and demand is increasing

Social Risk

Assessed for Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Cote d’Ivoire.

 

Header image: Shea nuts © Marco Schmidt

 
 

Although there were no direct cases found in shea supply chains, it is possible that child labour is involved in shea nut picking and processing, considering child labour cases found in similar agricultural commodities.

There are discrimination and access rights issues for women that need to be addressed to advance opportunities, such as permitting women to own and manage the land that shea trees are located on.

Health and safety in the labour-intensive picking and processing is also a priority, including immediate dangers (for example, poisonous snake bites) and longer-term illnesses (for example, asthma resulting from the fires used to process shea).