Lipex SheaLuxe TR: AAK unveils fair trade plant-based dimethicone alternative

16 Feb 2024 --- AKK (AarhusKarlshamn) is presenting its latest readily biodegradable and natural-based personal care ingredient. The oils and fats provider uses shea kernels sourced from West Africa to create Lipex SheaLuxe TR. 

Elena Genesca Pont, global commercial product manager at AAK Personal Care, tells Personal Care Insights how Lipex SheaLuxe TR’s supply chain and sustainability profile set it apart from competitors that use silicone.

What advantages does Lipex SheaLuxe TR offer over conventional dimethicone in personal care products? 
Pont: Lipex SheaLuxe TR has aesthetics and sensory profiles that are very similar to low-viscosity dimethicones, commonly used plant-based esters and alkanes. An independent sensory test confirms it is a best-in-class alternative to a low-viscosity dimethicone regarding lightness, spreadability, dry residue and silky skin after-feel. Therefore, it is particularly suitable for light face care formulations and serums.

In what ways does Lipex SheaLuxe TR’s environmental sustainability distinguish it from conventional options?
Pont: When we look at dimethicones, two aspects often criticized from an environmental perspective are that they are degradable but not biodegradable, and their production process is very energy-intensive. Traditional alternatives have already taken significant steps toward being produced in a more eco-friendly process. In the same way as Lipex SheaLuxe, they can be derived from 100% natural and renewable sources, readily biodegradable and produced at milder temperatures and pressures with non-toxic catalysts. 

Kolo Nafaso engages around 300,000 women, almost 8% of the women in West Africa who collect and sell shea kernels for export.Lipex SheaLuxe TR matches and goes beyond those specifications. It uses shea from a segregated supply chain, fully traceable to our Kolo Nafaso direct sourcing program in West Africa, which aims to empower women shea collectors and improve their livelihoods. Additionally, we have offset all product emissions with Gold Standard and Fairtrade carbon credits generated through energy-efficient cookstoves, with the Fairtrade premium going back to participating communities in Burkina Faso for further climate adaptation measures.

How are socio-economic benefits for the communities involved in the production of Lipex SheaLuxe TR ensured by its traceability to the AAK Kolo Nafaso direct sourcing program?
Pont: Traceability means the shea kernels used to produce Lipex SheaLuxe TR come from the Kolo Nafaso direct sourcing program, which operates as a segregated supply chain and gives participating women a guaranteed outlet and better financial return for their shea harvest. Through the program, we provide the women shea collectors with access to training, microcredits and small business opportunities that deliver the knowledge, skills and means to help them improve their livelihoods and quality of life long-term. 

Kolo Nafaso now engages around 300,000 women, almost 8% of the women in West Africa who collect and sell shea kernels for export. It is the region’s most extensive direct sourcing program, not only in size but also in impact. External audits and qualitative studies confirm its contribution to alleviating poverty, improving health and safety, and providing better business opportunities and environmental benefits through ongoing partnerships and customer impact projects.

How does Lipex SheaLuxe TR’s climate-compensated production process support climate action?
Pont: For our climate-compensated shea products, including Lipex SheaLuxe TR, we conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) following the ISO 14040/4 methodology. 

AKK buys Gold Standard and FairTrade carbon credits from a FairClimateFund project in Burkina Faso.The LCA calculates all major emission contributors for the production of the product from cradle to our AAK factory gate and includes: 

• Growing of the raw material — the shea kernel.
• First processing at a village level —boiling, drying, deshelling.
• Transportation — within West Africa, from West Africa to Aarhus, Denmark, and from Denmark to Sweden.
• Crushing.
• Refining.
• Packaging material.

The parameters measured give a CO2 equivalent emitted per kilogram of product produced and, when multiplied by projected sales volume, provide the number of carbon credits needed for offsetting. We buy Gold Standard and FairTrade carbon credits from a FairClimateFund project in Burkina Faso. The project reduces CO2 emissions by training women shea collectors to build and use safer, more energy-efficient cookstoves. Local communities benefit from the FairTrade premium, which goes back to the women’s cooperatives in Burkina Faso for further climate adaptation measures. 

Personal Care Insights previously looked at the shea industry’s impact on critical African regions and how companies with a vested interest in this space collaborate to promote sustainability for consumers, industry workers and the environment.

By Venya Patel