Alaffia’s fair trade claim is strongest on the jar of unrefined shea butter, where shea is the only ingredient, and weakest on the lotions and conditioners, where water comes first and shea sits second or third. Buy the jar if sourcing is your reason. Read the label before you buy anything else from the range.
Here is what Alaffia itself prints on each product page.
Where Alaffia says its shea comes from
Alaffia’s history page describes a social enterprise founded in 2003 by a man from Togo and a woman from Washington State, now based in Olympia. It lists a first shea butter cooperative, schools built in Togo and a later coconut cooperative.
The product page for the unscented jar is more general. It says the butter is handcrafted at cooperatives in West Africa and carries a “Fair Trade certified ingredient” note. For background on the plant itself, see our guide to the shea butter tree.
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What “unrefined” actually promises
Unrefined means the butter was not bleached or deodorized after processing. It describes the raw butter, not whatever you buy that contains it.
Alaffia’s EveryDay Shea Body Lotion is described as made with “Ethically Traded unrefined shea butter”. Its ingredient list begins with water, then shea butter, then stearic acid and cetearyl alcohol. The shea is unrefined, but the product is an emulsion.
Jar, lotion and conditioner compared
| Product | First ingredient | Shea butter position | Sourcing wording on the page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaffia Pure Unrefined Shea Butter, Unscented | Shea butter | 1 of 1 | “Fair Trade certified ingredient” |
| Alaffia EveryDay Shea Body Lotion, Lavender | Water | 2 of 17 | “Ethically Traded unrefined shea butter” |
| Alaffia EveryDay Shea Conditioner, Lavender | Water | 3 of 14 | “Ethically Traded unrefined shea butter” |
Source: ingredient lists and product copy on alaffia.com, October 2026. Alaffia notes it updates formulas, so check the package.
The wording changes between rows. “Fair Trade certified” appears on the jar, while the lotion and conditioner say “Ethically Traded”. Those are not the same phrase, and the page does not equate them.
Which Alaffia product to buy
Choose the jar for body, hands or hair ends. Alaffia suggests warming a small amount in your palm and applying it to skin or hair, and says it also works for massage.
Choose the lotion if you want a lighter, pump-style product and accept that it is mostly water with a preservative system. Our piece on reading a shea butter body lotion label shows how to judge that position.
If you want to compare how another mainstream brand handles its shea claim, read our Shea Moisture review.
One limit on all of this. A label tells you what the brand claims, not what an auditor found on a given harvest. If fair trade matters to you, check the certification wording on the exact product in your hand.
Questions readers ask
Is Alaffia shea butter unrefined?
Alaffia's product page calls its unscented jar Pure Unrefined Shea Butter, with shea butter as the only ingredient. Its lotion and conditioner use unrefined shea butter inside a water-based formula.
Is Alaffia shea butter fair trade certified?
The jar's page marks shea butter as a Fair Trade certified ingredient. The lotion and conditioner pages use the phrase Ethically Traded instead, so check the label of the exact product.
Does Alaffia lotion contain real shea butter?
Yes. In the lavender body lotion, shea butter is the second ingredient after water. It is a lotion, so most of the formula is water plus emulsifiers and a preservative system.
