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Lifestyle brand Cotton On BODY has launched a coffee scrub made from beans grown and cared for by women in Southern Uganda. All proceeds from the sale of the scrub will go towards the Cotton On Foundation and its local and international projects, that educate and empower women to earn an income and support their families.
The idea was born in 2012 when the Cotton On Foundation began working with locals to establish coffee farms in Southern Uganda, an initiative which saw the launch of Mannya Trading Company in 2014 which has since become a sustainable income stream for local Ugandans.
On a trip to Mannya, Cotton On Body Trend Director Stephanie Keen planted the first coffee seedlings with the Foundation team four years ago. “We got on the back of a truck and drove out to the coffee plantation and spent the day digging holes and planting the seedlings. They put a basket on my head and I could hardly hold it with my arms, and then I saw a Ugandan woman beside me who was digging holes in the heat with a child on her back the entire time – that really stuck with me. It showed the women aren’t afraid of hard work and they’re dedicated to providing for their families and creating a more sustainable future.”
Inspired after the trip, Stephanie set about developing the Cotton On BODY scrub using the Mannya Trading Co beans, which are completely harvested by hand – from picking, to drying, hulling and roasting – ensuring only the very best quality coffee beans are produced. “We think it’s important you know what you put on your body, so you’ll love that our scrub has been made with the very best ingredients,” Stephanie said.
The proceeds raised will go to helping women in the region – the facts:
- 80% of women perform 80% of the quality control work in the Mannya Village Community.
- 30,000 robusta coffee seedlings are providing farmers and their families with opportunities and hope.
- 90% of women reinvest 90% of their earned income back into their family.
Cotton On Foundation Merchandise Manager Ross Burrage said most of the quality control work is performed by the women in the community. “I met a woman when we first started the coffee projects who could only afford to send one of her five children to school. Four years on, she can now afford to send all of her kids to school because of the sustainable income the coffee provided her family.”
The Cotton On BODY coffee scrub is available in Cotton On BODY stores at Woodlands, Menlyn, Blue Route Mall, Walmer Park and Mills Square, retailing for R99. For more information, please visit www.cottononbody.com