Comments on: Ahava Dead Sea Mineral Mud to cleanse scalp

By: EH

EH — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:55:46 +0000

Hi-
Thanks for your interest. Ahava markets itself as made in Israel, but in fact its factory and visitor center are in the occupied West Bank, in illegal settlements. Ahava is also 40% owned by settlements.The settlements are all built on Palestinian land seized by military force and are illegal under international law. It is also illegal to exploit the natural resources of occupied territory, which is what Ahava is doing by building its factory in the settlements, where there are almost no labor or environmental laws.

The EU and the British government have already voiced concern that Ahava’s “made in Israel” label is deceptive. For more info, see here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7708244.stm
Or the Stolen Beauty campaign:
http://www.stolenbeauty.org

By: iluvshopping77

iluvshopping77 — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:04:09 +0000

Cool…cheers!

By: sesame

sesame — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:56:28 +0000

Thanks for clarifying. I personally find it hard to believe that an established brand would do anything illegal and yet be around for so long. I should add a disclaimer to Nancy’s comment though – that her view is independent and is not the view of vivawoman.net!

By: iluvshopping77

iluvshopping77 — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:51:35 +0000

Hi there

I’ve been to Israel before and Ahava’s certainly not involved in any illegal mud mining. In fact, they are the only company licensed in Israel to mine the minerals and mud there.

Also, they provide jobs to 3 Kibbutz in Israel and helps in environmental conservation. Nancy should certainly not make such remarks. She could be sued for it.

The Dead Sea is basically divided by an “invisible” line into 1/2. One side belongs to Jordan and another side belongs to Israel. Hence, if you visit Jordan, you’ll be able to get Dead Sea products from Jordan as well.

I have heard of people who illegally mined the mud though I don’t have the details. These people are inconsiderate and destroy the environment for their own gains.

Ahava, being the leading brand in Dead Sea products and with shops internationally, is committed to environmental conservation.

In fact, I’ve been to one of the Kibbutz, En Gedi. They even have a “nature reserve” there whereby they try to cultivate as much greenery in the desert as possible. It’s like an oasis in the midst of the desert. They also have a factory at the Dead Sea and you can go visit if you want to.

I’m a fan of Ahava and has been to Israel many times and the factory a number of times as well. I also had the privilege to view their production processes. Hence, I am confident of what I write here.

By: sesame

sesame — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 08:14:34 +0000

I recall they passed me a form to fill up but I promptly forgot about it. Maybe the next time…