Ahava
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Cosmetics |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Headquarters | Holon, Israel |
Number of employees | 200 |
| Website | http://www.ahava.com/ |
Ahava (Hebrew: אהבה) (lit. Love) is an Israeli cosmeceutical company that manufactures skin-care products made of mud and mineral-based compounds from the Dead Sea.
Dead Sea Laboratories (DSL), the company that manufactures Ahava products was established in Israel in 1988 by three kibbutzim in the Dead Sea area. The company is now co-owned by Gaon Holdings, one of Israel's largest holding companies. Ahava exports to over thirty countries worldwide, and exports account for 60% its sales. Ahava products, popular with tourists for their quality and unique properties, are available in shops all over Israel, with an outlet store at the foot of Masada.[1]
Ahava's shareholders include Mitzpe Shalem (41 percent); Hamashbir Holdings and Gaon Holdings (41 percent); and Ein Gedi and Kalia (18 percent). [2]
Ahava has 200 employees, 180 of whom work in Israel. It's main manufacturing plant and showroom is at the Israeli settlement of Mitzpe Shalem in the West Bank near the shores of the Dead Sea, with administrative headquarters in Holon.[3]
Due to the location of the manufacturing facility, a boycott campaign has been organized by e.g. the Code Pink organization, arguing that Ahava’s use of Palestinian natural resources from the Dead Sea is, according to the Fourth Geneva Convention, a "patently illegal use by an occupying power of stolen resources for its own profit." The boycott further takes issue that Ahava's products are labeled as if they were produced "in Israel". [4][5]
References
- ^ MarketWise, Greer Fay Cashman, Jerusalem Post, January 3, 2008.
- ^ Will the British buy love from the Dead Sea? - Haaretz - Israel News
- ^ From Israel with Ahava - Haaretz - Israel News
- ^ Harrods reinstates Israeli products in battle with ongoing shelf life israelinsider, 25 Jan. 2002
- ^ http://www.bdsmovement.net/?q=node/501