Whole Foods - Whole Body
By Denise Dumars
If you’re like me, you remember when health food stores carried very little in the way of skin care products and make-up. Well, a lot has changed since the wheat-germ-and-vitamin stores of yore that only carried a few brands of “natural” soaps and cleansers. Today, the business of organic foods and “natural” products are big business. Whole Foods, Inc. wants to be the leading provider of such products – along with being a socially responsible industry leader.
Take, for example, the preponderance of the phrase “fair trade” on its products. This official designation—much like “organic”—must be certified. Companies participating in Fair Trade agree to pay a fair price for foods and other products throughout the world without exploitation of workers or the environment.
Such a line of products includes the high-end Apoteke organic Luxurethic ™ cosmeceuticals. This company makes organic skin care products and gives a percentage of profits each year to charities such as Nelson Mandela’s Children’s Fund Network. I was impressed that they carry a natural line of products geared towards calming rosacea and other skin conditions.
Whole Foods also likes to follow the mantra “think globally, act locally,” as they look for local suppliers for their products. “This guy named Hugo came by with his stuff one day,” as Will, one of their associates explained to me, “…He still delivers it himself sometimes.” Hugo’s company is in nearby Chatsworth and his products include scrumptious smelling cocoa butter soap.
Other somewhat local products, Natural Beauty of Las Vegas, were first carried in the Whole Foods Nevada stores. When Los Angeles customers started asking for the products, the chain started carrying them in the El Segundo Whole Foods - a warehouse-sized store that stocks a huge Whole Body section of skin care and cosmetics, as well as several in-store restaurants. Natural Beauty of Las Vegas features luxurious milk baths, sugar and salt scrubs, shea butter body cream and more.
I was particularly impressed with a line of “sustainable skin care” by Alaffia, a Fair Trade company founded by a native of Togo who now lives in Washington State. Not only are his shea-butter based lotions, creams and shampoos handcrafted, his company also supports the sub-Saharan African women who work for the company, by helping them become self-sustaining through investing in their education and environment.
Some of the products are quite-high end, and others not. Another sales associate, Desiree, pointed out, “If you know how to shop here, Whole Foods doesn’t have to be expensive.” For example, their house brand, 365, is very affordable. A clean-smelling bar of chamomile glycerin soap by 365 is only $1.29.
Organic make-up may be hard to find elsewhere, but not here. To compete with another famous mineral make-up line, Whole Foods carries Mineral Fusion, an organic line of mineral based foundation, eyeshadow, lipstick and more. They also carry the popular natural make-up line by Dr. Hauschka.
All of this and I’ve still not mentioned the many other charities and groups Whole Foods supports, including community projects local to each individual store. Check out Whole Foods — They’ve got a lot more than just wheat germ these days.