L’OCCITANE PHILANTHROPY
SOLIDARITY PRODUCTS
GIVING MEANING TO TOMORROW Since its creation in 1976, L’OCCITANE has nurtured simple values: authenticity, respect and sensoriality. Inspired by our founder, Olivier Baussan, these values are also upheld by our employees, so they can share the company’s success with others around the world. L’OCCITANE has always supported initiatives that benefit society. In 2006, the company strengthened its commitments by creating its Foundation.With an annual budget of €1,000,000, it supports around fifty different projects. The Foundation has set itself the priority of fighting preventable blindness – its main field of action. Within this context,
In 2015, 100% of profits* from the sale of our Solidarity Soap – representing over €165,000 – were donated to the UNION FOR VISION programme for a project in Ethiopia, run by the NGO Orbis.
L’OCCITANE is deeply committed to sight. In 1997, it introduced Braille labelling on most of its products, and in 2000, it sold the first fund-raising product in stores to raise money to help save sight.
it created UNION FOR VISION 10by20 – an international programme dedicated to sight that also involves many of the company’s subsidiaries. The long-standing relationship between L’OCCITANE and the Burkinabe women who produce shea butter matters greatly to the Foundation, which is committed to promoting women’s leadership throughout the world. Finally, the Foundation is also involved in initiatives to protect the natural heritage of Provence and the Mediterranean region.
Through the UNION FOR VISION 10by20 programme, L’OCCITANE supports the fight against preventable blindness by funding NGO projects in three fields:
Eye care
Training & raising awareness
*Sales price in store minus taxes, transport and production costs.
WHY 10 BY 20? 2015
Research & innovation
2 million beneficiaries
2020
Objective: to provide eye care for 10 million people
AMONG OUR PROJECTS‌ JAPAN Asian Prevention of Blindness Association: training in cataract treatment by a Japanese expert for Vietnamese ophthalmologists.
FRANCE
CHINA
Institut Curie: distance learning in advanced eye cancer surgery for ophthalmologists.
Orbis: a programme run in the poorest regions, focused on eye screening in schools, eye care, surgery and training.
CANADA
SOUTH AFRICA
SWITZERLAND
BURKINA FASO
Foundation Fighting Blindness: organisation of three educational events to prevent vision loss in remote regions.
Brien Holden Vision Institute: eye screening and provision of glasses in schools.
Jules Gonin Ophthalmic Hospital, Lausanne University: development of a gene therapy to treat a disease that leads to blindness and affects children.
Light for the World: development of a specialty to train ophthalmologists and improvement of access to high-quality eye care in rural areas.
PROMOTING WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP In the 1980’, on a trip to Burkina Faso, Olivier Baussan learned all about the benefits of shea butter. He went on to create a partnership with Burkinabe women, who play an important role in local economic and social life.
to support its Fund for Gender Equality, which funds 120 programmes in 80 countries, dedicated to the economic and political empowerment of women. More than 10 million direct beneficiaries were registered between 2009 and 2015.
SOLIDARITY PRODUCTS In 2016, 100% of profits* from the sale of our Solidarity Balm – representing over €260,000 – were donated to the «L’OCCITANE pour Elles» programme in Burkina Faso.
Since 2006, the L’OCCITANE Foundation has promoted the economic emancipation of Burkinabe women by supporting education, microcredit and training programmes. In 2016, it launched the «L’OCCITANE pour Elles» programme, which provides funding and helps women entrepreneurs to develop their projects. Since 2014, the Foundation has extended its activities in this area. In 2016, it signed a partnership with UN Women
PROTECTING NATURAL HERITAGE In 2015, over €100,000 were invested in eco-friendly initiatives in Provence and the Mediterranean region. L’OCCITANE has worked closely with the French Committee of the UICN1 on producing the Red List of Mediterranean coastal ecosystems. The aim was to gather documentation and expertise related to coastal habitats, and to pre-evaluate and validate each of the habitats and threat categories. L’OCCITANE also supported the CEN 2 PACA nature conservation charity and the FCBN 3 on a project to help the Aromatic and Medicinal Plants sector to protect butterflies and support the emergence of new producers.
* Sales price in store minus taxes, transport and production costs.
1 UICN: Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature | 2 CEN: Conservatoire d’Espaces Naturels | 3 FCBN: Fédération des Conservatoires Botaniques Nationaux
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photos © UEWCA | Yam Photo | Pedro Lombardi | ORBIS Jonathan Hyams
Our main partners: Aide et Action Ashoka Brien Holden Vision Institute CEN Entrepreneurs du Monde FCBN HEC Helen Keller International IAPB ICO Light for the World Make Sense ONU Femmes ORBIS Palais des papes Rêv’Elles Sightsavers UICN Vision Aid Overseas