Cosmetics Cooperative in Oaxaca, Mexico
Hello fellow cooperators,
We came across another great cosmetics cooperative in Oaxaca, Mexico and we just had to share it with you. It’s amazing how much people can accomplish by working together and cooperating.
Cosmeticos Naturals de Mazunte
“Cosmeticos Naturales de Mazunte” is an extraordinary example of living sustainably through cooperation. Mazunte is a small beach town and hidden treasure of Oaxaca on the Pacific coast of Mexico. After turtle hunting, the town’s primary source of income, was banned in Mexico in the early 1990s, the people from Mazunte had to find work alternatives to support themselves and their families. That same year, Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, one of England’s most prominent cosmetic stores, according to Forbes, visited Mazunte. The purpose of her visit was to get Mazunte to provide The Body Shop with natural organic materials for the production of their body supplies. However, after some time, the people of Mazunte realised that they too could own and operate their own cosmetics store and of course, families working together is better than one doing it alone, they joined hands and started a cosmetics cooperative.
In 1996 Cosmeticos Naturales de Mazunte was born with their first line of shampoo and body oils. Today, they are now producing all sorts of cosmetics, ranging from deodorants to mosquito repellents, using only plants and natural oils. Cosmeticos de Mazunte is comprised of 15 local families working together and owning their own cosmetic business. The members of this coop manufacture and sell their products mainly to tourists that come to the region, as well as to local stores and other businesses within the state of Oaxaca. This became known as the “Miracle of Mazunte;” it brought up the economy in the region and they are definitely continuing this cooperativist journey. They have now implemented more eco-friendly cooperative businesses that provide services to the growing number of tourists such as boat cabin rentals. Families that immigrated to the US after the crisis in the 1990s are now wanting to go back to this paradise, seeing how the situation keeps getting better and better.
It’s great to see other cosmetic pioneers in the cooperative world. Soon one of our members, Walfre will be travelling down to Oaxaca to learn about the products of Cosmeticos de Mazunte in order to bring you better products in the future. If you want to learn more about Cosmeticos De Mazunte, you can go to their website here. We will continue to see the progress of these cooperatives in Mazunte and keep you posted on this great new cooperative movement.
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ivan