So many higher-end body products and beauty products promote themselves with the latest hyped ingredient (argan oil, açaí berries), a “green” gimmick (boxes that sprout seeds if you plant them!), or the name-dropping of a celebrity (or celebrity spouse) as creative director. On the other hand, Arghand soaps and body oils possess an authenticity that puts all those mere trend-followers to shame. Arghand is a cooperative in Afghanistan; it was founded by Sarah Chayes, a former National Public Radio reporter, and its members craft their wares from locally-grown materials. Arghand works closely in a fair-trade relationship with farmers in the region, and its member-workers are justly compensated for their labor. Moreover, the project offers all its participants an alternative to the local opium industry.

Mountain Herb is one of seven soap blends offered by Arghand, and its ingredients give a good idea of the raw materials that are used in the cooperative’s products: hemp oil, black cumin, pomegranate seed oil, and wild mint essential oil. (The pomegranate, one of the region’s legendary crops, offers restorative, anti-oxidant properties; hemp oil keeps skin soft and hydrated.) The soap’s cold-pressed oils and steam-distilled plant essences have been blended into a gentle base of palm and coconut oil, which is hand-milled and hand-molded before it’s cured…

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