Ahava Drops Spokesperson Amid Public Relations Fiasco

Posted by CODEPINK Staff

Ahava Drops Spokesperson Amid Public Relations Fiasco
A first victory for CODEPINK's "Stolen Beauty" campaign

NEW YORK CITY -- The Israeli cosmetics company, Ahava, which illegally manufactures and appropriates its products in occupied Palestinian territory, has dropped its spokesperson Kristin Davis amid a public relations debacle sparked by the peace group CODEPINK’s Stolen Beauty campaign.

As Gawker.com first reported yesterday, 'Sex & the City' star Kristin Davis has been dropped by Ahava. All trace of her image and mention of her name have already been removed from Ahava's website.

Davis' dismissal, and the accompanying blow to Ahava's image, follow the successful launch of CODEPINK's Stolen Beauty campaign designed to spread word of Ahava's illegal practices -- its products are falsely labeled as "Made in Israel" but in actuality are made in an illegal settlement in occupied Palestinian territory, and often contain resources appropriated from occupied land, in clear violation of international law.

For the past two months CODEPINK activists have been appearing at Ahava stores, trade booths, and online, spreading word of Ahava's illegal business practices (view photos and publicity at www.stolenbeauty.org). Particularly newsworthy was Davis' dual role as Ahava spokesperson and as a goodwill ambassador for the international charity Oxfam—a group that has courageously spoken out against the illegal Israeli settlement trade. First, CODEPINK activists reached out to Davis to dissuade her from continuing her paid promotional appearances for Ahava. When that failed, public pressure forced Oxfam to suspend Davis from publicity work for the charity. The glare of publicity, including a story on Page 6 of the New York Post, surrounding that controversy appears now to have helped make untenable Ahava's P.R. campaign centered on Davis.

For more information, please call Nancy Kricorian, Stolen Beauty campaign coordinator, at 646-234-8529.