L'Occitane

I created L’OCCITANE so that I might remain in Provence. Along the way, I met men and women who wanted the same thing. Some were artisans, some producers. Some grew angelica, peonies or verbena. Together, we learned lessons in sustainable development.

Tradition is more than just a word. In Haute-Provence, it evokes many forgotten skills and crafts. There is no point in simply preserving them. Why live in a museum? They need to be kept alive. Restoring groves of almond trees to the Valensole plateau, preserving wild immortelle in Corsica, building a fair-trade industry of shea butter with the women of Burkina Faso, saving the fine lavender of Haute-Provence, currently under threat...

All of these projects are dear to L’OCCITANE – which has always looked to cultivate plants and products that are part of the very DNA of its region.
Olivier Baussan, founder of L’OCCITANE EN PROVENCE.