Washington Business Spring 2019 | Washington Business | Page 31

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young girls, promote gender equality and ensure women’s health
is a priority.
The company uses the fair-trade of sustainable resources, such
as shea nut butter and coconut oil, to provide jobs gathering
and processing the raw materials in Alaffia’s mostly-female
cooperative in Togo.
The goal is to end the cycle of poverty and open doors to
opportunity in the developing nation.
“Private enterprise alleviates poverty,” said Olowo-n’djo Tchala,
founder and CEO of Alaffia. “In the country where I come from,
Togo, the people simply need to have a job. And if they have a job,
they can help themselves.”
And, competitiveness matters when it comes to ensuring
companies can meet their values-driven and philanthropic goals.
Policy makers — at every level — often craft new or complex
regulations that have unintended consequences. Those policies
may end up hurting some of the underlying work a business is
doing, work that’s not about the bottom line but about doing good.
Lampson’s success, and their ability to support working
families and their community, is heavily impacted by the
regulatory environment in Washington state. “There is so much
red tape, it takes a long time to get anything permitted,” says Kate
Lampson, director of public relations and communications at
Lampson International. “And, when you’re in our industry, you
Kate Lampson, director of public relations and communications,
Lampson International
“There is so much red tape, it takes a
long time to get anything permitted.
And, when you’re in our industry, you
need to be able to react quickly to your
customers to stay competitive and
create jobs.”
– Kate Lampson, director of public relations and
communications, Lampson International
Leen Kawas, CEO, M3 Biotechnology
Olowo-n’djo Tchala, CEO, Alaffia
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