Superdrug removed Ahava from its online marketplace on Friday after researchers raised concerns about alleged links to activity at a site in an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. The products had been sold through a third-party seller on Superdrug’s marketplace platform.
A Superdrug spokesperson said, “We have now removed the SKU (stock keeping unit) and implemented additional system actions that will block and prevent any future listings of this brand from all sellers,” The action closes off further sales of the brand through the retailer’s marketplace, rather than only the one listing that drew scrutiny.
Ahava and Mitzpe Shalem
The concerns were raised after the American Friends Service Committee shared images that it said showed activity at a site in the Israeli settlement of Mitzpe Shalem. The images reportedly showed containers bearing production and receipt dates from 2025 and 2026, along with piles of earth that researchers believe may be Dead Sea mud used in Ahava cosmetics.
An employee at Ahava’s visitor center in Ein Gedi reportedly said the Mitzpe Shalem site continues to process raw mud and salt materials before they are transferred elsewhere for production. Ahava denied operating a production facility in Mitzpe Shalem.
Ron Michael statement
Ron Michael, Ahava’s chief executive, said the company had already changed its production structure before the Superdrug removal. “As previously communicated publicly, by 2022, all production activities were consolidated within internationally recognized Israeli territory,” he said. Ahava also said all muds, salts and botanicals are and have always been collected from undisputed Israeli territory.
The retailer’s move comes against a wider policy backdrop. The UK government considers Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank illegal under international law and says they undermine prospects for a two-state solution, while Israel disputes that interpretation. In 2025, Ahava and its parent company, Fosun International, were added to a UN database of companies involved in activities linked to Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory.
For shoppers, the immediate change is narrow but concrete: Ahava products are no longer listed through Superdrug’s marketplace, and the company said it has put systems in place to stop future listings from any seller. That leaves the dispute centered on the brand’s sourcing claims and the activity researchers say they documented at Mitzpe Shalem.
