Fragrance and Fair Trade: The Story of The 7 Virtues
By Olivia Mcintosh
Barb Stegman was a journalist with no intentions of entering the world of beauty and perfume. The writer and explorer found light in her best friend’s mission that was cut short due to injuries sustained while working on the ground in the Middle East with the Canadian Armed Forces.
Determined to continue her best friends’ efforts in bringing peace to communities in Afghanistan post-war, Barb Stegman created Canada-based clean fragrance line The 7 Virtues. The brand is a fusion of perfume and fair trade, using natural and organic essential oil ingredients from farmers overseas.
7 Virtues started out as a philosophical “how-to” book for women, The 7 Virtues of a Philosopher Queen, “living and leading in an illogical world.” This book empowers women to take that leap of faith and pursue their dreams, while encouraging action against corruption and war that tears our world apart. Soon after the book was released, Stegman was the first Atlantic-Canadian woman to secure a deal on ‘Dragons Den’ through which she was able to fund her mission to enlarge her vision of 7 Virtues into a perfume line.
Stegman began sourcing orange blossom and rose essential oil crops from Afghan farmers, which in turn freed many of their young daughters from the disheartening life of becoming “opium brides,” as stated on the company website.
The 7 Virtues in Rwanda
This philosophy has expanded to many other countries around the world, sourcing fair trade, natural, and organic floral oils in order to make a difference in the lives and liberty of even more people globally.
“it’s time to get loud with our love”
Purchasing their floral essential oils from countries overseas has created opportunities for development and new hope for the locals’ futures. 7 Virtues is living proof that human beings all over the world can add value and contribute to one another's ideas.
“My real job is to make rebuilding more exciting than destruction,” says Stegman, "I do this through perfume.”
The 7 Virtues in Afghan
Since launching in 2010, the collection of scents has expanded offering a variety of hypoallergenic fragrances that speak to various individual cultures. The Original Perfumes collection includes the country from where the oils were sourced to give a personal touch and recognition to the farmers. Over the years, 7 Virtues has curated new scent collections such as the Peace Blend Collection, made up of fresh florals, herbs, citrus, and warm tones that stimulate feelings of love, energy, tranquility, and uplifted spirits all through aromatherapy.