Beyond Beauty: Acala Stem Wins the 2026 Women's Empowerment Award
Beyond Beauty: Acala Stem Wins the 2026 Women's Empowerment Award
Celebrating the women, craftsmanship and purpose behind a different kind of luxury.
Some awards recognise what we create. This one recognises why we began.
We are incredibly proud to announce that Acala Stem has won the 2026 Women's Empowerment Award, part of the Clean + Conscious Sustainability + Social Impact Awards.
This recognition celebrates something that has been at the heart of Acala Stem from the very beginning: the belief that beautiful products should create meaningful opportunities for the people behind them.
Where it all began
Before Acala Stem existed, our founder Leanne travelled to Cambodia to volunteer as an English teacher.
What she witnessed changed her life.
Women, particularly mothers in rural communities, were facing impossible choices between earning an income and caring for their children. Yet behind these challenges were extraordinary skills, resilience and a rich tradition of craftsmanship.
The talent was there. The opportunity wasn't.
Leanne returned home determined to do something about it.
And Acala Stem was born.
Creating opportunity, one thread at a time
Through our partnership with a Cambodian social enterprise, Acala Stem supports traditional lotus silk craftsmanship while helping create flexible, meaningful employment and opportunities for women's financial independence.
Our supply chain has helped train more than 150 spinners and supported the re-employment of over 60 seamstresses across rural Cambodia since 2020.
For participating artisans, working from home provides greater flexibility to earn an income while remaining close to their children and families.
It's a model that values people, preserves traditional skills and creates opportunities for greater financial independence.
And at the centre of it all is lotus silk, an extraordinarily rare textile, patiently extracted from lotus stems, spun and woven by hand.
Every thread tells a story of skill, patience and possibility.
A new meaning of luxury
At Acala Stem, we believe luxury should stand for more than status or exclusivity.
Luxury with empathy. Beauty with integrity. Craftsmanship with purpose.
It's a philosophy that connects everything we create, from our botanical skincare rituals to our lotus silk textiles.
Inspired by the lotus, a symbol of renewal and resilience, we believe in slowing down, honouring nature and making more intentional choices.
Because how something is made matters just as much as what we make.
This award belongs to a bigger story
Winning the Women's Empowerment Award is an incredibly meaningful milestone for our small Australian business.
But more importantly, it celebrates the remarkable Cambodian women and artisan partners whose dedication and craftsmanship make this journey possible.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to Clean + Conscious and @cleanandconsciousawards for recognising the importance of creating positive change through business.
To our customers, thank you for believing in a more thoughtful kind of luxury.
And to the women who inspire our purpose, this recognition is for you.
Because the most beautiful thing we can create is opportunity.
With gratitude,
Leanne and the Acala Stem team
