Women Changing The World
Heavenly Himalayan Wins Three Awards at the 2026 Women Changing the World Awards in Paris
We came home from Paris with three awards and a full heart.
In April 2026, Heavenly Himalayan founder Ellie ter Haar travelled to Paris to attend the 2026 Women Changing the World Awards — a global summit recognising women and organisations creating meaningful impact across business, sustainability, leadership, health, and education. Selected from over 1,500 nominations across 97 countries, Ellie returned with:
🥇 Gold — Social Enterprise
🥇 Gold — Sustainability
🥈 Silver — Humanitarian
To say we are proud would be an understatement. But more than pride, this recognition is a reminder of why Heavenly Himalayan exists — and who it exists for.
What the Women Changing the World Awards Recognises
The Women Changing the World Awards are not your typical industry accolades. Founded with a mission to elevate, celebrate, and connect women who are reshaping the world, the awards draw nominees from every continent. The 2026 Global Summit and Awards ceremony, held in Paris on 22 April, brought together changemakers, entrepreneurs, humanitarians, and leaders united by one thing: a commitment to impact over ego.
The awards are organised under the stewardship of Peace Mitchell and Katy Garner, with ambassador Dr. Tererai Trent — herself one of the most powerful advocates for girls' education in the world. Proceeds from the awards support Tererai Trent International, which funds scholarships for girls in rural Zimbabwe to attend college and university. Even the ceremony itself is built on the same belief we hold at Heavenly Himalayan: that investing in women and girls creates a ripple effect that reaches far beyond a single life.
Standing in that room in Paris, surrounded by women from 97 countries doing extraordinary things, was a green light from the universe that we are exactly where we are supposed to be.
What These Three Awards Mean to Us
Gold in Social Enterprise recognises that Heavenly Himalayan is more than a headband company. From day one, our model has been built on a simple idea: that a business can create a product people genuinely love while simultaneously creating real, lasting change in the lives of the people who make it. The women in Kathmandu who handweave our headbands are not charity recipients — they are skilled artisans, they are breadwinners, they are mothers sending their children to school with the income they earn through fair work.
Gold in Sustainability reflects our commitment to doing things the right way, even when it's the slower way. Our headbands are made from natural Nepali wool — no synthetics, no shortcuts. The wool comes from the upper regions of the Himalayas. Every headband is hand-inspected before it leaves Nepal. We don't chase fast fashion. We never have.
Silver in Humanitarian speaks to the heart of why founder Ellie ter Haar started this journey. Ellie first met our Kathmandu business partner Pran Maya Khadgi while volunteering at a children's school on the Tibetan border. What began as a friendship between two women from opposite sides of the world grew into a distribution network linking Nepal to warehouses across the United States — and a commitment to supporting the families and communities behind the work. Hot lunches for children. School fees. Warm clothing in harsh winters. These are the things that matter.
The Women Behind the Work
Ellie has said it plainly, and she means it: this recognition belongs just as much to the women behind the work as it does to me.
Pran Maya Khadgi, Prem, and the entire team of artisans in Nepal are the ones whose hands shape every single headband. When you buy a Heavenly Himalayan headband — whether it's a simple black, a clean white, or a warm grey — you are not just buying an accessory. You are part of a supply chain built on dignity and fairness, not exploitation.
This is what ethical fashion actually looks like. Not a badge on a website. Not a marketing claim. It's Pran negotiating fair wages. It's a mother in Kathmandu buying her daughter a school uniform. It's a headband that has travelled from the Himalayan mountains to your morning run, your winter hike, your school pickup.
What's Shifting in Business — and Why It Matters
One thing Ellie carried home from Paris was a feeling she couldn't quite name at first. After spending days surrounded by women from across industries and continents, it became clear: something is shifting in the business world.
Success is no longer being measured by growth alone.
The businesses and individuals being celebrated at the Women Changing the World Awards were not the biggest or the most profitable. They were the ones asking harder questions — about who benefits, about what gets left behind, about what kind of world is being built by the work being done every day.
At Heavenly Himalayan, we believe the future of fashion is ethical, sustainable, and handmade. We believe that consumers are waking up to the power of their purchase — that where you spend your money is a vote for the kind of world you want to live in. Three awards from a global body of 1,500 nominees tells us we are not alone in that belief.
A Note on the People Who Made This Possible
This summit also saw Ellie stand alongside her fellow award-winning authors of Resilience and Reinvention — a collection of stories from women who have rebuilt, reimagined, and refused to be defined by what tried to stop them. It was a privilege and, she says, deeply moving.
Heartfelt thanks to Peace Mitchell, Katy Garner, and Dr. Tererai Trent for creating a summit where women doing quiet, meaningful work are seen and celebrated.
And thank you — our customers, our community, our followers — for choosing headbands that do more than keep your ears warm.
Shop Headbands That Give Back
Every Heavenly Himalayan headband is 100% handmade from natural Nepali wool by women in Kathmandu. Available in black, grey, and white — as a single, a 2-pack, or a 3-pack.
👉 Shop directly at heavenlyhimalayan.com 👉 Or find us on Amazon
Your purchase keeps the work going.