SkinnyDipped, the mother-daughter-founded brand known for its sweet snacks with less sugar and no dirty secrets, has long been committed to lifting up women and the children they love. It is with this core value in mind that the brand is announcing "Brick By Brick," a give-back program to support an innovative, women-led recycling initiative that converts plastic waste into durable bricks used to build safe schools for kids in cacao-based communities.

In Ivory Coast, where much of the world's cacao is grown and harvested, poverty is endemic and women and children are especially vulnerable to hunger, poor sanitation and a critical shortage of schools. In fact, more than 1.6 million children are unable to attend school due to a lack of classrooms. However, an innovative recycling program in the region is working to help women generate a steady income and create safe spaces for kids to go to school.

Here's how it works:

• Local women are paid to collect plastic waste off the streets and take it to recycling stations
• A first-of-its-kind factory converts the waste into durable plastic bricks
• The bricks are used to build sturdy schools for children, utilizing 5 tons of recycled plastic for each one

Through an international children's humanitarian organization, SkinnyDipped plans to donate enough money to this recycling initiative in the next year to build at least 2 schools and recycle at least 10 tons of plastic waste. The brand will also ask their consumers to contribute by giving them an option to "purchase" a brick for $4 (the cost of manufacturing each brick) on their website. 100 percent of the proceeds from brick purchases will go directly to the implementing charity.

"We could not be more excited to support the amazing work happening in Ivory Coast -- it's a cause that we feel deeply connected to as a mother/daughter team," said SkinnyDipped CEO Breezy Griffith. "We also are mindful of the impact of our industry on the region and are committed to not only raising awareness of the challenges women and children face there but also actively working to drive change."

"We started SkinnyDipped with a pound of almonds and a dream and today we produce millions of nut-based healthy snacks. Now, we have a real chance to help other women build a better future for their children brick by brick just as we built ours nut by nut," said SkinnyDipped Co-Founder Val Griffith.

For more info on the program, click here.