Aveda Receives PETA ‘Proggy’ Award for Best Cruelty-Free Spa Products
plant-derived hair care, skin care, makeup and lifestyle products and a global
leader in corporate environmental sustainability for 30 years, is the proud
recipient of PETA’s (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) prestigious
2008 PETA Progress (Proggy) Awards for “Best Cruelty-Free Spa Products.” In
its sixth year, PETA’s Proggy awards recognize animal-friendly achievements in
seven categories, including: clothing and accessories, companion animals,
entertainment, food, personal care products, science and other. PETA’s panel
of judges selected winners based on innovation, creativity, passion and the
desire to make a difference.
Aveda was first awarded a Proggy in 2004 for its “Best Cruelty-Free
Personal Care Products.” This year, the Company takes the 2008 Proggy for its
high-performance, cruelty-free spa products and professional treatments. PETA
evaluated Aveda’s 2008 spa launches, including Green Science skin care — a
line of powerful, plant-infused formulas and a high-touch professional facial
treatment clinically proven to address the signs of aging. Based on the
ancient science of Ayurveda, Aveda’s award-winning spa products and services
combine cutting-edge technology with high performing botanically-derived
ingredients. In keeping with its commitment to the safety and well-being of
animals, Aveda products are “people tested,” as indicated on all packaging.
“Aveda is an industry leader in both quality botanically-derived products
and social responsibility; every Aveda guest receives the highest level of
service in the Company’s spas, salons and stores,” says
president, PETA. “By denouncing animal tests and steering clear of
animal-based ingredients, Aveda has shown that when it comes to the Aveda
Mission, the company truly ‘walks its talk.’”
30 Years of Living the Mission
“As a leader in natural and botanically-derived beauty for over 30 years,
we strive to provide our customers and guests with the highest quality
products and services that have the least environmental impact,” says
Bennett
encouraged us to care for the world we live in, from the products we make, to
the numerous ways in which we give back to society. This singular mission
guides all business decisions at Aveda and inspires us to become better
stewards of the Earth.”
COMMITMENT TO NATURAL AND BOTANICAL INGREDIENTS
Since its founding in 1978, Aveda has been a catalyst for ecological and
social awareness and innovation at both the individual and collective level.
This core philosophy guides Aveda’s business choices: commitment to
cruelty-free products, organic and botanical ingredients, sustainable
sourcing, social responsibility, formulation efficiency, manufacturing
practices, recycled packaging, energy conservation and employee education.
“At Aveda we believe that authentic beauty works in harmony with the
greater web of life,” says
cannot be truly beautiful if it harms any of the diverse life forms that
nature created.”
An example of Aveda’s commitment to botanical innovation can be found in
its lip color products. Carmine, the bright red pigment derived from carminic
acid contained in the wings of insects such as beetles, is often used to
manufacture artificially-colored cosmetic products. Given its commitment to
preserving all life forms, Aveda does not use carmine in any of its products,
replacing it with the color-rich annatto pigment derived from the Brazilian
urukum seed. The
beetle lip isn’t your thing, Aveda’s Nourish-Mint … all-natural lipstick
promises to be insect-free, and we’ve got [the] ingredient breakdown just so
we could understand where this stuff actually comes from.”
DEDICATION TO WILDLIFE AND THE ENVIRONMENT
In further recognition of Aveda’s commitment to the Earth, the National
Wildlife Federation (NWF) recognized Aveda’s 58-acre headquarters in
Minnesota
40 acres of open space for wildlife, Aveda grounds keepers have developed an
ecosystem that attracts and supports a variety of native birds, butterflies
and other wildlife. In the 16 years since the Company’s arrival at its current
headquarters, Aveda has worked to restore the untouched portions of its land
to its natural, ecological state before construction resulted in removal of
trees, overturned dirt and destruction of natural homes to wildlife.
Aveda’s respect for its local environment and wildlife also extends to the
Canadian geese that populate the lakes and ground of the
over five acres of open water, the Aveda’s headquarters attract flocks of
geese that pose sanitation challenges to both the manufacturing facility and
the local watershed. Aveda employs a cruelty-free method to encourage geese to
find other areas to roam: trained border collies gently, but firmly guide
geese off Company property. A method endorsed by PETA, the collies effectively
prevent the geese from contaminating open waters on Aveda’s campus, preserving
the safety of both Aveda’s recycled water supply program and the local
watershed.
In a related development, Aveda was recently recognized with an
Environmental Leadership Award by the Fresh Water Society for its efforts to
reduce the environmental impact of snow removal procedures on the local
watershed. Using alternative techniques, including spraying pure salt (sodium
chloride) and other naturally-occurring de-icing products like ammonium
sulfate, Aveda is effectively treating ice and snow in an Earth-friendly way.
AVEDA’S CAPS RECYCLING PROGRAM
Aveda is also a leader in the use of post consumer recycled packaging
(PCR). The Company has received several awards for its packaging
achievements, including: the International Package Design Award, 3M Integrity
Award, Ameristar Award and numerous editors’ choice awards.
While Aveda has made tremendous progress in increasing its PCR content in
bottles, jars and boxes, corporate packaging teams were not able to find
commercially available sources of polypropylene (#5 plastic), the plastic used
to create bottle caps and closures. The U.S. does not currently have a viable
recycling stream for plastic caps and as a result these caps are generally
discarded as litter or trash. Each year, millions of caps find their way into
lakes, rivers and oceans where they pose a great threat to birds and marine
life. Turtles, fish, penguins and sea birds often mistake the colorful caps
for food and ingest them, with deadly consequences.
To combat this increasingly important issue, Aveda created the Caps
Recycling Program that helps break through the current boundaries of recycling
and educate consumers about the positive impact they can have. Through the
participation of community schools nationwide, the program educates students
about the oceans plastics crisis and encourages them to collect plastic caps.
Once collected, caps are sent to a plastics recycler to be ground and molded
into new plastic caps. Aveda experts have worked closely with suppliers to
help them develop ways to make new caps and containers from the recycled
caps — producing the first-ever 100 percent recycled bottle cap in the beauty
industry, used on Aveda’s Vintage Clove Shampoo to celebrate the Company’s
30th anniversary. Since the program’s launch, Aveda has collected more than
65,000 pounds of caps and plans to roll out the program across multiple
product lines in the near future.
Shape magazine featured the Caps Recycling Program in
inspiring many consumers to collect plastic caps.
motivated by the article that she educated her young eco-activist sons Max, 9,
and Jacob, age 13, about the devastating effects that plastic pollution in the
ocean can have on marine life. Life-long penguin lovers, Max and Jacob have
become aspiring grassroots “activists” on the issue, educating their teachers
and peers about the effect of ocean plastics on marine wildlife, and
empowering them to make a difference. Ten months later, Max and Jacob have
collected more than 20,000 plastic caps and continue on their pursuit to save
marine life and the earth.
For more information on Aveda’s recognition by PETA’s Proggy Awards, the
Aveda Caps Recycling Program, Aveda products, services or mission, please
visit http://www.peta.org and http://www.aveda.com.
Aveda(TM), The Art and Science of Pure Flower and Plant Essences(TM), was
founded in 1978 with the goal of providing beauty industry professionals with
high performance, botanically based products that would be better for service
providers and their guests, as well as for the planet. Aveda manufactures
professional plant-based hair care, skin care, makeup, Pure-Fume(TM) and
lifestyle products. Headquartered in
Aveda stores, on http://www.aveda.com, and in nearly 7,000 professional hair
salons and spas in 24 countries worldwide.
Aveda’s numerous corporate and social responsibility associations include
CERES (Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies), ISO
(International Organization for Standardization), Coop-America/Green Business
Network, SVN (Social Venture Network), BSR (Business for Social
Responsibility), Environmental Grant Makers, American Botanical Association,
Organic Trade Association, National Recycling Coalition, and the U.S. Green
Building Council.
Our mission at Aveda is to care for the world we live in, from the
products we make to the ways in which we give back to society. At Aveda, we
strive to set an example for environmental leadership and responsibility, not
just in the world of beauty, but around the world.
SOURCE Aveda