Aveda looks at our products’ environmental impact, and takes the following into consideration when formulating:
The raw materials for ingredients used in
our products
The impact on the communities and their ecosystems which provide the raw materials
The processing of raw materials into the ingredients for our products
The impact of the finished products on people
and the environment
Aveda tries to ensure our products will not only benefit our customers through exceptional performance, but will positively impact the people and economies from which the product’s ingredients are sourced. Aveda firmly believes that we will succeed in this effort by striving to use what we call Green Ingredients in our products whenever possible.
“Green Ingredients” are one or more of the following:
Originate from renewable, sustainable, or organic plant-based sources
Are naturally-derived, meaning the majority
of the ingredient is derived from plant or
mineral sources.
Celebrate ecological and cultural diversity by using a large array of plant-based ingredients from different habitats all over the world
Provide fair and socially responsible business
to the communities supplying these materials
Provide cultural and economic development of indigenous communities
Do not negatively impact the ecosystems from which they are sourced
Are biodegradable
Involve environmentally friendly production processes
Are animal friendly (Aveda does not conduct animal testing on its products and actively supports the development of alternative methods to animal testing)
To facilitate the choice of ingredients that meet
these standards, Aveda is partnering with EPEA, an
environmental research institute located in Germany
and led by Michael Braungart, co-author of “Cradle
to Cradle*” design principles for products. Aveda is
constantly evolving our ingredient sourcing process
to meet our policy goals, helping to continually move
our business towards our vision. As we evolve, we
continually measure our past accomplishments and
plan for future improvements.
Aveda green ingredient policy in practice:
AVEDA has converted 90% of total tonnage of
essential oils purchased to certified organic; 89%
of raw herbal ingredients are certified organic.
AVEDA has been phasing out parabens from its
existing products and for the past 2 years all new
AVEDA products have been formulated without
parabens-AVEDA now has more than 350 formulas
preserved without parabens
AVEDA established the Soil to Bottle™ traceability
system, which allows AVEDA to progressively
document and expand the source of its
ingredients while promoting quality through its
supply chain
AVEDA established programs to promote sourcing
GMO-free ingredients
AVEDA is partnering with the EPEA Institute for
ongoing evaluation of raw materials in AVEDA
products by application of “Cradle to Cradle*”
design principles; to date EPEA has reviewed over
600 ingredients for Aveda
AVEDA is phasing out EDTA and replacing it with
naturally-derived alternatives
AVEDA pioneered the use of up to 100% postconsumer
recycled content in its packaging and is
looking at biodegradable or completely recyclable/
reusable packaging for its next phase
AVEDA will continue to find greener alternatives
for certain ingredients in existing products
applying EPEA Institute principles
AVEDA will continue to develop sustainable plantbased
alternatives to replace petrochemicals
* Cradle to Cradle is a book and a philosophy “calling for the transformation of human industry through ecologically intelligent
design” authored by Michael Braungart and William McDonough (2002).
