Beauty and lifestyle products manufacturer Aveda™ has become the first beauty company in the world and only the second U.S. company in any industry (see related story, “Method products are Cradle-to-Cradle-certified”) to receive a Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) sustainability endorsement, with seven Aveda products achieving Gold Level C2C certification.

The endorsement, announced in early May, comes from sustainability consultancy McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, LLC (MBDC, www.mbdc.com), the firm that pioneered the concept of Cradle-to-Cradle design, as well as the implementation of eco-effective design principles. C2C product certifications, completed by MBDC and its affiliate, the Hamburg, Germany-based Environmental Protection and Encouragement Agency (EPEA, www.epea.com), recognize Aveda's recent efforts to develop products and processes that conform to the world's most advanced standards for intelligent design, sustainable stewardship, and reuse of materials.

C2C endorsement recognizes companies' efforts in developing environmentally intelligent products with a goal of eliminating waste entirely. EPEA, founded by life-cycle expert Professor Michael Braungart, and MBDC, co-founded by Braungart and designer and green architect William McDonough, certify sustainable processes, products, and services.

According to Aveda, the endorsement by MBDC adds to its record of environmental sustainability. Throughout the company's 30-year history, its accomplishments have included the pioneering use of wind energy in the beauty industry, leadership in the use of recyclable packaging, and support of organic agriculture.

"As the first beauty company to achieve Cradle-to-Cradle endorsement, Aveda is recognized as a leader in intelligent design," says Aveda president Dominique Conseil. "Designing and manufacturing products can be environmentally responsible when environmental goals are factored into the concept at the very beginning. At Aveda, we believe that authentic beauty cares for the environment, which we inherited from elders and will leave to generations that follow."

Conseil notes that Aveda's adherence to its core environmental values has been nurtured alongside growth in sales and profit. The company has made remarkable progress in energy conservation and the use of renewable energy and is currently the largest buyer of green energy in Minnesota and the 32nd-largest purchaser in the U.S. And these strides have been made without compromising business performance: The company's sales have grown five times in 10 years.

The C2C endorsement recognizes Aveda not just for the products it creates, but also for the company's overall commitment to ingredients, materials, and processes to create a positive environmental footprint.

C2C-designated products
Aveda received Gold C2C designation for seven key products and Silver C2C designation for its packaging. The Gold-certified products are Aveda Smooth Infusion Shampoo; Smooth Infusion Conditioner; Aveda Dry Remedy Moisturizing Shampoo; Dry Remedy Moisturizing Conditioner; Aveda Men Pure-Formance Shampoo; Aveda Men Pure-Formance Conditioner; and Green Science Firming Face Creme. To date, Aveda relates, no other beauty products have been awarded Gold C2C certification.

Says Braungart, "Aveda has been at the forefront of the environmental movement within the beauty industry since its inception, and they continue to innovate by fully embracing Cradle-to-Cradle design. Aveda is making a difference and ensuring that what they design is beneficial to the biosphere." In 2006, EPEA also endorsed Aveda's Green Ingredient Policy, which it developed to help ensure product ingredient integrity.

McDonough praises Aveda's accomplishments and the company's vision. "For our society to flourish, we must design products and systems based on patterns found in nature, eliminating the concept of waste entirely and creating an abundance that is healthy and sustaining," he says.

Aveda says it believes its C2C endorsement signals an important change within the beauty industry and will catalyze sustainable product development and manufacturing. "We can change the world by changing the way the world does business," says Conseil.