The Estee Lauder Companies kicked off 2021 by announcing that Aveda, itshigh performance, plant-based hair care brand, is now 100% vegan. The milestone achievement covers all of Aveda’s hair care, hair color, body care, make-up and aroma products, and emphasizes its commitment to sustainability.
Aveda has been cruelty-free since the brand was founded in 1978 and was largely vegan with the exception of some products that contained honey, beeswax and beeswax-derived ingredients. Today, all products, globally, available on Aveda.com, in Aveda partner salons and in Aveda Experience Centers are now 100% vegan.
Eliminating animal ingredients
Vegan products are defined as those that are created without any animal or animal-derived ingredients. Some of the animal-derived ingredients used in beauty include silk, keratin, glycerin, non-vegetal squalene, lanolin, collagen and carmine, in addition to beeswax and honey. Aveda only used honey and beeswax-derived ingredients in a limited number of products, but the company says it was difficult to remove them.
“Removing beeswax was one of the biggest challenges for Aveda formulators because it helps to create texture, structure, color payoff, and smoothness,” explained Christine Hall, Aveda’s VP of Research and Development.
Because one common alternative to beeswax for lip products specifically is a petroleum derived synthetic beeswax, Hall says that Aveda opted instead to create a unique blend of plant-based butters and waxes that are “strong enough for application, but also feel good on your lips.”
Aveda’s Feed My Lips Collection now includes lipsticks, glosses and liners with no beeswax.
Decades in development
In accordance with Aveda’s founding mission to care for the world we live in, the brand has pioneered new benchmarks of environmental responsibility in beauty for decades.
Aveda was the first company to sign the Ceres Principles for corporate responsibility, which calls for the safeguarding of the Earth and its inhabitants. While this was in 1989, Aveda’s commitment remains strong; protecting the Earth’s inhabitants by eliminating animal and animal-derived ingredients from its products was vitally important to the brand.
A more sustainable future
Aveda’s headquarters are situated on a 58-acre campus in Blaine, Minnesota. The land is National Wildlife Federation Certified, and the main office building has an emphasis on sustainability: it is powered by solar and wind energy, is carpeted with recycled fibers, has composting and recycling bins throughout the building and an organic cafe on the first floor.
This year, Aveda launched its online Ingredient Glossary, which details what the brand’s key ingredients do and what they are sourced from. Additionally, Aveda “flipped the switch” on a new 3.6 acre, 900kW ground-mounted solar array at its headquarters in June 2020. The new array is part of the brand’s vision to be a renewable energy generator.
