Lauren McClenahan, Aveda’s National Marketing & Communications Manager, talks about why vegan beauty is important as Aveda celebrates its milestone of becoming 100% vegan. Speaking at a recent celebration to mark the occasion at the Alibi restaurant at Sydney’s Ovolo Hotel, Lauren shares the beauty brand’s mission for the future.
Our mission is to care for the world we live in, right from the products we make to the ways in which we give back to society.
I’m actually quoting our mission statement – and actually every Aveda employee knows this mission statement off by heart.
Our sustainability journey began when we launched in 1978.
Our founder – a hairdresser named Horst, was a visionary always striving to set an example for environmental leadership.
Aveda was the first beauty company to use 100% PCR packaging.
The first to manufacture with 100% wind power – and now we’re very proud to say we have a net-zero carbon impact through wind and solar power.
We use naturally derived ingredients and are completely transparent with a comprehensive online ingredient glossary.
And with that – we are committed to upholding supply chain integrity and using ingredients that are traceable, fair, and sustainable.
We were the first beauty company in the world to receive a Cradle to Cradle (C2C) sustainability endorsement.
The list goes ON.
The point is – we believe that social responsibility is our responsibility. And we believe that ecological and profit goals are mutually achievable.
Going 100% vegan is part of Aveda’s cruelty-free philosophy and – the latest milestone on our environmental mission. This sustainability journey is never ending.
We know there is more to achieve, and more we can do, but we also think it’s really important to pause and celebrate the wins along the way.
Up until now Aveda was vegetarian. We previously used some bee-derived ingredients in our products such as honey and beeswax. Our R&D team have worked so hard to find plant-based alternatives and we are thrilled we can further decrease our impact on the environment.
We truly believe that you shouldn’t have to compromise high-performance for vegan, sustainable products – you can have both.
So why is vegan beauty important?
When you choose vegan beauty products it helps lower the demand of animal-derived ingredients and helps protect our planet from related environmental effects including carbon emissions, water usage and deforestation.
According to the UN, meat and dairy (farmed livestock) accounts for 14.5% of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions. To put that in perspective, That’s roughly equivalent to the exhaust emissions of every car, train, ship and aircraft on the planet.
By choosing vegan we make the choice to not support these industries which consume so many of our natural resources.
Veganism has traditionally had an all or nothing negative stereotype. But a new era of vegans are applying a more ‘plant-based’ approach – focusing more on abundance and joy vs restriction and guilt. It’s about progress – not perfection.
It’s not about you or me – it’s about WE. This is a time about us.
Small daily actions add up.
Find out more here: Aveda.com.au
