Going green: Aveda snags Cradle-to-Cradle endorsement

They use natural (and often certified organic) ingredients, create packaging from post-consumer waste, buy wind energy to power their company, and even remake their box comps into folders. And now, reports WWD, Aveda, the Minnesota-based Estée Lauder subsidiary, has gone where no beauty company has gone – to Hamburg, where the Environmental Protection and Encouragement Agency bestowed Cradle to Cradle certification upon seven of its products as well as its packaging. The designation, bestowed on only two other companies so far, means that Aveda has considered the entire life cycle of the product in its design and production process, while adhering to principles of social and environmental responsibility. Cradle to Cradle is also the name of a highly influential book about sustainable product design written by EPEA founder Michael Braungart and William McDonough.