The certification follows three years of independent assessment by the Environmental Protection and Encouragement Agency (EPEA) to ensure that each ingredient meets ecological and health criteria based on the Cradle to Cradle Design Concept (C2C), in which materials must be either continually reusable or biodegradable/renewable—and must be healthy for users and for the environment. Their production and use must also offer social and economic benefits for its producers.
For beauty and personal care products, according to Aveda, the Cradle to Cradle concept means that ingredients are extracted from natural materials or "biological nutrients" that are given back to nature after usage to become part of the ecological cycle.
"The Cradle to Cradle concept supports the Aveda mission of environmental and social responsibility," says Dominique Conseil, president, Aveda. "Our goal is to reduce the need for and use of ingredients that persist unnaturally in the environment and help to replace synthetic ingredients with plant-based alternatives. Cradle to Cradle certification of four of Aveda's most prominently used botanical ingredients is an important first step towards our end goal of achieving C2C certification of all Aveda final product and packaging. And, the important social responsibility aspect of the C2C certification is fully consistent with the way Aveda conducts business around the world."
The first Aveda ingredients to meet or exceed the standards of Cradle to Cradle certification are:
- organic uruku sustainably harvested by the Yawanawa people in the Brazilian Amazon;
- rose and lavender essential oils grown and processed on a sustainable organic farm in Bulgaria;
- sandalwood oil that is wild harvested and processed by the Mardu peoples of Western Australia.
