Aveda Goes Vegan – Mpls.St.Paul Magazine

Earlier this month locally-based Aveda announced the recent switch to 100 percent vegan products. In addition to their existing vegan franchises, Nutriplenish and Botanical Repair, moving forward, all of the company’s products will follow suit, containing only vegan ingredients as well. Clean, cruelty-free beauty has always been a part of the local brand’s ethos since its inception in 1978, making this move a natural next-step for Aveda’s philosophy. 

The announcement follows the growing trend of clean and vegan beauty products, as consumers become more conscious of their health and individual environmental impact. Plant-based alternatives have skyrocketed in sales, with global forecasts estimating that the industry could grow to be worth $27.9 billion by 2025. 

But Aveda has been a trailblazer in this space for decades. Founded by hairstylist and environmentalist Horst Rechelbacher, the company’s mission has been to create products that are good for the planet, their employees, and their customers. Previously, the company’s made strides in their environmental goals for packaging, manufacturing, and sourcing. Outside of the beauty realm, it funds global environmental initiatives, such as providing more clean water access to communities across the world. 

The transition from vegetarian to vegan products has been a three year process for the brand, creating new ways to formulate without bee-derived ingredients (like honey and beeswax). Vice President of Research and Development Christine Hall elaborated on the company’s push to modify the products, referencing data suggesting the environmental impact that the use of animal products can have. 

“Non-vegan ingredients used in beauty products are often derived from industries that have a negative impact on the environment, such as farmed livestock . . . A statistic that really resonated with me was reading that the United Nations recently revealed that farmed livestock accounts for 14.5% of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions. That’s roughly equivalent to the exhaust emissions of every car, train, ship and aircraft on the planet.” says Hall. In addition to health consciousness, environmental impacts were a driving source for Aveda to go vegan, as everyone has the power to affect change through what they purchase. 

Hall also emphasizes that quality isn’t sacrificed in the search for vegan alternatives. Beeswax—which is frequently found among lipsticks and styling products—has since been switched out for Aveda’s own blend of natural waxes and butters, but without the synthetic replacements. For the sweet and warm aromas, the company’s in-house perfumers were also able to recreate signature scents without beeswax absolute.

Hall has every confidence that Aveda’s new products maintain their high performance. “Every time we touch the formula, we aim to make it better,” says Hall. “Our talented team spent years fine-tuning these formulations to deliver no-compromise products that are sustainably made, high-performance and now vegan!”

Curious consumers can browse Aveda’s online glossary of over 500 products to learn more about new formulas, ingredients and their benefits at aveda.com.