Except for the state-fair sellers of beeswax balms and herbal tinctures, no one goes the extra green mile like Aveda—and without any hippy-dippy dips in quality. The hair care specialists insist on using only the most ecologically sound ingredients in their products, and only the cleanest and most renewable sources of energy in their production, making them a real standout in an industry oft criticized by health honchos and enviro experts alike for its stubborn dependence on known carcinogens and other toxic chemicals.
"Aveda's product development is opposite of the industry standard," explains company president Dominique Conseil. "Other companies create a chemical mix to get the result, then infuse manufactured scents. For us that's nonsense. For us it's only the plants."
From Bulgaria to Brazil, Aveda's researchers scour the globe for these plants, then study and test them, to create ideal phyto-blends of all-natural ingredients—like tamanu nut oil and ursolic acid—that are "healthy for customers and healthy for the planet." And because Aveda believes in organic ingredients grown and harvested by the fairest and most sustainable means, they've formed charitable partnerships with many of the indigenous farms that keep them in fine flora.
This eco-ethic isn't new for Aveda—the first cosmetics company to use wind energy to power their main operations, and now the largest purchaser of the renewable resource in Minnesota, where their headquarters are based. But what is new is Aveda Men, a product line specially formulated for the male head and ranging from $18 to $25. The clay, cream, and pomades (traditional and liquid) offer simple, subtle taming, and the shampoo, conditioner, and aromatic oil help to holistically nurse a guy's scalp and hair (which are typically drier and more oily, respectively, than women's).
The quietly sleek, earth-toned packaging of Aveda Men is made, of course, with post-consumer recycled material. And perhaps the most remarkable indicator of the company's deep environmental commitment is that over the past five years Aveda has reduced their carbon emissions by 69 percent. After all, unchecked global warming—with its rising temperatures and humidity upticks—would wreak havoc on men's heads.
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