Aveda was born committed to being cruelty free and has always opposed the use of animal testing. Our products are “people-tested.”

We strive to set an example for leadership and responsibility of caring, not just in the world of beauty, but around the world. Our commitment to caring for animals and wildlife reaches far and wide. In fact, we live and breathe it.

Our animal testing policy

Aveda believes that cosmetic products should be cruelty free. We are proud to have received Leaping Bunny approval in 2022. An internationally recognized gold standard for cruelty free products, Cruelty Free International's Leaping Bunny programme requires cruelty free standards over and above legal requirements.

All Aveda brand cosmetic products are approved under the Leaping Bunny programme. We adhere to a fixed cut-off date policy and proactively monitor our suppliers to ensure that our products continue to adhere to the Leaping Bunny criteria. Our supplier monitoring system is also independently audited.

For more information about Cruelty Free International, Leaping Bunny and Leaping Bunny criteria, please visit www.crueltyfreeinternational.org

Our proudest achievements:

In 1989, we the first company to endorse and sign the Ceres Principles – a non-profit mobilizing business leadership on climate change, water scarcity, and other sustainability challenges.

As of January 1, 2021 Aveda is 100% vegan.

Our Aveda Corporate Campus is situated on 58-acres of National Wildlife Federation-Certified habitat, and we worked with NWF to create “drive with care” signs to help protect wildlife in the area.

We work with Audubon Minnesota to enhance the nesting habitat on the grounds of our Blaine, Minnesota headquarters. This has included the construction of a chimney swift house, a purple martin house, wood duck nesting boxes, and bluebird houses.

We have supported Audubon's Upper Mississippi River Initiative through the Aveda Earth Month program since 2007, directly funding water quality work that helps protect and enhance river habitat for birds and other wildlife.

Since 2013, to help protect pollinators, Aveda's corporate campus has been home to multiple honey bee colonies managed by our friends at the University Of Minnesota Bee Squad.

help support breast cancer research

Every year during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Aveda releases a limited-edition of our best selling hand relief™ moisturizing creme, and donates a portion of the purchase price from each sale to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® (BCRF) for cruelty-free research ($10 USD of purchase price in 2022).  BCRF is a nonprofit organization founded in 1992 by Evelyn H. Lauder and is the only national organization strictly dedicated to funding clinical and genetic research on breast cancer at medical institutions across the country. For more information about BCRF, visit bcrfcure.org.

SUPPORT CRUELTY-FREE RESEARCH

Donations from Aveda are used to fund cruelty-free research exploring environmental causes and links to breast cancer such as exposure to toxic chemicals and pollutants. For many years now our funding has been directed to a specific research project at Columbia University in New York that studies the interaction between environmental exposures and genetic susceptibility to breast cancer. Future funds will support this or similar projects.
 

GIVE YOURSELVES A HAND

Your contributions to cruelty-free breast cancer fundraising through Aveda have added up to more than $7 million since 2001. This money comes not only from corporate contributions, but also from employees and guests who have an opportunity to donate to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation® through fund-raising activities held by the Aveda network throughout the month of October.

breast cancer health tips

For tips on how you can help protect yourself and your loved ones from breast cancer, please visit bcrf.org.
 

KNOW YOUR BODY
Examine your breasts regularly and report any changes to your physician.

GET SCREENED
See your doctor regularly for breast exams in your 20s and 30s.
Get an annual mammogram if you are 40 years and older, or earlier if you are high-risk.

STAY FIT
Make friends with vegetables and fruits. Their fiber, anti-oxidants and other nutrients can help.

Maintain a healthy weight. Extra weight means extra risk.

Limit your alcohol intake and toast to a healthier life.

Do not smoke, and quit if you do.

Work out, often. To reduce your risk of breast cancer the American Cancer Society recommends 45 to 60 minutes of intentional physical activity for 5 or more days a week.

Aveda Mission Partnerships

Aveda partners with over 100 nonprofit and NGO organizations around the world united in a common goal to provide and protect clean water.

In addition to their core focus of clean water, Aveda’s mission partnerships focus on benefitting community, supporting human rights, preserving, and enhancing biodiversity and helping mitigate climate change.

Aveda and Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation

Aveda has partnered with Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF) in India for 17 years to help address issues surrounding child labor in the mica-mining industry of NE India. Through the development of Bal Mitra Grams or Child Friendly Villages (CFVs), KSCF works to eliminate child labor in India by partnering with local communities to develop proactive and responsible solutions.

Aveda and its parent company, The Estee Lauder Companies, have helped KSCF establish over 500 CFVs to date. These villages seek to ensure that none of its children work in the mica mines by promoting education and enrolling children in school. They also assist in the formation of child councils, which empower youth to be self-advocates and work with local governments to address critical child rights and issues like gender parity. CFVs also ensure communities have access to clean water, health and food security.

Moving forward, Aveda and KSCF will continue to expand our efforts to address challenges in the mica supply chain. Our partnership demonstrates how a collaborative model—one that utilizes the expertise of organizations on the ground working directly with local communities and listening to their needs—can lead to lasting solutions to issues that exist in global supply chains. This model has been recognized as a best practice by the National Commission for Protection of Child Protection Rights (NCPCR), the University of Delhi School of Social Work.

Here is a video summarizing the Child Friendly Village Model and our impacts to date:

Caption: Children of Banjara Community, Recipient of Aveda and KSCF Clean Water Projects, India

To learn more, please visit: Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation – Child Labour & Rights NGO India (https://satyarthi.org.in/)
 

Aveda and Asia Network for Sustainable Agriculture and Bioresources

Aveda has partnered with Asia Network for Sustainable Agriculture and Bioresources (ANSAB) based in Kathmandu, Nepal for 18 years focused on biodiversity conservation and livelihood improvement in South Asia.

What began as a sourcing partnership to purchase FSC-certified handmade paper produced by the rural communities of Nepal to wrap specialty gift boxes during their holiday campaign has evolved into a revenue diversification program called the Public Private Community Alliance (PPCA). This program, established by Aveda and ANSAB in coordination with local Nepal Government departments and communities, provides education, training and support on how to sustainably grow and harvest organic vegetables to sell to local and regional markets.

This Ecosystem based commercial and community agriculture system has had a major impact including a resource nursery and demonstration center established with over 100,000 plants transplanted in Nepalese farmer fields to grow and harvest for sale to surrounding towns and cities including the capital, Kathmandu. Additionally, dozens of trainings have taken place on subjects including organic agriculture, biopesticides and micro-nutrient preparation. Aveda and ANSAB are currently working together on a plan to scale the successful program to additional municipalities across Nepal.

In addition to the PPCA, through direct grants to ANSAB from funds raised by the network through Earth Month, Aveda has have provided access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) for over 6K people and funded construction of dozens of toilets. They also help protect 42,000 acres of habitat including endangered species like the snow leopard and red panda. 

Here is a video summarizing the Public Private Community Alliance Program:

Caption: Members of Public Private Community Alliance Program, Jiri Municipality, Nepal

To learn more, please visit Asia Network for Sustainable Agriculture and Bioresources (ansab.org.np)