Aveda's Earth Month Mission

(NEW YORK) Aveda is kicking its Earth-friendly mission into high gear, launching a collection of strategic Earth Month projects for April 2007.  The company's Earth Month campaign begins April 1 and includes four main focus points, each of which will help support clean water projects globally and bring the company one step closer to raising $1.8 million for clean water rights.

Funds from the campaign will benefit Aveda's first-ever global Earth Month partner, Global Greengrants Fund, to help protect clean water for children and families around the globe. At Aveda's request, Global Greengrants is channeling approximately $140,000 of this year's Earth Month proceeds towards water projects that support Aveda's indigenous and agricultural partners. Projects include helping to tackle water shortages in Nepal, funding environmental education in Spain, and building new bathhouses and sanitation facilities in Bulgaria, Brazil, and Peru.

Aveda's first-ever text message cell phone campaign will expand awareness of clean water rights and empower customers to take action in a fast, easy, impactful way. During Earth Month, customers are asked to send a text message containing the word "clean water" to #30644 (standard text messaging rates apply). The messages will be tallied by a third party and given to Aveda, who will present the results to the United Nations, which is also committed to clean water and water scarcity issues as part of its Millennium Development Goals.

Aveda will also launch a limited edition Light the Way candle, made of soy wax and boasting an aroma of organic Bulgarian lavender oil. For each $10 candle sold, Aveda will donate 100 percent of the proceeds to Global Greengrants Fund. Aveda has partnered with the Enio Bonchev distillery to source the certified organic Bulgarian lavender oil in the candle, which in turn further strengthens this partnership, with a portion of the funds raised supporting the building of new sanitation facilities for the Bonchev distillery workers. In 2006, the candles brought in a total of $500,000.

Last but not least, graphic artist James Victore has created a unique piece of artwork exclusively for Earth Month 2007, which will hang in Aveda stores and select salons through the month of April. The piece boldly expresses the need for clean water with the statement, "Every 15 seconds, a child dies from lack of access to clean water."

Aveda's Earth Month campaign will be celebrated with a soirée on April 11 at Riverhouse at 4 World Financial Center, the "greenest" residential building in the U.S.