The poor and deprived people in a country suffer the most due to environmental degradation. With the advent of industrialization and modernization, more and more villages are converted into towns, cities, forests are cleared, and trees are increasingly cut down for utilizing the land for the construction of industries and other uses. These clearing of forests have adversely affected the lives of poor people who depend on forests and forest products for their livelihood. Deforestations again lead to lack of rain, soil erosion and drought, which not only devastates the life of people but also adversely affects the overall progress and development of the country.
Aveda Corporation is a company that is operational in the fields of esthiology, cosmetology, hair care products, perfume, cosmetics, and manufacturers of skincare. The head office is located in Blaine, Minnesota. It has several other offices including the institution of Aveda training centers in Washington, DC, New York City, and Minneapolis. Horst Rechelbacher was the founder of this company in 1978 and at present, it is a sister concern of Estée Lauder Companies Inc. Rechelbacher sold it to Estee Lauder for $300 million in 1997. (Canedy, 1997) Aveda Corporation was among the first companies that took environmentally sustainable policies and this is known as The Ceres Principles in the corporate world. The mission of the company is clear and pro-environment friendly. Dominique Conseil, the President of the company says, “Aveda believes that authentic beauty works in harmony with the greater web of life. It does not qualify as beauty if it hurts any of the diverse life forms that the best beauty artist of all, Nature, created.” (Conseil, 2008). Thus, beauty is their product and it is operational in the context of a sustainable environmental system. The company launched an aerosol hairspray that is perfectly aligned with their mission statement as it was proved that this product has no effect on the environment and it has no polluting components. The VOC formula was at 35% and is regarded as an award-winning product. It is reported that each “component, Ms. Myers said, must undergo ‘mood mapping,’ which tests its psychological effects” (Steinhauer, 2000).
Thus, it is obvious that the environmental practice of the company is extremely sound. From the point of view of environmentally engaged businesses, Aveda Corporation follows the basic components of the principles. These principles may be enumerated as Commitment to continuous improvement, transparency, and accountability of results, environment supportive values, and commitment towards implementing innovative programs from the parameters of leadership. Following CERES Principles or Valdez Principles, formulated in 1998, the company follows the improvement of ten principles of continuous improvement. These are Assessment and Reporting, Informing the Public, Environmental Restoration, Safe Products and Services, Risk Reduction, Energy Conservation, Reduction of Waste, Natural Resources use sustainability, and Biosphere protection along with total Management Commitment (Aveda, 2008).
The company is also taking major steps in improved environmental practices i.e. resource management – reducing waste output and focusing on reusability, energy efficiency, water conservation, sustainable transportation, green cleaning, environmentally preferred purchasing, etc. It can be proved that the company is taking these areas seriously and developing a better planet by illustrating three major practices. These are reusability and energy efficiency, environmentally preferred purchasing, and environmental restoration.
The company is responsible for using renewable energy products with environment-friendly organizations like NativeEnergy and it is responsible for building and spreading the use of wind turbines. It has been reported that the company’s primary manufacturing units work on the power of wind energy (Newman, 2007). It is also claimed that in accordance to Aveda Corporation, “sends sustainability surveys to publications to help decide where to place its ads” (Story, 2006).
From the parameters of environmentally preferred purchasing, the company has always engaged with greener organic components that are biodegradable and environment-friendly. It started with the Rose Geranium Partnership of South Africa in 2001. Here the company supported the development of AIDS victims by using the community in the production of essential oils. Organic Partnerships followed this in 2006 that helped the suppliers with long-termed contracts and deals in purely organic materials (Aveda, 2008).
The third most important aspect is environmental restoration. For this purpose, the company has developed Earth Fund to generate sustainable amounts to operate environment-friendly motions. This program is operational since 1978 and deals with essential problems like Waste Generation, Toxins in the Environment, Habitat Destruction, Air and Water Pollution, and Global Climate Change. According to the company, “Accomplishing our commitment to the earth and community care includes partnering with nonprofit organizations whose work addresses our key areas of concern. Through the Aveda Earth Fund, we make grants to support the work of those organizations” (Aveda, 2008).
It should be noted that environmental pollution devastates the lives of people and as well affect the progress and development of a country terribly. In every country, low-income people, who are generally poor and deprived, live are mostly exposed to the harsh effects of nature and the environment. These people generally live in dilapidated dwellings located in shabby places. These places generally have poor sanitation and a lack of water supply. These unhygienic living conditions in these places result in the spread of infectious diseases and famines. Poor people living in urban areas are mostly the victims of atmospheric pollution.
These people generally live in highly polluted unhygienic industrial areas or near waste dumps. Working environments in some production units are very perilous. In industries, the precipitation areas have caustic vapors, which can cause severe skin problems. In some production, unit people have to work in a fluoride environment. Continuous exposure to such an environment may lead to a specific disease called Fluoric, which severely affects the bones and teeth of the infected person. In most, in every industry less interest is shown towards the safety and benefit of the workers, and hence the unhealthy working conditions seriously damage the health of the workers. These factors reduce both the life span and working ability of the people, which leads to poverty.
Environment issues have great effects on human conditions. On analyzing human conditions, links have been found between the environment and poverty. The environment of any place influences primary aspects of human life and nature like health, vulnerability, and livelihoods. Each country depends on its natural resources for progress and development. People depend on natural resources to earn their livelihood. The environment of a country is the primary source of natural resources. It is a boon that companies like Aveda are operational that is targeted towards a “stronger, more profitable, longer-lasting business-and a healthier, more livable planet”. (Aveda, 2008)
References
- Aveda; 2008; ESP; About Aveda; aveda.com;
- Aveda; 2008; Organic Timeline; About Aveda; aveda.com;
- Aveda; 2008; Earth fund; About Aveda; aveda.com;
- Canedy, Dana;1997; “Estee Lauder Is Acquiring Maker of Natural Cosmetics“. New York Times. Web.
- Conseil, Dominique; 2008; Mission; About Avera; aveda.aveda.com;
- Newman, Eric; 2007; “Aveda Thinks You Would Look Better in Green“. Brand Week.
- STEINHAUER, JENNIFER; 2000; Taking the Sweet Smell of Success To a New Level of Literalness; The New York Times; Web.
- Story, Louise; 2006; “The Hidden Life of Paper and Its Impact on the Environment“; New York Times; Web.