NEW YORK, January 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Aveda(TM), the maker of plant-derived hair care, skin care, makeup and lifestyle products and a global leader in corporate environmental sustainability, is building on the breakout success of its Spring/Summer 2008 Green Fashion program with an enhanced eco-friendly platform for the Fall/Winter 2008 New York shows. Once again, Aveda has engaged New York's most talented and highly influential designers to raise the industry's collective environmental conscience.

Exercising the global brand's leadership in the world of environmentally and socially responsible beauty and wellness, Aveda and its partnering designers are "Greening" New York Fashion Week. As partners with Aveda for backstage beauty, Rodarte, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Rag and Bone, Thakoon and Edun have committed to take the following four steps:

1) Replace bottled water with New York City tap water, eliminating up to 300 plastic water bottles per show. In place of plastic water bottles, Aveda will provide reusable liter-sized non-toxic aluminum water bottles filled with New York City tap water backstage.(1) 2) Eliminate use of fur in shows and in all retail iterations. 3) Serve organic, locally-sourced food to models, stylists, makeup artists and production staff backstage. 4) Print all programs and show invitations on post-consumer recycled paper.(2)

The initiative, inspired by Aveda's founding principles of environmentally sustainable business practices, debuted at New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2008 and expands this season with the addition of printing on post-consumer recycled paper. As a leader in environmental and social responsibility for nearly 30 years, Aveda is thrilled to partner with fashion designers who share that same commitment.

"As a beauty and wellness brand, Aveda is inextricably tied to fashion," notes Dominique Conseil, president of Aveda. "The New York shows are a source of inspiration to the Aveda network, so it is extremely gratifying that we have been able to create a Fashion Week platform that embodies the Aveda mission so seamlessly. Aveda is an activist brand at heart, so we are thrilled to be a force of change in helping to reduce the carbon footprint of the Spring/Summer 2008 shows." Conseil continues, "The response to the program exceeded even our own expectations and we believe it has the potential to become a global movement in the world of fashion."

"The truth is, we can't reverse the damage that we as a collective whole have already done to the Earth. But what is important now is lessening our footprint and improving upon what we will leave for the future. We all have to do our part. Aveda's thoughtfulness in implementing an environmentally friendly fashion initiative is evidence of their deep commitment to the health and welfare of the planet." - Phillip Lim, 3.1 Phillip Lim

Aveda is deeply committed to its Green Fashion platform and is continually exploring ways to help New York's leading designers reduce the negative environmental impact of future shows-and to generate a greater awareness of environmental responsibility in fashion.

Aveda at a glance

Aveda was founded in 1978 with the belief that there is no responsible alternative to doing business other than through environmental sustainability. The Company's mission positions Aveda as a catalyst for environmental awareness and change at individual and collective levels. Initiatives include the Company's Earth Month Campaign, which raised more than $2.1 million for clean water projects around the world in 2007, funding projects such as the building of sustainable water systems in India, a safe, clean bathhouse facility in Bulgaria, and a solar powered well in Australia. Building on this record-breaking success, Aveda has set an ambitious fundraising goal of $2.3 million for Earth Month 2008 in an effort to provide continued support to global and local clean water projects to those people most in need around the world.

Aveda has also made a commitment to wind energy: one hundred percent of the electrical usage at Aveda Corporation's corporate office, distribution center and primary manufacturing facility in Blaine, Minn. is offset by its wind energy purchase. This landmark program makes Aveda the largest corporate purchaser of wind energy in Minnesota and the first beauty company manufacturing with 100% wind power(x).

(x)Per a review conducted of the WWD Beauty Report International Top 100 Cosmetic Manufacturers corporate websites in April, 2007.

Our mission at Aveda is to care for the world we live in, from the products we make to the ways in which we give back to society. At Aveda, we strive to set an example for environmental leadership and responsibility, not just in the world of beauty, but around the world.

(1) Of the more than 2.5 million bottles of water Americans consumer each hour, only around 10% are recycled; the rest go to overflowing landfills. Plastic water bottle production also has a significant carbon imprint, drawing upon 1.5 million barrels of oil each year."

(2) Over 20% of carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions worldwide are due to forest loss (The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, December 2005). Paper must be a minimum of 10% post-consumer recycled (PCR)

For more information, samples or images, please contact: Modus Dowal Walker: Robyn Seymour, Tel: +44-20-7331-1475, Email: robyns@modusdowalwalker.com; Josie Fontana- Reval, Tel: +44-20-7331-1479, Email: josief@modusdowalwalker.com