THE ECOPRENEUR

by Bettina M. Gordon for bettinagordon.com

The original prewar elevator rides leisurely up to the top floor. The renovation of the penthouse took nearly two years, after Horst also bought the neighboring apartment, snatching it away from Oscar winning actor Denzel Washington. Today it offers a fabulous 360 degree panoramic view of New York and enough space for my host’s passion for collections. As I arrive, he enthusiastically sprays Orange Superselect, his self-created organic room spray, on the countless angel statues and figures of the Hindu god Ganesha. For a moment I expect him to spray me as well, but he smiles and gives me a hug embracing both of us in orange mist.

Horst is the founder of the world famous cosmetic line AVEDA, which calls for all-natural beauty products and has attained cult status among its customers. AVEDA was inspired by Horst’s study of ayurvedic medicine, his passion for botany, and his travels to India and Tibet. The “Ecopreneur”, as Vanity Fair called him, dedicated himself decades ago to conserve the world’s resources and to combine the principles of business with social responsibility, and sustainability. When Horst and I settled in the living room I asked him how he became the man he is today.

“I came into the world in November 1941 in Klagenfurt, a small city in Austria, and was the youngest of three boys,” recounts Horst in his unmistakable Austrian accent. “My father was a shoemaker and my mother was a true herbs woman. She worked in a pharmacy, and on the weekends mixed herbs in the kitchen for her private customers.” …

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Does FDA intend to continue investigating lead in lipstick? Here is their response:

“Yes. FDA does not believe that the lead content found in its recent lipstick analyses is a safety concern. However, the agency is planning to investigate a wider range of lipsticks than has been tested so far, including lipsticks similar to those recently assessed for lead content by another laboratory. If FDA determines that a safety concern for lead in lipstick exists, the agency will advise the industry and the public and will take appropriate action under the authority of the FD&C Act in protecting the health and welfare of consumers.”*
The following results for lead content in a selection of lipsticks were obtained by scientists at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and reported in the Journal of Cosmetic Science[1] .

See the FDA’s analyses of lead found in lipsticks
Lipsticks selected were the same brands and shades analyzed by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

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Enjoy this article from Lucie Young of the UK Telegraph. Article highlights also include:

• Horsts Intelligent Nutrients factory, home, farm and lab
• The catalyst: ‘One Saturday people started passing out in the salon.’ A year later the chemical build-up in the salon started to affect him, too. ‘I just couldn’t get up one morning. I thought I had the flu.’

VIEW THE FULL ARTICLE: http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/beauty/news-features/TMG8463402/Aveda-founders-mission-to-clean-up-beauty-industry-act.htm

Photo : Amy Stein

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Founder of Aveda and Intelligent Nutrients among Distinguished Honorees to Celebrate Heroes who are Innovating for a Healthy Tomorrow to Stop Breast Cancer.

Minneapolis, MN (April 10, 2011) – The Breast Cancer Fund, the leading national organization working to identify and eliminate the environmental causes of breast cancer, will honor Horst M. Rechelbacher, the founder of plant-based cosmetics company Aveda Corporation and Intelligent Nutrients, a new certified organic health and beauty brand, for his contributions to change the face of the beauty industry through his steadfast commitment to the development of sustainable, eco-friendly consumer products. This year’s Heroes Celebration theme is Innovation, which recognizes the groundbreaking work by the Breast Cancer Fund and their Heroes to set a high bar in safety and sustainability for everyday products and surroundings in order to reduce unhealthy exposures and ultimately create a healthy tomorrow. Rechelbacher is revolutionizing the cosmetics industry with a new consciousness for healthy beauty.

The ceremony set to take place on Monday, April 11th at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts at 6:30 PM, is the Breast Cancer Fund’s annual gala to honor individual Heroes who help to make breast cancer prevention possible. Throughout his career Horst has been dedicated to the study of pure plant essences and their psychological, physiological and environmental benefits, and the importance of using organically grown ingredients and creating businesses with social and ecological practices that help preserve the environment.

With an award-winning career as a hairstylist, in 1965, Horst started his own salons and product line called Horst. In 1978, he founded Aveda Corporation, a global plant-based cosmetic company. Nearly two decades later, he sold Aveda to Estee Lauder but remained a consultant until March 2003. Afterwards, he focused on his new product paradigm, Intelligent Nutrients, a health and beauty product company, utilizing 100% food-based and organic certified ingredients.

LANGKAWI, Malaysia (Feb. 9, 2011) — Less than a year after placing sixth among spas in overseas hotels in Conde Nast Traveller magazine’s annual Readers’ Travel Awards, V Botanical Spa has sharpened its image by becoming the first spa in Southeast Asia to offer 100-percent certified organic food grade products and treatments.

Last month, the spa’s ownership group aligned itself with Intelligent Nutrients, a U.S.-based health and beauty brand developed by renowned environmentalist and Aveda founder Horst Rechelbacher.

The result is an array of programs and therapies that incorporate the use of all certified organic goods — such as hair and body oils, multi-functional aromatics, nutraceutical supplements and nutritional lip balms — manufactured with renewable energy and packaged using eco-friendly materials.

“People care about what they put on and in their bodies more than ever before,” said Christina Low, head of V Integrated Wellness. “We’re embracing that trend at the same time we alter the spa in a way that better mirrors the environment in which it is set.”

Perched high on a verdant hillside overlooking a beach (Datai Bay) that National Geographic called out in the 2008 edition of The 10 Best of Everything, V Botanical Spa is one of five components that comprise V Integrated Wellness at The Andaman, a Luxury Collection Resort in the foliage-shrouded archipelago of Langkawi.

V Fitness, V Healthy Cuisine, V Retreats and V Beach Club are the other four elements of the concept, scheduled to officially launch next month.

“Our whole philosophy originates from the ‘Tree of Life’ idea — a metaphor for how everything in the universe is connected,” said Low. “The fact that you can actually eat Intelligent Nutrients products — all items are made of nutritious ingredients straight from the earth, safe enough to ingest — makes it the perfect line for us.”

From a 5-day / 4-night Stress Management Program to a 30-minute IN Organic Eye & Lip Treatment, V Botanical Spa’s menu runs the holistic gamut.

Most services integrate Intelligent Nutrients products — such as the IN Organic Sensory Aromatic Journey Massage — and are performed in one of the five open-air villas that branch out from the facility’s reception area, accessible via a cobblestone path that winds past and under some of the island’s oldest and largest trees.

Those interested in a massage but weary from an intense water workout can elect to experience their treatment on the beach, where a pair of Miami-style cabanas sit but steps from the placid waters of the Andaman Sea.

For more information about V Integrated Wellness, including V Botanical Spa, visit www.vintegratedwellness.com or call +60 4 959 1088.

ABOUT V INTEGRATED WELLNESS

Launching in March 2011 by Landmarks Berhad (www.landmarks.com.my), V Integrated Wellness is a dedicated provider of therapies, classes, workshops and cuisine aimed at nurturing mind, body and soul. Through innovative and integrative tools, its mission is to help guests cultivate their life force (chi) and attain peak levels of physical, intellectual, emotional, environmental, social and spiritual wellness. Its inaugural center will be located at The Andaman, a Luxury Collection Resort, in Langkawi, Malaysia. For more information, visit www.vintegratedwellness.com or call +60 4 959 1088.