Avon understands that deforestation, especially the loss of tropical forests, has an impact on the health and wellbeing of our planet and every living creature. Also, as a significant consumer of paper, the company is committed to being part of the solution and helping end deforestation through its own internal efforts and by leveraging its unique ability to educate, engage and mobilize a “global green army.” People in more than 50 countries are supporting Avon Hello Green Tomorrow to raise funds and awareness to help “plant a future” and restore critically endangered rainforests in South America and Indonesia. This work is carried out by our partners at The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund with monies raised through Avon efforts worldwide.
Learn More about Avon’s Commitment
Avon has a long heritage of making a difference, including a commitment to environmental stewardship throughout the business enterprise. Avon has robust environmental management processes and goals in critical areas ranging from water conservation to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
Avon is also making a special effort to develop meaningful policies focused on areas that are material to the company. As a direct seller, without traditional stores, Avon is a significant consumer of paper products. The company is positioned to influence both supply and demand, and thus contribute to the development of environmental solutions that conserve, protect and restore forests. To this end, in 2010 Avon launched the Avon Paper Promise to reduce the demands on forests, support sustainable forestry and protect biodiversity and ecosystem integrity that drives long-term social and economic benefits to communities.
In 2011, recognizing that palm oil plantations are a factor in deforestation, Avon announced a company-wide global commitment to sustainable palm oil: the Avon Palm Oil Promise. Through this policy Avon becomes the first major beauty company to commit to back 100% of global palm oil use with GreenPalm Certificates to advance the production of sustainable palm oil.
Avon’s founding principles in 1886 include the statement: “To meet fully the obligations of corporate citizenship by contributing to the well-being of society and the environment in which it functions.” Avon remains committed to environmental stewardship throughout their business operations. Details on the company’s efforts and impact can be found in the “Sustainability” section of the Avon Corporate Responsibility website.
Avon is on a journey of constant improvement, with recent efforts including the Avon Paper Promise, the Avon Palm Oil Promise, stringent environmental management of our facilities, and a commitment to green buildings that ensures all Avon facilities are designed according to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. Avon is also a member of organizations that drive environmental stewardship, such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and the Global Forest and Trade Network.
Recognition of our efforts includes:
Avon has created the Avon Paper Promise to pledge our commitment to and goals for forestry and paper, and the complete text can be found on the “Sustainability” section of our Corporate Responsibility web site. We recognize that business leadership carries a responsibility to the environment and the world's forests. The global pulp and paper industry is associated with significant environmental impacts, from forest degradation and destruction, to water and air pollution, including carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. At the same time, wood and paper are renewable natural resources that, when sourced under a responsible program, can represent a sustainable material choice.
It is Avon’s vision to achieve sustainable use of forest resources. In support of this vision, and to drive responsible paper procurement in particular for the Avon product brochure, the Avon Paper Promise includes the goal of sustainable forest use, meaning:
Palm oil production has come under criticism for destroying rainforests and peatland across Southeast Asia, leading to habitat destruction and high carbon emissions. More than 80 percent of palm oil is used for food products, but it is also an ingredient in many cosmetics and personal care products. In recognition of this, Avon announced the Avon Palm Oil Promise, a company-wide global commitment to sustainable palm oil.
Although Avon is not a significant user of palm oil, through the Palm Oil Promise Avon is doing its part, becoming the first major beauty company to commit to back 100 percent of its global palm oil use with certificates designed to advance the production of sustainable palm oil. The company is paying a premium to producers by purchasing GreenPalm certificates covering all of its global palm oil use, which will help drive demand for sustainable palm oil and increase the supply. GreenPalm is a certificate trading program endorsed by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which seeks to increase sustainable palm oil production.
In support of this commitment, Avon has joined the RSPO to help continue the development, implementation and verification of credible global standards for sustainable palm oil. Avon supports the current moratorium on the conversion of primary forests and peatlands into palm oil plantations.
Hello Green Tomorrow is a mobilization and fundraising program to empower a global environmental movement to help end deforestation. It is a unique, globally-coordinated campaign that leverages Avon’s ability to educate, engage and mobilize people worldwide to form a “green army” that will plant a future.
In more than 50 countries Avon Hello Green Tomorrow is raising funds (through special Avon fundraising products) and building awareness to help end deforestation and restore critically endangered rainforests in South America and Indonesia (Borneo and Sumatra). This work will be carried out by our partners at The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund with money raised through Avon effort worldwide.
Avon Hello Green Tomorrow also provides tips and information on how people can follow the “5 R’s” in their daily lives: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink, and Replant.
Learn More about Hello Green Tomorrow
Hello Green Tomorrow is unique because it is a single, coordinated effort engaging people in more than 50 countries to support the restoration of two specific and critically endangered forests: the Atlantic Rainforest of South America (focused on Brazil) and the tropical forests of Indonesia.
Hello Green Tomorrow also has a exceptional asset: the Avon woman-to-woman network of more than 6.4 million Sales Representatives, who each year serve some 300 million customers
Avon is committed to helping end deforestation. Forests, especially tropical forests, are vital to the survival of all living creatures worldwide and serve as the “lungs of the earth,” helping mitigate climate change by cleaning the air of pollutants. At the current rates of deforestation, all forests could disappear in a century.
Avon has a heritage of making a difference, including the company’s leadership in the causes of breast cancer and domestic violence. Through Hello Green Tomorrow, Avon focuses its commitment, resources and people on the issue of deforestation and the goal to plant a better future.
Learn More About What Avon is Doing
Hello Green Tomorrow is a permanent part of Avon’s corporate citizenship, with new initiatives planned for each year. In 2012, more than 50 countries are taking part with fundraising product sales, education and mobilization efforts commencing in April and continuing throughout the year in different parts of the world.
Trees – especially tropical forests – are essential for the survival of all living creatures worldwide and for the survival of the planet itself. Everything we depend upon is directly reliant on our forestlands – air, water, and living things.1 Tropical forests serve as the “lungs of the earth,” playing a crucial role in mitigating climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.2 The rainforests also support an extraordinary biodiversity of animals, plants and birds that are vital to the balance of life on earth, as well as providing clean water and employment for tens of millions of people.
Tropical forests are being destroyed at an alarming rate, and deforestation is second only to the burning of fossil fuels as a major source of carbon dioxide emissions (one of the “greenhouse gases”) that cause climate change.
Learn More About the Difference One Forest Makes
Avon is committed to environmental stewardship and to playing its role as a global citizen. Paper and forests are material to the Avon business, and this is an area in which the company can make a difference and serve as an agent of positive change. As such, Avon’s environmental efforts are focused on helping end deforestation.
Learn More About Avon Hello Green Tomorrow
Avon contributes all proceeds from the Hello Green Tomorrow merchandise sales to The Nature Conservancy (TNC) for continuing efforts in the Atlantic Rainforest in South America and to World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for their reforestation projects in Indonesia (Borneo and Sumatra). These leading organizations will plant and restore the trees as well as monitor the restored forest, ensuring the long-term benefits into the future. Hello Green Tomorrow launched in 2010 with an initial direct contribution from Avon Products, Inc. of $1 million to kick off the fundraising efforts.
Learn More About Where Your Money Goes
Learn About Our Partners
Avon Sales Representatives, customers and citizens around the world are supporting the Hello Green Tomorrow programs in their local countries. Avon Hello Green Tomorrow has launched in more than 50 countries on 6 continents. Click here to see a list of participating countries. Note that Hello Green Tomorrow fundraising products can only be purchased in the country in which it is marketed. International sales are not possible.
In 2012 Avon is marketing unique Hello Green Tomorrow fundraising products in more than 50 countries worldwide, and contributing all net proceeds to The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund. In addition, Avon is dedicating extensive resources to promote and manage the Hello Green Tomorrow campaign. This includes the hellogreentomorrow.com educational website and the mobilization of millions of independent Avon Sales Representatives to support the campaign and instill “green” behavior in their own business and lives.
Avon initially launched Hello Green Tomorrow in 2010 with a direct donation of $1 million and global fundraising in the first two years raised an additional $2.5 million.
You can purchase the Avon Hello Green Tomorrow Fundraising Products through an Avon Sales Representative or online. In the US, the fundraising product is a generous 32 oz. aluminum Avon Hello Green Tomorrow Water Bottle. Other products worldwide include the Eco Hero Bracelet, reusable shopping bags and, in Brazil, a collection of t-shirts created by a leading Brazilian designer.
Purchase the US Hello Green Tomorrow Water Bottle
Not in the US? Find out if Avon is launching Hello Green Tomorrow in your country and check the local website or Avon Sales Representatives.
Avon has partnered with two leading organizations that are experts on the issue of deforestation, ensuring that the educational information we provide, and the funds we donate, have the greatest impact. These partners are The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund. You can learn more about deforestation from information presented on our Hello Green Tomorrow website and from these stellar organizations, both of which will plant and restore trees as well as monitor the restored forests, ensuring the long-term benefits into the future.
Learn More About Deforestation
Learn About Our Partners
You can “plant a future” at home, at your office or even when you’re on the go, by following the “5 R’s”: reduce, reuse, recycle, rethink and replant. The Hello Green Tomorrow website includes tips and stories from experts in the field to help you green your everyday life, and you can share your own ideas via Facebook and Twitter.
Green Tips
Expert Blog
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is one of the world’s leading conservation organizations, working in 100 countries for nearly half a century. With the support of almost 5 million members worldwide, WWF is dedicated to delivering science-based solutions to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth, halt the degradation of the environment and combat climate change.
Visit www.worldwildlife.org to learn more.
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) was founded in 1951 and is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The organization is headquartered in the US and works in more than 30 countries. The Nature Conservancy has protected more than 119 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers worldwide, and they operate over 100 marine conservation projects globally.
Visit www.nature.org to learn more.
“Of all the places WWF works, the rate of destruction in Borneo and Sumatra (Indonesia) defies the imagination,” said World Wildlife Fund President and CEO Carter Roberts. “Devising a solution equal to the weight of humanity’s pressure on this rich place will take persistence, creativity and collaboration. We are grateful for the support and leadership of partners like Avon who realize we all have an important role to play in meeting this challenge.”
These are the tropical forests on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, which are part of the island nation of Indonesia in Southeast Asia. This region is home to 15,000 known plant species and endangered animals like tigers, rhinos, pygmy elephants and clouded leopards, as well as 56 million people who rely on the forests for their livelihoods and for fresh water. These forests also absorb harmful carbon emissions and serve as the lungs of the earth, benefitting everyone.
Every month for the last 15 years, 3 new species have been discovered in Borneo and Sumatra, and thousands more have yet to be. This region is not just a unique habitat for yet-undiscovered species. Many of the greatest threats to conservation worldwide can be observed in action here. However, commercial logging and conversion to agriculture have destroyed 85% of Sumatra’s forests, with most wood thought to come from illegal sources like nature reserves and other protected areas.
The forests of Borneo and Sumatra are under threat from both legal and illegal logging. Indonesia's status as the world's number-one supplier of plywood puts the forests of Borneo and Sumatra under extreme pressure. The region is also a major source of hardwoods and wood products for the pulp and paper industry. The rate of deforestation in Indonesia is among the worst globally, with a staggering 80% of the nation's wood supplies thought to come from illegal sources, including nature reserves and other protected areas.
Indigenous trees will be planted, such as the following (definitions courtesy of World Wildlife Fund):
"With support from Avon, The Nature Conservancy has made significant progress in restoring the Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered and biologically diverse forests in the world,” said Mark Tercek, president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy. "The Atlantic Forest is home to tens of thousands of plant and animal species - many found nowhere else on Earth – and it is the source of drinking water for 70 percent of Brazil's population. It is critical that we save the Atlantic Forest for both people and nature."
The Atlantic Rainforest stretches across parts of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, and it is one of the most endangered tropical forests on earth. Once the size of the U.S. seaboard from Maine to South Carolina – the size of Spain, France and Italy combined – today only seven percent remains, in small, isolated pockets. These small areas cannot support the remarkable array of wildlife and almost unparalleled biological diversity, including 20,000 species of plants and 1,000 species of birds, many found nowhere else on earth.
In addition to the environmental impact, 120 million people directly depend upon the Atlantic Rainforest for water and hydroelectric power, and the restoration efforts will also generate local jobs, strengthen local conservation institutions and support important water resource protection.
There is much to gain. If the entire Atlantic Rainforest is restored, it will ultimately remove 10 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year.
Indigenous trees will be planted, such as the following (definitions courtesy of The Nature Conservancy):
