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Aveda Celebrates Earth Month with Light the Wayβ„’ Candles

aveda light the way candle

Editor’s note: In almost eight years of blogging, I don’t think I’ve ever posted competitively… but that is the case with this one. Aveda invited me to enter a blogging/social media competition in which the winner takes a trip to India in the Fall with the company’s team. Yeah, I’d love to go to India… so if you feel moved to help, see the details below.

Yep, the Earth Day/Week/Month promotions are coming in fast and furiously… enough to make even the most die-hard green blogger a bit cranky. I’m usually not compelled to shout “greenwashing,” but if you got a look at my inbox… well, you’d see my conundrum.

I suppose my frustration comes from the pure self-promotional aspect of most of these pitches: “Look at what we’re doing to help the environment.” So, a campaign like Aveda’s Light the Wayβ„’ is a bit refreshing simply because it isn’t about shouting to the rooftops about their sustainability cred (which they have in spades); rather, it’s about raising funds for a genuine environmental and human health challenge. Since 2007, the company has sold Light the Way limited edition soy aromatherapy candles to raise funds for Global Greengrants Fund water-related projects. All money raised from the sale of the candles go to these efforts, and they’re only available during April (aka Earth Month, something Aveda’s celebrated since ’99).

Selling $12 candles may not strike you as a particularly effective way to raise funds, but it’s worked… the company claims that, through the Light the Way campaign, they’ve been able to support

  • training 3,500 people in sustainable and organic agriculture methods;
  • helping 20 communities implement local water resource management plans; and
  • enabling 100 communities to take action against toxic industrial pollution

That’s just the tip of the iceberg: Global Greengrants Fund has fuller descriptions of some of its many water projects, which the fund through small grants, on its website.

Want to do some Earth Month good and help with funding these projects? It’s as simple as buying a candle or two… Though the Light the Way candles are a limited edition, that doesn’t mean a small contribution from the company: if all of the candle sell, Aveda will donate a total of $1.34 million.

And the trip to India thing…

Yep, I’m one of several bloggers spreading the word, and trying to win a trip to India in the Fall. If you’re moved to purchase a candle (or candles), I’d be grateful if you included the promotional code SUSTAINABLOG in the appropriate place on the order form (on the far right). You can get a look at some of the work they’re doing in India with water projects in the video below, and keep tabs on the company’s water initiatives at its Facebook page.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do5ZX3w4w9I[/youtube]

Into aromatherapy? Check out our current listings of supplies, including candles, oils, and sprays.

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