Kiehl’s and Brad Pitt Make It Right with JPF Eco Systems
Last updated 1/7/2009 8:43:54 AM
Kiehl’s and Brad Pitt Make It Right with JPF Eco Systems
Last week OW reported on actor Brad Pitt's ‘Make It Right' initiative supporting the community of New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward, which had been turned into a neighbourhood of debris after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
One of the many supporters of Pitt's initiative is cosmetics company Kiehls, which has combined its background of cosmetic, pharmaceutical, herbal, and medicinal knowledge developed through the generations since 1851.
Kiehls established JPF Eco Systems as a partnership with Pitt to support global environmental initiatives minimising its impact on the environment through design. One product specifically supporting the Make it Right program is Kiehl's ‘Aloe Vera Biodegradable Liquid Body Cleanser' with 100% of net profits of its sale contributing towards the effort.
According to Kiehls, biodegradable ingredients, such as carbon and oxygen – the ‘building blocks' of the natural world - minimises the company's global footprint as the biodegradable functionality "decomposes into these two basic elements and return back to earth". Kiehl's says that its new cleanser has been carefully formulated with select, non eco-toxic ingredients that conform to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's guidelines - the formula biodegrades in the earth within 28 days.
The cosmetic company adds that the Biodegradable Liquid Body Cleanser is packed in a 100% food-grade, post-consumer recycled (PCR) bottle which minimises its use of non-renewable energy. The plastic used for these bottles is derived from food and beverage containers retrieved in curb-side recycling programs.
In addition, the cleanser has been Cradle to Cradle certified, which also inspired the Make It Right program. Cradle to Cradle is a thought developed by architect William McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart who suggest that "everything we create can contribute positively to society, the economy and the environment".
McDonough and Braungart are also founders of MBDC (McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry), who are also part of the Make It Right core team. MBDC, founded in 1995, put these ideas into practice through chemical analysis of products ranging from household cleaners to furniture to construction materials.
Product selections for Make It Right homes based on Cradle to Cradle thinking sees materials as nutrients and recognises two safe metabolisms in which they flow - biological metabolisms return all ingredients to the soil safely, like in nature: waste equals food and, technological metabolisms use materials that can be disassembled and reused indefinitely – and never head for the landfill.
Kiehl's cleanser met MBDC's criteria for certification that assesses environmental and human effects of a product, ensuring:
- - the formula has a minimal-negative impact on the environment
- - the package has been approved for material reutilization, such as recycling or composting
- - the product is formulated and manufactured using renewable energy and efficient, socially responsible uses of water