Shop for bathroom and kitchen fixtures responsibly. Ask your retailer the right questions. Be sure that the fixtures you select comply with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines for water conservation.

Not sure where to begin with decorating responsibly? Always surf the website of your retailer and search for key words like “corporate social responsibility”, or “sustainability reports”.

Make every home purchase worth it with fittings that are good for the environment. If you’re searching for stylish new fittings for your bathroom, but can’t find a company with a good corporate social responsibility plan, start at ROHL.

Style and sustainability are two sides of the same coin with luxury kitchen and bath fittings from ROHL. ROHL designs showerheads that are sync with EPA guidelines for water use. ROHL also markets low-flow water saving aerators for your kitchen and bath.

Marketing water saving devices is not the only facet in selling high-end faucets, or other quality fixtures. ROHL has committed to reducing pollution in the world’s oceans by supporting Oceana, a non-profit headed by Ted Danson to save the world’s oceans.

Agreeing on the right look for your bathroom and kitchen is hard enough, especially if you’re arguing with a significant other about what finish to choose. Details like make and model are debatable. But, eco-friendly purchases are not.

Design your home with fittings worthy of a stamp of sustainability. Shop from retailers that don’t compromise on corporate social responsibility. Start your kitchen and bathroom on sturdy ground with quality bathroom fittings that you can feel good about.

The road to sustainable use of water resources is paved with seemingly small decisions from consumers, retailers, and end users like you. Make a difference and invest in water saving appliances for your kitchen and bath.

If anything, it’s a good story for your house warming.

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The innovative Water Restoration Certificate Program by BEF reportedly returned over seventeen million gallons of water to damaged watersheds and streams in the United States. Input from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation provided BEF with information on locations where water allotments would make the most sustainable impact on endangered ecosystems.

BEF, along with its water trust partners , is engaging water rights holders in the western United States in the movement toward a new and improved vision of corporate social responsibility. Water rights holders can contribute their coveted water allotments to restorative projects.

According to a report published by the CSR Wire, each water credit is worth 1,000 gallons of water. This unique effort by BEF merges two issues that are notoriously hard to handle in the world of water resource management. Water rights in the western United States are legally binding. Water rights were established by agreements made before factors such as global climate change, carbon gas emissions, and environmental degradation became part of the sustainability equation.

Managing a program to strategically ally corporate private sector investors with water rights holders represents a breakthrough in water management that other government actors are still navigating with caution.

Ever since corporate social responsibility became a buzzword in terms of investments, major companies have rushed to update their websites and annual sustainability reports to reflect best-practices methods in water conservation.

The BEF program for corporate social responsibility moves beyond just a water conservation approach. Now, there is an alliance of private sector parties with other people in power, water rights holders. In essence, either participant in the arrangement can leverage influence with other.

Hopefully, the term “corporate social responsibility” will continually expand to include other novel efforts of engaging investors, corporations, and private sector parties in the effort to cope with the adverse effects of poor water resource management.

Fragile freshwater ecosystems and fisheries are compromised every day due to decreasing water flows to support these systems. If these natural resources and environments continue to degrade, the people and ultimately the organizations that they support will suffer from dwindling profit margins. And who can afford that?

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Piet Klop, Senior Fellow at the World Resources Institute (WRI) argues that water should not be free. Pricing water appropriately sustains utility services such that they can deliver their service effectively. Funds from pricing water can pay for maintaining infrastructure which is so badly needed, also in the United States.

To some Klop’s ideas seem radical and impractical. To others, his logic is quite reasonable and legitimate. Why does Klop think water should be priced instead of free? Read the Klop’s interview with WaterWideWeb below.

EAB: Should water be free?

PK: No it should not be free. If it’s free, you’ll never get the incentive to use it efficiently. You’ll never get the investments we need to make sustainable use of the scarce water available. It’s a matter of efficiency and investment.

EAB: How can we ensure that pricing water doesn’t disenfranchise marginalized communities?

PK: You can cross subsidize. It doesn’t require all of society to pay large amounts for water. You can shield poor people from paying more than they can afford for a basic necessity. To me these aren’t opposites. You can have water priced at its scarcity value and you can subsidize it for those who can’t pay for it.

EAB: Can you give any examples or anecdotes to support your theory?

PK: Vulnerable communities are already paying much higher water prices than middle classes and elitists already. I lived in Nairobi. We lived in a well-to-do neighborhood. We were connected to the network. You pay hardly anything for that service. Five hundred meters down the road, there’s a slum. The people living there are not connected to the same water network and are dependent on water sellers. they consume much less; yet, per unit of water they pay much more.

EAB: If we’re charging people for water, does that mean we’re compromising the status of water as a human right?

PK: There’s no argument about whether or not people need water. Declaring it a human right doesn’t require that we make it free. There are several things that are human rights, such as shelter and health and we are happily paying for. It’s about treating water as an economic good and not just a social good.

EAB: Are we at the point of pricing water anytime soon?

PK: Paying water at its scarcity value is a long way off. It would require increasing the price of water at 10 times or more. It’s politically unfeasible. Before we get there, we could just pay the cost of water, forget it’s scarcity value. We should charge for the financial cost to pump, treat and discharge it. That way, we’re paying for infrastructure, maintenance, and expansion. But there are still few places in the world where we’re covering just those cost.

EAB: Can you give an example of the negative consequences that occur when water is treated as a social good and not economic good?

PK: Barcelona is a beautiful place. It’s advanced in many respects. But they were down on their luck two years ago. Two years ago, they were shipping in water from France. Water arrived in a tanker by ship. This happened because the watershed which Barcelona is part of is oversubscribed. Water is  not sustainably used.

Farmers and others are using more than what is available. As a result, reservoirs dry up. They only pay 2 percent of what it costs to deliver water to their fields. Thus, there is no incentive to use it efficiently. Because farmers are underpaying for water, Barcelona went dry. They had to resort to a desperate measure of shipping in water. This is what happens if you don’t price water economically.

If water is free, people are going to abuse it. Investors are not going to invest in technology.

EAB: There are obviously certain cultural ideas about pricing water. How do you think these ideas impact pricing water?

PK: In the Netherlands, I pay ten times more for water there than I do here. And, the Netherlands has more water. It’s not just about scarcity. In the Netherlands, we got used to the idea that you have to pay for what it takes to deliver water. It’s a culture. It’s something that has been ingrained in the collective psyche. The idea that clean drinking water should be free is self-defeating.

In this country, there’s still an idea that there are no limits. You just go west and start again. In the Netherlands, there’s an idea that we have to make it work with what we have. You have to pay for things that are scarce. Not pricing water is a cultural and therefore a political problem.

EAB: Thank you for interviewing with WaterWideWeb

PK: You’re welcome.

The pricing water debate will continue as WaterWideWeb involves new experts and researchers into the discussion. For now, WaterWideWeb wants to hear from you!

Should water be free?

Why or why not?

If we charged for water, what would the world look like?

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Sewage Runoff: A Big Stink in California

Founded in 1919 the American Beverage Association (ABA) was initially called the American Bottlers of Carbonated Beverages, to later be renamed the National Soft Drink Association. This organization represents a variety of beverage producers and distributers. ABA is key insofar it “provides a neutral forum in which members convene to discuss common issues while maintaining their tradition of spirited competition in the American marketplace” (Source: http://www.ameribev.org/about-aba/history/).

The schedule for this event includes various educational session that aim to provide companies and professionals of the sectors with a set of comprehensive guidelines when it comes to trends, operations management, sustainability and technical regulatory. The Interbev event informs producers about the latest’s innovation in the field of beverages, enabling companies to remain up to date with the latest trends.

The exhibitions include installations for beer, bulk packing machines, water treatment equipment, class washing machines, disinfection equipment, cooling systems and many other demonstrations.

Check out the video to see how cutting-edge live presentations, happening right on the trade show floor, will add a whole new level of energy to InterBev 2010 – for exhibitors and attendees alike. (Source: http://www.interbev.com/about/multimedia-gallery/details/47/)

This event is not only useful for an economic standpoint, companies get to exchanges ideas while also having a good look at the competition, but it is also an important event to discuss sustainability when it comes to beverage production.

Seafood is a healthy source of nutrients and proteins that is gaining popularity worldwide. In 2007, the United States reached their highest peak of consumption. While most of the seafood we consume is caught in the open ocean, there is a good proportion of it that originates from aquaculture. This industry is continuously expanding and “has grown at a strong and steady 8 to 10 percent over the past three decades and is expected to continue to expand at that rate for a while” (Source: http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/globalmarkets/aquaculture/whyitmatters.html). For this reason WWF is committed to working on sustainable seafood culture in order to assure that quality seafood is farmed while respecting the environment and minimizing the negative impacts.

In 1999, after various publications and workshops on the shrimp farming, WWF in partnership with FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) launched a set of roundtables called aquaculture dialogues that started in 2004. From farmers, to scientists without forgetting government officials, all the stakeholder involved are participating to these events in order to create standards that will minimize the key negative environmental and social impacts for the following species: shrimp, salmon, abalone, clams, mussels, scallops, oysters and many others. Every dialogue will be coordinated and guided by a WWF representative who will be the resources of references to all participants on that particular issue while also taking care of updating the content of the website. While many standards and certification programs for aquaculture already exist, they lack in efficiency and fail to truly make this industry more sustainable. Consequently, the Aquaculture Dialogues strive to provide efficient credible standards that are “science-based, performance based and metrics-based” (Source: http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/globalmarkets/aquaculture/whatwearedoing.html). These standards won’t have the ambition to impose upon producers how to change their farming practices in order to render them more sustainable but will provide targets to be reached while giving the liberty to innovate in order to find a medium to the actual producers. It is also important for these standards to be measurable in order to provide a comprehensive and objective guideline with major credibility.

These standards will be presented to the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) who’s task will be to transform them into reality. Founded in 2009 by the WWF, the ACS offers a leading program for certification and labeling for responsible farming. Working in collaboration with producers, retail and food service companies. “The overarching strategy of the ASC is to use market forces to transform aquaculture, which will be done by reducing the key negative social and environmental impacts of aquaculture through compliance with standards at the farm level” (Source: http://www.ascworldwide.org/index.cfm?act=tekst.item&iid=2&iids=39&lng=1). The strategy will be focused on the need to develop and launch a marketing program that will create demand for ASC products on the market. These products will have an added value provided by the adequate certification supplied by objective third-parties.

From salmon, to shrimp without forgetting tilapia the ocean offers us a vast quantity of resources that are vital to many population on the globe. The growing demand for seafood and the need to respect fishing laws and quotas, has brought to the increase of aquaculture. In order to protect endangered species and avoid over exploitation a set of standards need to be implemented and respected on the long-term.

In 2004, in collaboration with various organizations, P&G created the Children’s Safe Drinking Water programs (CSDW), that helps raise awareness around the globe about the importance of having access to quality drinking water. The famous corporation reminded the whole world that often water scarcity is the trigger to a whole set of other problems such as diseases, health problems, malnutrition and agricultural impediments. This initiative is part of P&G’s larger philanthropic program called Live, Learn and Thrive TM initiative.  According to the official website of the initiative, P&G is “committed to improving the lives of people around the globe, saving children’s lives and providing clean drinking water to as many people as possible” (Source: http://www.csdw.org/csdw/csdw_program.shtml). Up to now, the corporation declares it has invested more than $25 million toward clean drinking water. Procter & Gamble has teamed up with organization like the International Council of Nurses or the Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs to distribute PUR packets to individuals who need it the most in developing countries or emergency situations.

The PUR packet was developed by P&G in partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease control and Prevention (CDC) and it is “an amazing innovation that quickly turns 10 liters of dirty, potentially deadly water into clean and drinkable water” (Source: http://www.csdw.org/csdw/pur_packet.shtml). The packets contain a powder that is able to remove pathogenic microorganisms in order to render the contaminated water clean. According to the official website, the packets are able to remove more than 99.99999% of bacteria and various types of viruses. This product has been sold to various organization and NGOs, for instance the International Rescue Committee has bought enough PUR packets to deliver close to 3.5. million liters of drinkable water for the people in Iraq. Disaster relief is a very important part of the company’s corporate social responsibility commitment that often start with providing clean water, a basic element for the survival of entire population. According to the official website of the organization, the program has “delivered over 1.6 billion liters of clean drinking water and they are committed to delivering four billion liters by 2012” (Source: http://www.csdw.org/csdw/csdw_program.shtml). In addition to this valid water initiative, P&G has set five strategies for sustainable in order to achieve a list of set goals by 2012.

One of their most ambitious goals so far is to enable 300 million children to have a better life, which starts with preventing around 160 million days of disease and saving 20, 000 lives by delivering 4 billion liters of clean water. This goal seems somewhat outstanding and so far the progress made since 2007 comprehend a total of 135 million children reached and close to 930 million liters of clean water were delivered. (Source: http://www.pg.com/en_US/sustainability/strategy_goals_progress.shtml). These numbers are indicative a successful start only time will tell if such ambitious goals can be reached. The importance and validity of this cause seems to be appreciated at the international level since in 2007, the CSDW received the Ron brown US Presidential Award for Corporate Citizenship, the United Nations Association Global Leadership Award. In addition in 2005, the program was also awarded the Stockholm Industry Water Award.

Reconciling business requirements with corporate social responsibility has become a must for small firms and large corporations.  The Children’s Safe Drinking Water Programs have the ambitious goal to provide clean water to all of them who need it. The innovative PUR packet is able to rapidly transform polluted and often deadly water into clean potable water. This mechanism needs to be promoted at an international level and to be further developed since it could save the life of entire population especially in crisis situation.

This eco-friendly way to produce vegetables for home or sale consumption has seen a revival in the past years amongst a growing rate of Americans who want to grown their own greens. In this process, the waste produced by the fish becomes an automatic recycled form of nutrients for the plants. The water from the fish tank, rich in nutrients is pumped into the area where the plants are grown. “The plants clean the water of excess nutrients, the water is then oxygenated by simple means and is reused again and again in the fish rearing tanks” (Source: http://www.northernaquafarms.com/aquaphonics.html). Lettuce, chives, tomatoes and cucumbers all have successfully been raised in aquaponics; in addition to flowers such as rose or lilies. This simple process permits the recycling of water that would otherwise be considered useless waste. The functionally of this system is based on a mutual exchange: the plants purify the water while they get extra nutriments in exchange from the fish. This approach is totally eco-friendly since not only water is recycled, but also the usually chemical fertilizers are not need and cannot be used since they are harmful to the integration of the plants and fish. This system is revolutionary insofar a well operated structure uses “about one tenth of the water required for normal vegetable growing and reduces the water needed for single usage fish farming by 95% or greater” (Source: http://www.northernaquafarms.com/aquaphonics.html). This year long sustainable method of agriculture is particularly popular in Australia a country that has suffered numerous draughts.

In the United States, aquaponics seems to be at a early flourishing stage with a gradual increase in sales and demand. Rebbeca Nelson part of the Nelson & Pade company, publishes the Aquaponics Journal ( http://www.aquaponicsjournal.com/) and sells aquaponics systems in the USA. She has stated that subscriptions have doubled in the past years and she “estimates that there may be 800 to 1,200 aquaponics set-ups in American homes and yards and perhaps another 1,000 bubbling away in school science classrooms” (Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/garden/18aqua.html?_r=1).  If you are intrigued by aquaponics but have long-term commitment issues, an Atlanta based company called Earth Solution sells kits on the internet called “ farm in a box” that range from a price of 300$  to 3, 000$.  According to experts, aquaponics will replace hydroponics on the long term considering that it has considerable advantages over the practice of hydroponics: first of all the nutrient source is organic since it derives from fish waste and second of all, aquaponics provides a protein crop that is lacking in hydroponics.

This environmental friendly system is quickly developing in the United States and soon enough the industry will develop for both salt and fresh water fish. The product seems to be the future of gardening at a time where the world is suffering from a world crisis and where every single drop of water can make the difference.  This system is totally organic and recycles water that maintains the fish alive and enables plants to grow. For countries that suffer from droughts this might be a revolutionary method.

This particular water comes from a simple hydrogeological model that is explained on the company’s website: “water is mineralized through contact with the rocks and is heated by geothermal gradient until reaching the spring, where it has the balanced composition of S. Pellegrino mineral water” (Source: http://www.sanpellegrino.com/index.html). As early as the 12^th century the Sanpellegrino sparkly water was used for its apparent healthy properties.  In 1842, the town decided to sell the spring to Ester Palazzolo with the condition that a part of the share would be given to the local citizens so they could have access to the water free of charge.  With thousands of bottles selling around the world, the Italian brand decided to put together mineral water and Sicilian oranges and invented a new soft drink called “Aranciata”. In 1999, the brand became the latest new addition to Nestlé’s bottled water empire. According to San Pellegrino’s latest quality report, the water that comes from the sources is always tested as it enters the plant in order to comply with international standards and with Nestlé own requisites. It appears that “quality first” is the motto of this luxury water bottle as the product is “screened for over 200 possible contaminants annually, even more than the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or Italian Health Authorities require” (Source: http://www.nestle-watersna.com/pdf/SP_BWQR.pdf).

Stefano Agostini, the president and chief executive officer of Sanpellegrino presents environmental sustainability as one of the main objectives of the company as he declares that the company’s mission is “that of guaranteeing water a future of quality” (Source: http://www.bpcommunication.net/risorse/sanpellegrino.pdf). According to the company’s statements, the firm is involved in various programs of water conservation in order to protect their water sources and to render them sustainable on the longest term possible. Sanpellegrino states the importance of protecting water sources and its surrounding ecosystems. In order to be coherent with the green values advocated by the Italian brand, the company promotes water and education programs for young children in order to raise awareness at an early age about the importance of water conservation. The brand is a promoter and partner of the WET project (Water Education for Teachers) that aims at educating the little and the old about responsible principles of water consumption. In addition, San Pellegrino says that in the last four years, they have reduced by 48% the total water volume they use in the production process. “To reduce the environmental impact, San Pellegrino is investing in rail transport  and also adheres to CONAI the National Packaging Consortium for the disposal and recycling of containers and is developing a careful reduction plan of materials for the packaging of its products” (Source: http://www.bpcommunication.net/risorse/sanpellegrino.pdf). While the company’s website tells us it is working hard at diminishing its packaging waste, it fails to give additional details, concrete actions and examples to illustrate how the brand is really achieving these environmental friendly goals. While details on the company’s concrete actions in regards to green productions processes seem to be somewhat lacking, Sanpellegrino presents a much clearer picture of its involvement in Africa on a water friendly project.

Working with the AMREF (African Medical and Research Foundation), the Italian brand has sponsored the construction of a well in Makueni, Kenya and its working with the local population in order to enable a water management training to “teach the local population the proper hygiene and the proper health practices to be adopted” (Source: http://www.sanpellegrino.com/index.html). According to its website it appears that the company is committed to a long-term partnership with AMREF in order to help bring quality water to those who need it the most. With the current controversy against the negative effects of plastic bottled water on the environment, giant companies like Sanpellegrino quickly realized that a strong corporate social responsibility is necessary to the survival of their firm and can only increase the brand’s equity.

In 1993, Deckers Outdoor Corporation acquired Simple Shoes: shoes for a happy planet, founded by Eric Meyer.  Aware of the need to protect the environment, this company is working hard at combining business prerogatives with the creation of shoes using recycled materials. They are strong believers in the fact that business can be done in a sustainable way, on their website the company declares: “HOW we make our shoes is just as important as WHY we make them. That means finding more sustainable ways of doing business so we can make a gazillion more” (Source: http://www.deckers.com/Brands/simpleshoes.aspx). This company seems to declare the need to be coherent by putting into practices the environmental friendly they pretend to embody. The Simple Shoes brand was born in 1991, as a response to a generation of  “over-hyped, over-marketed, and over-teched sneakers” (Source: http://www.simpleshoes.com/info/history.aspx?g=info). After having launched the Green Toe collection, shoes made of natural materials, the company realized that working with raw materials wasn’t enough considering all the waste and pollution that was out there.  For this reason, in 2007, the company decided to introduce recycled products such as plastic bottles and care tires in the manufacturing process of their shoes. In 2008, Simple Shoes decided to introduce brand new materials like hemp, recycled bicycle tires and car tire inner tubes.

The company’s website as a list of all the materials they use for they making of their simple shoes. They use PET (polyethylene terephthalate) the plastic used for water bottles, in order to make some of their shoelaces and in order to make the wrapping around the latex elastic. With a single used care tire they manage to “make the outsoles for six pairs of men’s size 9 shoes, by using recycled car tires” (Source: http://www.simpleshoes.com/info/materials.aspx?g=info). This is an innovative way to give a new life to materials and resources that are considered “dead” and are harmful for the environment. Moreover, the cotton they used is herbicides, pesticides and or chemical fertilizers free. They are proud to use cotton that hasn’t been sprayed with chemicals substances that too often end up in the water that citizens use for their daily choirs and even more dangerously the water they drink. One of their most innovative materials they use for their shoes is bamboo, one of the fastest growing plants on the face of earth.

These eco-green shoes are working and sales seem to demonstrate it. Yet, according to Brad Little, national sales manager, seems to think that there is much more than eco-friendly materials behind the company’s success. Brad Little says that “only 10% to 15% of its customers are green buyers” and adds that the shoes are “sufficiently good-looking that customers will pull them off a store shelf to begin with” (Source: http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/sep2009/id20090928_302174.htm). The shoes are competing against standard shoes that are over-marketed over-technological and often anything but simple. Being green, has become a trend in most States, yet the shoes sell also thanks to their young and fresh esthetics and their comfort value. The timing is perfect, Simple Shoes has started to get noticed at a time where there is a growing important share in the fashion market for eco-friendly clothing and accessories.

Part of its 2010 collection, Simple has also launched bold new bags, sporty and made of Recycled PET ripstop nylon. The bags are light, ready for a life on the go, they also have a custom made space for your mp3 player or ipod. The latest shoe collection has introduced the trendiest styles with leopard prints and light pastel colors in order to catch the heart and the eye of even the trendiest customers.

Reviews have been great and the shoes seem to be a crowd pleaser amongst customers from all ages. In 2005, eco-friendly fashion debuted at the New York fashion week. This marked the beginning of a new era and signaled the need to stop ignoring environmental problems. Fashion designers launch clothing trends and lifestyles that are followed by thousands. Mixing style, elegance and innovation with recycled materials and a greener lifestyle is a trend that will and needs to come back every season.

On the United States’ version of the website, Yves Rocher clearly states its five of Botanical Beauty, principles that are according to them the outcome of their researching and investing in plan research. Their first active principle consists in basing their behaviour on the plant world while always putting plants at the centre of all their products. The cosmetic company reminds us that they “select amongst 1, 100 ingredients of plant origin, those that are best adapted to the cosmetic benefit of each product” (Source: http://www.yvesrocherusa.com/control/dynpage/~struct=about/~page=botanical_beauty/).  Considering that the flora is the crucial element at the centre of Yves Rocher’s production, the international firm seems to have quickly realized that nature is a golden mine that needs to be protect and conserved.  Endangered species and the destruction of the flora could have direct repercussions on the financial balance of the company. In coherence with this mental framework, the forth active principle of the Botanical Beauty guideline is to protect the planet world by what they call “Actively defending the environment” (Source: http://www.yvesrocherusa.com/control/dynpage/~struct=about/~page=botanical_beauty/).  On the website, Yves Rocher states the importance of verifying the status of a plant before using it, in order to avoid using endangered species. In order to limit their impact on the environment, the company declares that they have committed to planting 3 million trees in five years.  For instance, the company realized the scarcity of Arnica Montana, in order to protect the specie; they have decided to replace it with Arnica Chamissonis, cultivated directly on Yves Rocher’s fields.  The firm’s plant Charter also specifies that they forbid the use of GMO botanical ingredients, forbid animal testing and refuse to use animal ingredients, favor cultivated plants and give priority to organic supplies (Source: http://www.yvesrocherusa.com/images/templates/article/cosmetique_vegetale/GUIDE-COSM-GB.pdf). In addition, Yves Rocher also created the Vegetarium, the first museum in Europe totally dedicated to the world of plants. This museum located at La Gacilly (France), is a valid initiative in order to inform public and raise awareness about the need to protect nature.

In order to bring their environmental commitment to the next step and testify their long-term commitment to green causes, in 1991, Yves Rocher founded the Yves Rocher Foundation, under the wing of “Institut de France”, the foundation is “committed to nurturing and protecting nature and humanity” (Source: http://www.yves-rocher-fondation.org/ca/en/foundation/mission/). In order to directly instigate citizens to launch sustainable initiatives at the local level, since 2001, the foundation launched the Women of the Earth Award who celebrates women in 11 countries who are striving to protect nature. The winning recipients receive consistent bursaries that can amount up to seven thousand dollars. In addition to this award, the foundation also directly supports other green initiatives like the restoration of historical gardens or activities to raise awareness on environmentalist issues in schools. In 2007, the Kai Makana project (which can be translated into ”Gift from the Sea”) was awarded $ 7,000, a project “dedicated to the education of the local population to preserve the ocean and marine life” (Source: http://www.kaimakana.org/docs/02282007.pdf).

Based on the firm’s self-corporate presentation, Yves Rocher pushes forward the importance of giving back to the nature constructing “a beauty that uses the regenerative power of plants its vital energy, resistance and longevity” (Source: http://www.yvesrocherusa.com/control/dynpage/~struct=about/~page=50_years/). This cosmetic leader firm has focused its brand identity and marketing strategy on the production of natural botanic products that reflect the natural beauty of nature. It is logical for this corporation to try to preserve and conserve nature, the most important resource and centre piece of their whole business. The seem to demand an ethical respect towards beauty in all its facets: the beauty of a woman should be praised and respected just as much as the beauty of nature!