|
|
|
by George M. Beylerian
|
 Horst Rechelbacher is a beauty industry pioneer. Born in Austria and trained as a hair stylist, the cosmetics visionary has dedicated his career to the study of plant chemistry and its application to personal health. Out of his early kitchen-sink experiments with clove and cherry-bark evolved his first company, Aveda, an award-winning line of plant-based salon products, which he ran for nearly twenty years before selling to Estée Lauder in 1997.
Since the early 2000’s, Rechelbacher has focused his attention on his current company, Intelligent Nutrients, a health and beauty products brand that utilizes 100% food-based and organic certified ingredients. The business leader, environmentalist, author, artist and organic farmer sat down to talk with us about his long career of industry firsts and some of the cutting-edge science that will drive his work in the future.
MATTER: What was the impetus, or your inspiration, for your starting Aveda?
Horst Rechelbacher: It was the need to make products for my salon that were clean and non-toxic. A lot of motivation came from my mother because she was concerned for my health. She had an apothecary background and wanted me to make better products than what was used in my salon. |
| |
MATTER: Aveda was one of the first companies in the beauty industry to try to make its packaging more sustainable. How did you do this and what were the opportunities and challenges?
HR: Aveda started in 1978, but I had products packaged prior to Aveda. Our mission was to use [and] buy honest and pure materials, and not to pollute the body and the earth. At that time, recycled plastic was not available so we used glass and virgin plastic. Organic was not an option back then so we looked for ‘natural’ materials, wherever and whenever possible. We had to source recycled paper from overseas, and even provided a recycling program to our customers.
Starting out as a small company, a big challenge we faced at Aveda, was that big companies were not interested in doing business with us since we were not able to meet the large minimums and quantities they requested. Unfortunately, I still continue to experience this at Intelligent Nutrients.
MATTER: How did your commitment to the development of sustainable, eco-friendly beauty products change the industry? Were you the first?
HR: I was definitely amongst those who understood the importance of developing sustainable, safe, and non-toxic products because of my traditional, medicinal background and practices influenced by my mother and teachers. As one of the first signers of the Valdez Principles, now CERES Principles, after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Aveda celebrated Earth Day, and Intelligent Nutrients makes every day Earth Day.
A challenge Aveda faced with developing its products was the preservation system. Intelligent Nutrients continues to face this challenge. In the 70s and 80s, natural preservatives didn't exist, so I had to use what was available. We didn’t have the resources to test our formulas and substances in those days. However, with new innovations and technologies, Intelligent Nutrients has a few options in creating more sustainable, non-toxic and organic products for the consumers.
 MATTER: How has the beauty industry changed since you sold Aveda?
HR: Unfortunately, it hasn’t changed very much. The big players are still using formulas created back in the 50s. The only major changes are that there is widespread greenwashing with the word 'natural' and the gross abuse and misuse of the word 'organic,' And the industry has started using more drug-oriented ingredients, particularly those alluding to anti-aging.
Consumer products should be safe and digestible. Why make products that are not digestible or that do not breakdown? Petrochemicals are not digestible and pollute, rather than nurture the body and planet. The only necessary and guaranteed factor is organic certification, and in order to get USDA certification, one has to use food grade materials and ingredients that are grown without insecticides, pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.
MATTER: What is the mission of Intelligent Nutrients?
HR: Intelligent Nutrients official mission is, "Everything we put in and on our body must be nutritious and safe." In addition, it is also our mission to create fair trade and to get off the energy grid. I believe that businesses should be socially responsible and assist with creating alternative energy, whether it is wind, solar, or geothermal.
MATTER: Can you tell us about your packaging for Intelligent Nutrients? How is the Intelligent Nutrients philosophy applied to your packaging and is it also applied to your distribution systems?
HR: At Intelligent Nutrients, we use lead-free glass, 100% recycled plastic, and recycled and recyclable paper for our packaging. I generally favor the use of glass because it’s much better for our products and preservation since we use natural aromatics and essential oils, which can be volatile and degrade plastic. However, it is not always practical to package everything in glass due to its use and storage in showers and bathrooms (although, it would be great to have a glass that is unbreakable or shatterproof).
MATTER: Given your commitment to food-based ingredients, what do you think about food-based plastics—bioplastics—for packaging?
HR: It is definitely something of interest. Packaging should always be recyclable, biodegradable and/or compostable. The challenge with bioplastics is that they can be instable and degrade easily. Because bioplastics break down quickly, if used in packaging, I would be concerned about its chemistry components leaking into and interfering with the product itself. I am interested in knowing how plant polymers are made and how safe they are.
Packaging needs to be focused on preservation of the content from UVA and UVB rays and microbials, and the packaging chemistry itself should not interfere with the product. The only material I've found that is the safest option and protects the best is lead-free glass because it is nontoxic, doesn’t leak its properties, and is recyclable.
The industry has a long way to go when it comes to packaging and offering more organic and safe raw materials.
 MATTER: What is the future of the beauty industry and what’s next for Intelligent Nutrients?
HR: I believe plant stem cells and human stem cells technologies are definitely the future, and maybe packaging needs to be designed for that new technology. Imagine that we could address hair loss and gray hairs with the use of stem cells: we could potentially grow one's own hair with his/her original genetic color while maintaining the natural hair color. Rather than using inflammatory chemistry, we could help the body renew itself by regenerating new skin or growing new organs. There would be a potential of living a long, long life.
Intelligent Nutrients will continue to use edible chemistry and resources to ensure safety to the human body and planet. I am now exploring building an ecologically correct greenhouse for growing plants as ingredients. We cannot continue to destroy our natural resources, and I think this is where innovative biotechnology could potentially assist the beauty industry and even stimulate the economy. M
|
| |
|
|