Avon Products Inc. will launch a globally coordinated grassroots effort, Hello Green Tomorrow, in more than 65 countries with a $1 million contribution to The Nature Conservancy. According to the company, the mission of Hello Green Tomorrow is to empower a women’s environmental movement, launching initially with Avon’s donation to replant one million trees in the Atlantic Rainforest in South America and global fundraising to further restore this vital ecosystem at just $1 per tree.

“At Avon, we know the power of individual action, and the capacity for our company and for individuals to be a force for good, even through simple acts,” said Andrea Jung, Avon’s chairman and chief executive officer. “Through our global grassroots reach, Avon is singularly positioned to empower a global women’s environmental movement to nurture nature, and to educate and to engage millions of people to contribute to the restoration of the Atlantic Rainforest—to help save the planet for as little as $1.”

Initially, Avon Hello Green Tomorrow will focus on the restoration of the South American Atlantic Rainforest, which is one of the tropical forests that serve as the “lungs of the earth” and, with only 7% remaining, one of the most threatened ecosystems. All trees planted in the Atlantic Rainforest through Hello Green Tomorrow support the United Nations Environment Program, Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign.

The Avon Hello Green Tomorrow program will be supported by the woman-to-woman network of more than 6.2 million Avon Sales Representatives worldwide. This veritable “green army” will create an environmental movement to raise funds and drive “green” education worldwide, leveraging Avon’s strength to reach and engage people to take action in support of important causes.

The company also announced the Avon Paper Promise, a comprehensive policy outlining efforts and goals for promoting sustainable forest use, protecting forests, and reducing demands on forests. Avon’s goal is to purchase 100% of its paper from certified and or post consumer recycled content sources within 10 years, with a certification preference of Forest Stewardship Council.

In 2009 Avon ranked No. 25 on Newsweek magazine’s first “green” list of the 500 largest U.S.-based corporations.
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