Horst Rechelbacher, founder of Aveda Corp., died on Feb. 15 at his home in Osceola, WI. He was 72 years old. The cause was pancreatic cancer.

Rechelbacher was a pioneer in merging natural beauty with science, and grew Aveda from a small salon hair care brand into a major player in the natural and eco-friendly market. He sold the company to The Estée Lauder Companies in 1997.

His latest passion was his company, Intelligent Nutrients. He wanted to create beauty, fragrances, hair care and personal care products made with organic ingredients “healthy enough to eat.” (See the trubute by Intelligent Nutrients, on Beauty Packaging’s Facebook page.)

Vanity Fair magazine published a profile about Rechelbacher and Intelligent Nutrients on its website on April 3, 2009. In the article, he tells author Adam Spangler:

“We must change…but there wasn’t a path to that change. When I sold Aveda, I became an activist, but what are you going to say to people if you don’t practice what you teach? Activism without exemplifying the [solution] is not as strong or meaningful. That’s why I became a farmer. That’s why I started Intelligent Nutrients, which is what I wanted Aveda to be—really organic certified. I started all over again.”

Aveda’s global president, Dominique Conseil, credits Rechelbacher for inspiring so many to live more balanced lives – and leading Aveda to become a lifestyle and global movement. He pioneered environmental responsibility – and under his leadership, Aveda became the first business to endorse the Valdes/Ceres principles, back in 1989.

In the tribute posted on Aveda’s website, Conseil says:

“At Aveda we will be forever grateful to Horst for the passion we are honored to live everyday. Thank you, Horst, we love you.”

Rechelbacher is survived by his wife, Kiran Stordalen, daughter Nicole Thomas and son Peter Rechelbacher.

Photo: Aveda Institute