Earth Day Rewind

Earth Day (and Earth Month) celebrations loom large in the personal care industry as brands highlight their green practices, packaging and products. Here’s a quick rundown of just a few of the marketing events tied into last month’s eco-centered day, which was April 22.

Origins partnered with Gavin DeGraw and Vanessa Carlton for the third annual Origins Rocks Earth Month, a free concert held in New York City on April 18. The Estée Lauder brand also produced concerts in Taipei on April 13 with co-headliners A-Lin and Alan Kao and in Berlin on April 12 with headliner Johannes Strate.The concert series furthers Origins’ Global Plant-A-Tree Program, as the brand will plant a tree on behalf of each concert attendee through American Forests’ Global ReLeaf.In addition, on April 22, customers were able to “trade in” any one of their existing skin care products, regardless of brand, for an Origins high-performance moisturizer for free.

With Phyto, consumers could help restore the endangered Atlantic Forest in Brazil by purchasing a limited edition Phytopolleine, the brand’s 100% essential oil scalp treatment that was launched to support The Nature Conservancy’s “Plant a Billion Trees” campaign. The limited edition scalp elixir, which retails for $32, is being be sold in a reusable and recyclable pouch at more than 750 salons throughout the US. For each unit sold, Phyto will contribute $) to The Nature Conservancy. Additionally, Phyto’s professional salon network will offer special in-salon treatment days to boost fundraising efforts throughout the remainder of 2012. Each treatment day will consist of complimentary hair and scalp analysis and hair and scalp treatments given by top Phyto experts and stylists.

Touted via an email blast to subscribers, Juice Beauty polled together four of its USDA-certified organic products, which are normally sold for $105, into one bundle for just $75, and offered free shipping.

But beauty brands aren’t the only ones to get active for Earth Day celebrations. P&G, for example, held its “Take a Load Off” campaign, which encouraged US consumers to switch to cold water laundry washing to help save energy and cut down on household utility costs. The Take a Load Off campaign was designed to motivate consumers to switch to cold water washing by showcasing the environmental benefits, promoting Tide laundry detergents specially formulated to provide a deep clean in cold temperatures and incentivizing the public to participate.

P&G also brought its cold water washing message to life through pop-up laundry lounges in Los Angeles on April 10 and New York City on April 18, which were hosted by actress and expectant mother Vanessa Lachey. In addition, it hosted a Facebook sweepstakes asking the public to wash in cold water for the chance to win prizes from P&G each week, including high-efficiency washer and dryer sets and Tide Coldwater detergent.