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CHARITY SPOTLIGHT THE BEAUTY
OF GIVING BACK
When it comes to corporate philanthropy, there are businesses that talk the talk but don’t exactly, as the saying goes, walk the walk.
BY KAREN ANN LOVE
Then there are businesses like The Estée Lauder Companies, where giving back is ingrained in its very corporate fiber.
Indeed, the company’s eponymous founder, Estée Lauder (born Jose- phine Esther Mentzer), was known
for her giving sprit—even from a very young age. In fact, when Estée was
just a senior at Newton High School
in Elmhurst, Queens, she generous-
ly distributed to her classmates free samples of the Super Rich All-Pur- pose Creme developed by her uncle, who was the owner of a company that made beauty products. When she was a young mother trying to launch her own skin-product line from her kitch- en, she gave free facials using her own products to customers waiting for their hair to dry at the Upper West Side House of the Ash Blondes salon. And of course, who could forget what Mrs. Lauder called the “sales technique of the century”—how she routinely gave away free samples of her company’s products in order to induce customers to buy more. It should also come as no surprise that Estée Lauder gave her two sons—businessmen and philan- thropists Leonard and Ronald Laud- er—her philanthropic ideals.
Today, The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC), which was founded in 1946
by Estée and Joseph Lauder, is one
of the world’s leading manufacturers, marketers, and sellers of quality skin- care, makeup, fragrance, and hair-care products. Their products—sold in approximately 150 countries and terri- tories—include brand names found in almost every powder room, handbag, and makeup case around the world, including Estée Lauder, Clinique, Origins, MAC, Bobbi Brown, La Mer, Aveda, Jo Malone London, and Aerin.
Guided by the Lauder family’s values and spirit of giving back, over the years ELC has made contributions to support the well-being of its global communities, including monetary and in-kind donations. ELC was one of the first companies to announce, during
Mrs. Estée Lauder at the Estée Lauder counter at Sakowitz & Company in Houston, Texas, 1951
with Conservation International to support Indigenous women and their communities and to conserve forests and biodiversity, with Co-Impact
Clinique
With its 75-year legacy of putting its
”When you think of La Mer, you can’t values into action, ELC not only help but think of the picture-perfect
the early days of the COVID-19 pan- demic, that it would switch production lines to help make hand sanitizer for frontline relief workers, and that it was donating two million surgical masks for frontline relief workers in New York City. These critical and generous steps led other companies to follow suit.
to champion gender equality and women’s leadership, and with Stu- dent Leadership Network to provide equitable education opportunities and college support for girls from unrep- resented communities. ELCCF has also long supported girls’ education initiatives to provide girls with access to quality education and skills to bring about change for themselves, their families, and their communities.
in 1992 with the launch of the iconic Pink Ribbon campaign; its global mission was to create a breast cancer– free world for all. Today, the Breast Cancer Campaign is The Estée Lauder Companies’ largest corporate socially impactful program. Through the col- lective efforts of its employees, con- sumers, and partners, the campaign supports more than 60 organizations worldwide. Together, the Breast Can- cer Campaign and The Estée Lauder Companies Charitable Foundation have funded more than $108 million for lifesaving global research, educa- tion, and medical services—with more than $86 million funding medical research grants through the Breast Cancer Research Foundation® (BCRF). BCRF is dedicated to ad- vancing the world’s most promising research to eradicate breast cancer.
La Mer
And how could any discussion of
ELC’s charitable initiatives be com-
plete without mentioning the trailblaz-
ing MAC Viva Glam campaign, which
has been championed by Mary J. Blige,
Lady Gaga, Elton John, and Miley
Cyrus over the years, with 100 percent
of the selling price of Viva Glam lip
products going toward the funding
of HIV/AIDS programs around the
world. Founded in 1994 at the height
o“f the HIV epidemic, Viva Glam has the color-coded three-step skincare
talks the talk, but walks the walk...
raised well over $500 million for the global fight against HIV/AIDS. Viva Glam also took action during the early days of the pandemic, donating $10 million to 250 organizations providing essential needs and services to people at higher risk. This article highlights some of the other recent philanthropic initiatives of ELC, its brands, and its corporate foundation.
The Estée Lauder Companies Charitable Foundation
The mission of The Estée Lauder Companies Charitable Foundation (ELCCF) is to improve the well-being of diverse global communities, with equity at the center and an empha- sis on women and girls. Since 2016, ELCCF has launched and maintained many partnerships with organizations to advance this mission. For example, ELCCF has multiyear partnerships
skin of high-profile actresses and models who have sworn by the prod- uct for years. Acquired by The Estée Lauder Companies in 1995, La Mer is
system that has achieved cult-classic a leading global luxury skincare brand status over the years and the iconic known for its iconic Crème de la Mer
white Clinique lab coats donn
ed by moisturizer, serums, and lotions, as
its employees. Clinique was introduced well as other skincare and foundation
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You’ve seen it in department stores from as far back as you can remember:
in 1968—a time where skincare ingre- dients weren’t as regulated as they are today. Many other companies put in- gredients in their products that caused women to have adverse reactions. Clinique transformed the industry with its allergy-tested skincare and makeup products. Always at the forefront, in April 2020, Clinique was one of the first brands to donate over 50,000 skincare products as a thank you to the doctors and nurses in New York City’s hospitals.
The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Campaign
Leonard Lauder’s late wife, Evelyn H. Lauder, founded The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Campaign
products that are created around the original “Miracle Broth.”
But saving your skin isn’t the only thing La Mer does—the brand is committed to helping protect marine habitats across the globe through the La Mer Blue Hearts Oceans Fund.
Through charitable donations by the fund, La Mer strives to create ripples of good that lead to waves of change in hopes of ensuring a future with flour- ishing seas for generations to come.
With its 75-year legacy of putting its values into action, ELC not only talks the talk, but walks the walk—placing people, positive impact, and inclusivity at the heart of everything it does and making it a beauty-inspired, values- driven company. n
Photos courtesy of the Leonard A. Lauder ELC archives