You Voted! Garnier to Donate $100,000 to Clean Water Charities

NEW YORK, June 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Garnier announced today that it will donate $100,000 to clean water charities. The donation marks the culmination of an online program in which Garnier asked consumers to vote for the environmental cause they care about most passionately. Clean Water was the program's clear winner, receiving 52% of the votes, followed by Recycling and Sustainability with 36% of the votes, and Urban Greening with 12% of the votes.

The donation is part of a larger Garnier partnership with EarthShare established in 2010 to proudly support and promote a cleaner, greener future. The donation will be awarded to three deserving EarthShare member charities - American Rivers, Oceana and the Surfrider Foundation - that work to protect public health, rivers and marine environments for the benefit of communities, wildlife and nature. Here's a look at how each group is planning to put their winnings to work for cleaner, safer water:

Surfrider Foundation will direct the funds toward their water quality-focused programs: Ocean Friendly Gardens, Know Your H2O, and Blue Water Task Force. The Ocean Friendly Gardens program educates and assists people in applying conservation, permeability and retention to their landscapes to revive watersheds and oceans. Know Your H2O educates consumers about the link between freshwater management issues and the impact on our oceans. The Blue Water Task Force is a volunteer-run water testing, education and advocacy program for water quality.

For more information, visit www.surfrider.org

Oceana will use Garnier's donation to support its global ocean protection work, including protecting the pristine waters of southern Patagonia by preventing the expansion of Chile's aquaculture industry, and preventing expanded oil exploration and drilling off the coasts of the U.S., Europe and Belize. For more information, visit www.oceana.org

American Rivers will apply Garnier's support to protect and restore the nation's rivers for communities across America through various conservation and volunteer programs, including National River Cleanup™. For more information, visit www.AmericanRivers.org

"We are proud to support charities that commit to the good health and greening of communities everywhere," says Michelle Ryan, Assistant Vice President of Sustainability, Garnier. "This program is just one small way we're honoring causes within the community that we all care about."

To learn more about Garnier's continuing support of sustainability efforts, visit www.garnier.com.

About Garnier:

Garnier believes in beauty through nature. Scientifically developed with selected natural ingredients, our products help you look healthy and feel better every day. Established in Paris at the turn of the 20th century, Garnier is the #1 beauty brand in France and a trusted leader throughout Europe, Asia, Canada and Mexico. Dedicated to providing a new vision for health with high quality beauty products, Garnier also provides a wide range of hair care, skin care and sun care products throughout the world. For more information, visit www.garnier.com.

About EarthShare:

EarthShare has worked for more than 20 years to connect people and organizations with effective ways to support the environmental causes they care about, primarily through workplace giving. Each year, EarthShare annually sustainable funding sources for its environmental and conservation member charities, and delivers volunteer opportunities, employee green team guidance, and educational tools to thousands of partners and supporters.  EarthShare's mission enables more than 400 charities to continue finding solutions to the critical environmental and sustainability issues we face as a society. One environment. One simple way to care for it.®  For more information, visit www.earthshare.org.

SOURCE Garnier