Knowing our actions today will affect the quality of life for future generations, Mary Kay Inc. continuously seeks opportunities to improve our environmental performance and is striving to find ways to be even more sustainable and green.

In partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation and the U.S. Mary Kay independent sales force, Mary Kay Inc. will plant 100,000 trees in 2008 in the Bitterroot National Forest in Idaho and Montana under the guidance of the U.S. Forest Service.

According to the Arbor Day Foundation, “This effort will have everlasting impact on our environment. The trees planted as a result of this program will change the quality of life for future generations. They will clean the air we breathe and provide habitat for wildlife. They will also provide economic benefits.”

For more information about the Arbor Day Foundation, click here: www.arborday.org

1.

Just one shade tree can intercept up to 4,000 gallons of rainfall each year and reduce runoff of polluted storm water. (Source: USDA Forest Service)

2.

The net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to ten room-sized air conditioners operating 20 hours a day. (Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture)

3.

One acre of trees absorbs six tons of carbon dioxide and puts out four tons of oxygen. This is enough to meet the annual needs of 18 people. (Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture)

4.

One large tree can provide a day’s worth of oxygen for up to four people. (Source: Tree Canada Foundation)

5.

Nationally, the 60+ million street trees have an average value of $525 per tree. (Source: Management Information Services)

Economic Value of Trees

6.

Healthy, mature trees can add an average of 10 – 15 percent to a property’s value. (Source: USDA Forest Service)

7.

Trees properly placed around a building can reduce air conditioning needs by 30% and save 20-30% in energy used for heating. (Source: USDA Forest Service)

8.

Over a 50-year lifetime, one tree will:
  - generate $31,250 worth of oxygen
  - provide $62,000 worth of air pollution control
  - recycle $37,500 worth of water
  - control $31,250 worth of soil erosion
(Source: Michigan State University – Update Forestry)

Social Value of Trees

9.

Compared with apartment buildings that had little or no trees or vegetation, buildings with high levels of greenery had 52% fewer total crimes. (Source: Kuo and Sullivan – Environment and Behavior, 2001)

10.

Hospital patients have been shown to recover from surgery more quickly and require less pain medication when their room had a window that provided a view of trees. (Source: Researcher, Roger S. Ulrich)

11.

Living in a home surrounded by woods, meadows, or other natural settings can increase the attention capacities of children and generally improve their mental health. (Source: Cornell University)

12.

Social scientists have found that the more trees and grass in the common spaces of inner-city neighborhoods, the more those spaces are used by residents. (Source: University of Illinois at Urbanna-Champaign.)

Other Pink Doing Green^SM programs:

Mary Kay distribution centers in the U.S. do not use styrofoam packaging material when shipping orders. All Mary Kay orders will soon be shipped using packing materials made from corn and potato starch, two environmentally friendly, renewable resources.

The U.S. manufacturing facility sends all returned products containing alcohol and any alcohol waste products to a resource recovery facility which reclaims and distills the alcohol into fuel-grade ethanol, which is then used as an oxygenate for cleaner-burning gasoline. Since the program began in 2004, Mary Kay Inc. has recycled between 30 and 50 tons of alcohol each year, reducing our hazardous waste disposal by at least 25 percent.

In 2005 the Dallas manufacturing facility received the Blue Thumb Silver Award from the City of Dallas for its efforts in helping ensure safe drinking water for five consecutive years.

Mary Kay Inc. President and CEO David Holl is a member of the board of directors of The Nature Conservancy of Texas. Mary Kay Vice Chairman Dick Bartlett serves as an Honorary Trustee of The Nature Conservancy of Texas, a member of the board of the Nature Conservancy of New Mexico and a member of the board of The Nature Conservancy President’s Conservation Council. The Nature Conservancy of Texas is the state chapter of the nonprofit, international conservation organization. The mission of the organization is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.