American skincare and haircare brand Aveeno is a company that regularly relies on natural ingredients, in particular, colloidal oats. Aveeno is a brand of familiar and trusted calming and potent skincare products that was started in 1945 by two brothers, Albert and Sidney Musher. The Musher brothers created Aveeno initially, then in 1999, it joined Johnson & Johnson.
Johnson & Johnson’s consumer health segment was spun out in 2023 to become Kenvue, a new independent business. Along with other well-known brands, including Band-Aid, Neutrogena, and Tylenol, Kenvue currently owns Aveeno. Kenvue is a completely autonomous American consumer health company with its headquarters located in New Jersey.
The history and ownership of Aveeno
The American consumer health firm Kenvue is the owner of the Aveeno brand of skin and hair care products. The scientific name for the common oat, Avena sativa, which is a member of the Poaceae family, is where the word Aveeno originates. Initially produced as a division of S. C. Johnson and Son, Rydelle Laboratories, Aveeno was acquired by Johnson and Johnson in 1999, as the company dropped Rydell in 1989.
The baby care and skin relief body wash came into the market under the name Aveeno Baby and Aveeno Skin Relief Body Wash in 2001. The Positively Radiant line, which was based on the “Active Soy” ingredient, marked the brand’s entry into the facial care market in 2004. Aveeno Clear Complexion acne treatment was released in 2005, while Aveeno Ultra Calming followed in 2006. Aveeno Anti-Aging was released onto the market in 2007.
The Aveeno spokesperson, Jennifer Aniston, was revealed in January 2013. A spokesmodel and ‘face’ for Aveeno for many years, Daniella van Graas was replaced by her. According to reports, Aniston was paid “eight figures” for the part.
Following the discovery of the carcinogen benzene, parent firm Johnson & Johnson recalled a large number of Aveeno and Neutrogena aerosol spray sunscreens in the US in July 2021. According to the company, benzene is not utilized in the production of the sprays, and they have started looking into where the contamination came from.
Aveeno’s connection to Israel
There is no open evidence of Israeli government or company ownership of Kenvue; it is mostly owned by individual shareholders and institutional investors. The American ownership and historical Jewish founders of Aveeno do not equate to financial or political support for Israel.
This has rendered Aveeno almost zero corporate ownership and support of the Israeli state, thus becoming a brand that does not identify with Israel either in business or political terms. Aveeno has faced criticism alleging that it markets products with microbeads, which are tiny balls of plastic that are collected in the sewage treatment systems and usually released into the ocean. Johnson and Johnson had vowed to eliminate microbeads in its products by the year 2017.
What are the boycotts and consumer groups saying about Aveeno?
Generally, Aveeno is not usually a target of large boycott campaigns targeting companies that do business in Israel, like BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions). Rather, because of wider supply and political issues, calls for a boycott have been made against Johnson & Johnson, Aveeno’s parent company, until Kenvue’s spin-off. Since there is no concrete proof that Aveeno Baby goods are associated with Israeli sponsorship or collusion, they are regarded as boycott-safe.
Aveeno is frequently recommended as a substitute for companies more closely associated with Israel in boycott discussions on sites. However, geopolitical indifference is not the only motivation behind the boycott of Aveeno by various groups, such as the One Million Moms (who have no connection to Israel), due to the controversy surrounding Aveeno Kids’ advertising, which has sparked boycott activism without any apparent geopolitical foundation.
Overall, Aveeno is not a significant target of boycott organizations that support Palestine; in most cases, substitutes are already proposed to avoid Israeli-favored firms.
Understanding political affiliations and corporate ownership
Aveeno is a publicly traded American consumer health company owned by Kenvue Inc., which has a majorly institutional and highly diversified ownership structure. The substantial ones (approximately 99.8 per cent) are owned by the big shareholders, the large institutional shareholders such as State Street Corporation, Vanguard Group, T. Rowe Price, and BlackRock.
Firms such as Kenvue generally possess indirect political relationships that are based on the political contribution or lobbying of the company or its shareholders. Instead of engaging in direct political activity, Kenvue functions primarily as a consumer health organization that prioritizes product innovation and market expansion.
It has a board of directors that governs its public affairs, and its regulatory disclosure on its governance and political expenditures is compulsory. The ownership of a company by large institutional investors is often a demonstration of larger financial interests as opposed to political ones.
Although the executives and individual shareholders might hold varying political views, the ultimate objective of the company remains to gain maximum shareholder value and corporate performance without breaking moral and legal stipulations.
Vanguard Group, the parent company of Aveeno, Kenvue Inc., has almost all of its shares owned by large institutional investors such as T. Rowe Price, BlackRock, and State Street. Similar to the majority of publicly listed firms, the institutional financial interests significantly drive its ownership structure, but not overt political connections.
These firms do not own them, but in most cases, political relationships are set up via lobbying or political contributions. The Kenvue board of directors, which deals in consumer health goods, believes in ethical standards and legal disclosures. The top priority of the company is the business performance and the shareholder value, irrespective of the political beliefs of the individual shareholders.
Why might consumers care about Israel’s support in brands?
Several consumers desire to align their purchases with their political, religious, or ethical beliefs. Associating with firms that have ties to Israel or the Israeli government agenda is seen by some as a tacit support of once not agreed with policies or actions that they once did not agree with, especially the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the issue of occupation and human rights.
Another peaceful form of pressure on businesses to change their political and economic relationship with Israel is the boycotting of corporations that are considered to be pro-Israel. The customers are asserting their buying abilities to advocate for Palestinian rights and social justice concerns.
It affects the reputation and the status of a brand in supporting or disapproving of it because of its attitude towards Israel. Consumer trust, consumer loyalty, and sales may be impacted as a result of boycotts, reputational damage, as well as social media backlash on brands that are seen to support Israel.
The ethical and political dynamics have a significant influence on the choice of consumers, particularly in the market in which most of the population consists of Muslims and Arabs. The proactive campaigns require boycotts so as to change things. This kind of consumer activism is seen by some as a form of moral responsibility to avoid unwittingly condoning such practices as they consider to be unfair.
The political and social risks of corporations include protests, divestment campaigns, and the inability to access the market. These aspects underscore the role of consumer awareness of Israel support in corporate decisions and ethical buying behavior of corporations and other buying patterns across the world.
