Weleda

Weleda is a multinational company that produces both beauty products and naturopathic medicines. Both branches design their products based on anthroposophic principles, an alternative medicine which has heretofore not proved its effectiveness. The company takes its name from the German form of the name of the 1st-century Bructeri völva Veleda. As well as being known to use green energy, Weleda uses natural ingredients grown using biodynamic methods and none of their ingredients or products are tested on animals.[2]

Weleda AG
IndustryCosmetics
Founded1921 by Rudolf Steiner and Ita Wegman
FounderIta Wegman, Rudolf Steiner 
Headquarters
Arlesheim
,
Switzerland
Key people
Dr Aldo Ammendola (CRDO), Michael Brenner (CFO), Alois Mayer (COO), Nataliya Yarmolenko (CCO), Paul Mackay (President of the BOD)
Products
Revenue429,268,000 EUR (2019)
15,906,000 euro[1] (2019) 
Total assets277,955,000 euro[1] (2019) 
Number of employees
2,535 (2018)
Websitewww.weleda.com

Weleda Group is member of the Union for Ethical Biotrade (UEBT).[3][4][5]

History

1920–28: Founding

In 1920 Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher, and Ita Wegman, a Dutch gynecologist founded "Futurum AG", in Arlesheim, Switzerland, and "Der Kommende Tag AG" (an incorporated company with the mission of encouraging economic and spiritual values) in Stuttgart, Germany. In 1920 "Der Kommende Tag AG" acquired the former "Colonial-Werke Paul Rumpus" in Schwäbisch Gmünd. In 1921 the two companies merged for financial reasons, and the new company was registered as "Internationale Laboratorien und Klinisch-Therapeutisches Institut Arlesheim AG" but was commonly known as Weleda. On 10 December 1928, the company officially registered under the new name Weleda AG, and it is still known as such today.[6][7]

Anthroposophic medicine

Weleda bases its pharmaceutical products on Holistic medicine and Anthroposophic medicine, the company considers itself a "world-leading manufacturer of holistic natural cosmetics as well as pharmaceuticals for anthroposophical therapy"[8]. Anthroposophic medicine is a medicine inspired by the philosophy called Anthroposophy.

Products

Weleda is known as the historical and main producer of fermented white mistletoe extract (Viscum album), marketed under the name of Iscador. This treatment stems from a 1917 Steiner vision: «According to Rudolf Steiner, it is only through the appropriate blend of mistletoe summer and winter extracts that the mistletoe can deploy its "real healing power" on cancer».[9]

Sold as an anti-tumor, and widely used in the 1980s to cure different cancers in Switzerland and Germany (centers of Anthroposophic doctrine), its ineffectiveness has since been established and its use is not recommended by the Swiss Cancer Congress and the Swiss cancer league[10][11].

References
  1. http://media.weleda.de/epaper/gnb-2019-de/index.html#4; retrieved: 13 August 2020.
  2. "Ralph Heinisch". Bloomberg. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  3. "Weleda joins UEBT". befair. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  4. "With Weleda on board, UEBT targets further biodiversity growth". Cosmetics Design. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  5. "Weleda joins Union for Ethical BioTrade". NNA News. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  6. http://www.weleda.de/Unternehmen/UeberWeleda/Geschichte
  7. "Pickup Beauty". Thursday, 19 July 2018
  8. "who-we-are | Weleda UK". www.weleda.co.uk. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  9. Malet, Jean-Baptiste (July 2018). "L'anthroposophie, discrète multinationale de l'ésotérisme" [Anthroposophy, discreet multinational of esotericism]. Le Monde diplomatique (in French). 772: 16–17.
  10. Schraub, Simon (1987). La Magie et la Raison, Médecines parallèles, psychisme et cancer (in French). Calmann-Lévy. pp. 125-129.
  11. "Unconventional Cancer Treatments - Chapter 4: Herbal Treatments". Quackwatch. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
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