Reese believes

Four tubes of lipstick every one second. That’s how much lipstick Avon sells in over 100 markets around the world.

And five brands of Avon lipstick are worn by Oscar award-winning actress Reese Witherspoon, who got engaged last year to Hollywood agent Jim Toth. Throughout her three years as Avon global ambassador, she has endorsed Megaimpact, 24k Gold, Glazewear, and Smooth Minerals lipsticks, among other Avon products.

The company for women, headed by another role model, Avon chairwoman and CEO Andrea Jung, is marking its 125th anniversary this year, which kicked off its yearlong celebration on Wednesday in Atlanta, Georgia, with Witherspoon and Jung. 

Avon launched its 16-city Avon Believe World Tour, celebrating women’s empowerment and committing $1 million to support domestic violence shelters and agencies in the chosen 16 cities, which are Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, London, Istanbul, New York, Chicago, Mexico City, Warsaw, Moscow, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Manila, Shanghai, New Delhi, Johannesburg, and Manila.

The tour will be in Manila with Andrea Jung on Aug. 2 and part of the $1 million commitment is going to an NGO in the Philippines that supports women.

Hours before Reese went out to launch the Believe World Tour, we were on a phone conference with her along with Avon executives in Manila, New York and India, to ask her about her advocacies, raising her children Ava and Deacon, and meeting women all over the world. 

“It’s always been very busy,” says Avon global ambassador Reese Witherspoon with a laugh when asked how she was going to divide her time. “Being a working mother and trying to do different kinds of work to give back to the communities that support my work — it’s a great balance. I’m very lucky in my life to have an incredible support system with my children. My work is very important to me and I think it’s also important for my children to see that it’s our responsibility to give to each other, to take care of each other as a global community. My children are very proud of the work I do with Avon. There’s a great sense of pride in my family.”

Women on top: Avon chairman and CEO Andrea Jung and Reese Witherspoon talk about how women can help other women stop domestic violence and support breast cancer efforts around the world.

Reese says she’s going to be very involved with Avon’s Believe Tour and its 125th anniversary celebrations. “I’ve been with the company for the past three years and it’s been an incredible opportunity for me to visit women all over the world and see the incredible impact Avon has had on individual women’s lives and their communities throughout the world.”

There are 6.2 million Avon representatives around the world and it’s no exaggeration to say that each lipstick — or lotion or mascara — they sell is a step towards their financial empowerment.

Reese has given her all-out support to issues such as breast cancer awareness and domestic violence.

“Through my work with Avon Foundation, it’s become apparent to me how prevalent domestic violence is throughout the world,” she says. “When you talk about a statistic of one in three women affected by domestic violence, you’re talking about an epidemic that’s touching everyone’s lives. Absolutely, as a celebrity I’ve been educated and also it’s touched my own life through friends and personal experiences. I don’t think there’s a woman on earth that hasn’t had an experience with domestic violence — either experiencing it themselves, or their friends, mothers, or family members. It’s been a great opportunity to work on education, on domestic violence programs and helping various shelters and creating different legislation to end it.”

Reese believes that education starts at home — and it starts with your own children, talking to them about respect for women at a young age or, as she puts it, before that age when they want to “leave home and start hanging out with their peers.”

“It’s important to instill in children respect for women. As a woman, it’s important to seek out a partner that respects you.”

Asked about her personal heroes, Reese says it’s her mom and grandmother “who worked closely together in raising my brother and me. I have a lot of respect for both of them.” Also, women with “a great work ethic.” 

“Women in the Avon Foundation are incredibly inspiring in their commitment to change people’s lives. I’ve had the great honor of meeting Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton — these women are very inspiring in their work in ending domestic violence.”

Being involved in women’s issues has also influenced Reese’s career. “Traveling the world with Avon has really opened up my eyes to lots of different experiences and as an artist that always influences your work. I’d never been to South America before and now I have a better understanding of that culture and want to explore it in my work. Every experience that you have, with travel and getting to know different women, makes you want to sort of express that in your own creative way. Absolutely, as an artist, my work is influenced by my work with Avon.”

Another issue that’s close to Reese’s heart is breast cancer.

“Avon Foundation has been doing incredible work in helping raise awareness of breast cancer, from screening to helping women get the proper medical care from the very beginning. Early detection is one of the greatest prevention in breast cancer. There’s a lot of research being done, a lot of support and funding of different centers around the world. And also just creating opportunities through the many women around the world to talk about breast cancer and how important it is to get screening.”  

She has traveled to Japan, Brazil, London and throughout the US to talk about breast cancer. She has also participated in Avon’s breast cancer walks throughout the US to raise money. There’s also a range of products developed by Avon to raise funds for breast cancer prevention.

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Another highlight of Avon’s celebration is Avon Voices, an online singing contest for women, and songwriting competition for men and woman. The panel of judges include Fergie, Diane Warren and Lea Salonga. Deadline for uploading your video is Feb. 13. Log on to www.avonvoices.com for details of the contest.