Having worked in the beauty industry for almost 15 years I am no stranger to the lure of a premium beauty product.
I spent years trying all the newest beauty brands and products. It’s easy to get caught up in the experience, theatre and drama of the world of beauty.
However, I came to the conclusion that beauty needs to enter the 21st century when it comes to sustainability. The majority of mainstream beauty product packaging does not get recycled and there are billions of products sold every year. Lots of brands use chemicals that are bad for our health and do we really know how ethical beauty sourcing is?
Hope is not lost!
There’s a new breed of beauty brand emerging, with minimal packaging, recycling programs, environmentally friendly formulas, who give back to society. These brands will help you have a more sustainable beauty routine.
Read on for a list of brands changing the course of sustainable beauty.
*B Corp certification and scores accurate as of publish date.
Sustainable Skincare Brands
- Teadora
- Ethique
- Beauty Counter
- The Body Shop
- Beauty Kitchen
- Sunday Reily
- Dr Hauschka
- Eminence
- SW Basics
- Prose
- Caldera + Lab
- Prima
- The Honest Company
- Aromatherapy Associates
Sustainable Make-up Brands
- Teadora
- Ethique
- Beauty Counter
- The Body Shop
- Dr Hauschka
- Prose
- Alima Pure
- The Honest Company
Sustainable Hair and Bodycare Brands
- Teadora
- Ethique
- Beauty Counter
- The Body Shop
- Dr Bronner’s
- Beauty Kitchen
- Sunday Reily
- Dr Hauschka
- Davines
- Captain Blankenship
- SW Basics
- Prose
- Prima
- The Honest Company
- Aromatherapy Associates
Ethique B Corp Certified Score 117
Ethique was founded 9 years ago by Brianne West, a trained biologist. Wanting to help minimise plastic in beauty she removed the water. This enabled her to create a 100% plastic free range of beauty bars. Now Ethique is one of the best known ethical beauty brands in the industry. They not only reduce plastic waste but also donate 20% of profits to charity. The beauty bars are vegan and certified cruelty free. They only use renewable ingredients and partner with offset earth. They stock over 40 products for face, body and hair.
Teadora B Corp Certified score 138
Teadora in portuguese means adores you. The founders passion for the amazon forest is where this brand began. They went on to create products that reflect the diversity of the rainforest. They want to ensure the forest is worth more standing than cut and work closely with small harvesting communities to source their active ingredients. A B Corp score of 138 speaks to the level of sustainability Teadora is working towards.
Dr Bronner B Corp Certified score 177
Family run Dr Bronner has been ranked in the top 10% of B Corp Certified brands across all areas. They are one of the best selling natural cosmetics brands in the USA and donate 33% of all profits to social and ecological projects. They support the Green New Deal. They also work with “smallholder farmers who use regenerative organic practices that drawdown atmospheric carbon” Find out more from their 2020 one report
The Body Shop B Corp Certified score 82
The Body Shop is a stalwart of the beauty industry and has been in business since 1976. One of the 1st beauty brands not to test on animals. Founded by a passionate ethical rights and environment supporter, the body shop has shaped ethical consumerism. Today they continue to sustainably source, fight animal testing, and support change for the climate crisis.
Beauty Kitchen B Corp Certified score 139
Started in 2014 by Jo and her husband Stuart. Jo is a chemist, botanist and sustainability expert. Her expertise is reflected in Beauty Kitchen’s B Corp score. Their products are designed to function in a closed loop system for beauty products. This means packaging is returned, cleaned and reused. Over 95% of their range is vegan. And they donate 2% of sales to charity partners including the Plastic Soup Foundation.
Davines Group B Corp Certified score 117
Davines has a long history in haircare, they started in 1983 supplying cosmetics companies. Their aim is to merge cutting edge chemistry with respect for the environment to create sustainable beauty. They align their goals with the sustainable development goals defined in the UN agenda 2030. Results are monitored and transparent for you to see in their annual sustainability report.
The Beauty Counter B Corp Certified score 94
Central to The Beauty Counters philosophy is clean ingredients. They are exceptionally transparent with their ingredients and go beyond regulatory standards. They work with the Chemical Footprint Project to certify ingredients are safe and do not test on animals. They are also transparent about their sustainability, printing measurable targets such as being carbon neutral by 2030. You can read their mission report here.
Aromatherapy Associates B Corp Certified score 83
Founded by 2 aromatherapists, Aromatherapy Associates supports wellbeing. They have reduced their use of virgin plastic and use recycled or recyclable materials where possible. Cartons are from fsc certified sustainable forests and their office uses 100% renewable energy. They also donate to charities including Defence against cancer foundation and Mind.
The Honest Company B Corp Certified score 107
Founded by Jesica Alba the Honest Company is careful with ingredient selection. They manufacture a wide range of products including baby and cleaning. They donate to various charities such as March of Dimes. And try to eliminate materials of concern in their packaging.
Caldera + Lab B Corp Certified score 92
Caldera + Lab is a high performance men’s skincare brand. Not only B Corp Certified but also been audited by ECOCERT, Made Safe and Leaping Bunny. The range is 95% recyclable. Ingredients are wild and sustainably harvested. 2% of their revenue is donated to non profits. And they chose suppliers with their own sustainability initiatives.
Prima B Corp Certified score 87
Prima supports an “uprising rooted in hemp, heart and real science”. Prima are climate neutral certified and offset more carbon than they use. They evaluate and audit their supply chain partners. Their products are clean from a large list of chemicals and toxins, you can even look up your batch code online to see the analysis certificate. They also donate 1% to charity.
Captain Blankenship B Corp Certified score 84
Captain Blankenship is a small company run by women. Their hair and body products are organic and domestically grown if possible. They work directly with the farmers and co operatives. They are certified by Leaping Bunny and they donate 1% of annual sales.
Dr Hauschka B Corp Certified score 80
As a foundation owned company Dr Hauschka doesn’t have to satisfy shareholders. They choose to invest in their ingredients, staff and sustainable growing projects around the world. They biodynamically cultivate where possible under fair trade conditions. They conserve resources where possible. Click here to read more about their environmental policy.
Prose B Corp Certified score 84
Prose is a custom hair care brand focused on your individual requirements. Prose is transparent about where they are, and where they want to go sustainably. They detail their carbon footprint and offset to be carbon neutral. They use ethically gathered and natural ingredients. And use their platform to advocate for various charities and causes.
Eminence B Corp Certified score 83
Organic skincare brand Eminence has always used sustainable farming practices to create natural, organic and biodynamic products.Their farms are powered by wind and solar energy and planting and harvesting is manual to reduce their emissions. Packaging is FSC certified. They also support various charities including Breast Cancer Research and Make a Wish.
Sunday Reily B Corp Certified score 80
Sunday Reily uses active ingredients with science based formulations. They only work with manufacturers and suppliers who have fair working hours and pay. All products are vegetarian and most are vegan. They offset carbon by purchasing carbon credits and use energy efficient shipping. And also donate to various charities including Friends for Life.
Alima Pure B Corp Certified score 80
Alima Pure is a natural cosmetics brand using non toxic ingredients. They are members of 1% for the planet donating 1% of sales to grass roots projects. They offset any carbon emissions with the carbon fund. They also participate in a green source renewable energy program.
SW Basics B Corp Certified score 80
SW Basics are focused on minimal ingredients. All products have less than 5 and some even just have one ingredient! Less ingredients means a lower environmental impact and less chance for irritation.
We hope you found our sustainable beauty guide useful.
To find out more about sustainable living click here.
