How green is your beauty routine? 15 sustainable beauty brands recommended by an expert
Image: Karolina Grabowska at Pexels
Have you got to that point in your beauty routine when every twist of a lipstick or a droplet of oil makes you wonder how ethical your favourite beauty brand is? Have you? I did.
As a beauty journalist with over 25 years experience (okay, I’m in denial – actually 34 years and 12 books under my elasticated belt) I have contributed to many leading women’s lifestyle magazines and newspapers, but while I would mention leading cosmetic brands in my work, my personal passion has always been for genuinely greener, aromatherapeutic brands. Having always fought with a general grubbiness of beauty industry ethics (red lipstick is a shocker – try lip balm instead), I now make it my policy to only mention greener brands on social or in print. Yep, they’re the ones that don’t advertise much. They’re also the ones that are still as committed to their customers as they have been to the environment: cruelty-free, sometimes vegan, sustainably sourced, and the ones to trust. I mean, come on: it’s nearly 2022. The beauty business accounts for over £365 billion worldwide*, £27+ billion just in the UK, making us globally the seventh biggest cosmetics market on a pretty tiny island. Time to clean up our act.
Beauty journalist Jo GB
Truth is, it’s more of a grey area than green. ‘Greenwashing’ is the hottest phrase out there. It mainly refers to the notion that a company is more ethical and environmental than it is. Likewise, does your favourite brand sell in China? Rules are still shifting towards more cruelty-free cosmetics, however my gold standard continues to be that if the company has knowingly allowed its end product to be tested on animals for several years, it should be boycotted from the shopping basket.
As consumers we may desire to be greener, but in truth we buy and waste, too much. Our behaviour has to change. ‘Buy less, buy better’ must be our mantra. It’s not just the formula, it’s the packaging it comes in and the energy used in the journey. Recent research by Swiss beauty tech company Reduit has shown that the average household still uses up 24 plastic bottles of shower gel alone a year, yet 11% of us aren’t prepared to make the switch to more sustainable buying. However, that means potentially 89% are! Let’s use LESS product and cartons; be MORE happy with what Mother Nature bestowed; and ask informed questions before we checkout to minimise unnecessary product purchasing. Sure we’re not perfect, but we can be better.
Here are six super green heroes I trust and don’t need to live without:
CV Cha Vohtz Age Defy+ Cell Enrich Facial Oil, £36
From the ‘youth-boosting’ signature skincare created by Charlotte Vohtz, founder of Green People, this quality face oil with rosehip, pomegranate and blackseed extracts is 97% certified organic and vegan. Mixed with a dose of your favourite face cream, you’ve got one wonderful skin plumper morning or night.
Templespa Drift Away Aromatherapy Bath and Massage Oil, £26.
Heavenly scented aromatherapy bath or massage oil, I wear this calming blend of lavender, geranium, frankincense and chamomile essential oil as a fragrance and keep it on my desk to help me unwind.
Weleda Sage Deodorant, £10.50
Love this brand and ADORE this spray! At a time when I had an allergy to all underarm sprays that gave me a ‘hive-like’ itchy rash, it was the ONLY deodorant I could spray directly on my skin. Free from aluminium and synthetics, it’s a beautiful aroma of sage, rosemary and thyme and from a company that has long promoted cruelty-free and recycling.
Ayumi Turmeric & Shea Butter Body Lotion, £6.99.
Beautiful naturals inspired by the Indian art of Ayurveda, this lemongrass scented body butter is a family favourite thanks to its leaping bunny and Peta credentials.
Lily & Rabbit All Natural Artisan Soap in Nettle with Spearmint, £6.
This gentle yet beautifully scented face and body bar means there’s no need for plastics in the bathroom. I like the idea of using a hair shampoo bar too but they’re best suited to fine hair.
Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara, £24
Simply one of the best lifting, curling and defining mascaras in just one coat, this is actually the best-selling luxury mascara in America and is vegan-friendly. My daughters swear by it, too.
And eight more ethical brands I love: Faith in Nature, Evolve Skincare, Inika Organic, RMS, Ilia, Kjaer Weis, The Organic Pharmacy, and Dr Hauschka.
JO GB is an author and beauty & wellbeing writer and founder of Jo GB Living.
*Stat from retailgazette.co.uk
Eco-friendly favourites:
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Discussion (17 Comments)
Claire says:
Having ditched face creams, shampoos and shower gel for home made products. Which I love and reuse all my old glass jars for, next on the radar is make up and deodorant.
Corinne Clemson says:
Hi Claire, great to hear, can you share your recipe for a face cream please?
Katie Owen says:
Thank you so much for writing this piece, Jo, and to Alyson for sharing it with TNMA readers. We all need to think more about the products we buy and commit to consuming those that are environmentally-friendly and cruelty free. The Cruelty Free Kitty website – https://www.crueltyfreekitty.com/list-of-cruelty-free-brands/ – is a good source of information if readers want to find out more about cruelty-free brands. According to its founder Suzana Rose, a shocking 44 of the top 50 beauty brands fund animal testing. As consumers, we have the power to bring about change by boycotting these brands.
That is really shocking, Katie. Thanks for the link, I’ll definitely be checking out Cruelty Free Kitty.
Thank you Katie – I too am horrified by number of leading brand names (look to the parent company – if they’re involved in medical research too – SO many are – then the animal testing is pretty much guaranteed) who are SO huge they should be leading the issue with animals and the environment – not reaping the rewards for so long!
Sarah-Jane says:
Thanks for this article. I have endeavoured to shop “green” and cruelty free for years and am astonished at how few of my friends and family even consider these points when buying their make up and personal hygiene products. I no longer buy any of the Womens’ magazines I used to love, as most continue to promote brands that are sold in China or have excessive packaging. Please keep these articles coming – it’s great to get new recommendations of ethical brands.
I love Five Dot Botanics. Beautifully simple premise: 5 ingredients or less. When they’re only using that few ingredients, then they have to be great quality. The face oil in particular is delightful.
Mrs Tonia says:
Thanks to Jo and Alyson for pinpointing this topic and suggesting brands to use.
I like the french pharmacy brands. I’m a long-standing user of Caudalie products now reformulated to be vegan, in recycled containers. I recommend the Resverstrol night cream. Also products be Avene and REN called clean skincare.
I have discovered good inexpensive brands in local health food shop : the German Lavera brand, like the lip balms especially and Ukertram, a Danish brand for shower gels and body lotion. Holland and Barrett health food chain stock Faith in Nature and some others to try. I’ve also bought Elf products in Boots. Lip balm especially good ones.Hi and thank you for reading – there are so many brands trying to make a difference which is what we all need to help them work towards by buying better & making a better choice.
A good way to determine a brand’s true ethos is to look at who the parent company are & what are their ingrained ethics are. REN for example – a fab brand – is however now owned by Unilever who, due to the pharmacy arm of their business, are still not deemed cruelty-free. They are making huge inroads in publicity to be more sustainable in manufacturing and each strip is in the right direction. In addition, The
Humane Society International recently also announced that while P&G stopped animal testing on all of its finished beauty products years ago, industry suppliers still continue to test actual ingredients – a practice the company (along with many others) aims to stop by 2023. Let’s see where we are in 18 months – honesty & clarity must prevail x JoVery interesting to learn that REN has been bought up by a big company so despite their publicity material is not cruelty free for example. The European brands usually have the symbol for that plus Vegan, ecocert etc.
Clearly there’s a lot more to this topic than meets the eye. Thank you Jo for pointing out the research needed and not just getting swayed as I might be by the advertising campaigns.
Sofia says:
A bit late to this but I recommend UpCircle – it’s a South London based brand with some gorgeous products (I especially rate the orange coffee face scrub made with reused coffee grounds) and you can send your containers back to be refilled.
Fiona Wilkinson says:
Worth looking at http://www.counterculturestore.co.uk.
Website hosting a variety of ethical and sustainable products.
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There is an amazing skincare brand called wild sage. They are plastic free and their soaps and balms smell amazing and work really well. They are also reasonably priced. The arrangement balm has really helped my dry skin. They are a small ethical company thst produce in the UK and pay their staff a living wage.