The 7 Best Sustainable & Clean Skincare Brands
From deodorant to lip balm to shampoo, we’ve found 7 sustainable skincare brands that are good for the planet and for your skin. Ditch your plastic bottles for earth-friendly, sustainable skincare that will have you looking your best without all the plastic packaging.
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Is your skincare routine sustainable? If you consider how many plastic bottles of face wash, plastic sticks of deodorant and plastic tubes of lotion that are piling up in our landfills, it can be mindboggling! Why not switch to sustainable skincare brands that have consciously created solutions to our plastic problem by using recyclable, biodegradable and compostable product packaging. Low waste and zero waste skincare products are a step in the right direction if you want to reduce plastic pollution and green up your bathroom routine.
It is possible to package products that traditionally come in a plastic bottle or tube, like deodorant or face serum, into paperboard tubes and glass jars. I’ve found 6 skincare companies that skip the plastic packaging and use alternative packaging that’s recyclable, biodegradable and/or compostable. These skincare brands also use clean ingredients so you won’t be unnecessarily exposed to harmful chemicals like parabens and synthetic fragrances.
What makes skincare sustainable? There is more than one way to add a green label to skincare products. Here are some things to consider when vetting a skincare brand for sustainable practices:
- Do they source sustainable ingredients?
- Is the manufacturing process eco-friendly?
- Is the Packaging recyclable, biodegradable or compostable?
- Does the company offer refillable options?
- Are any of the final products water-free?
- Is the overall environmental impact as minimal as possible?
Beyond skincare, the same questions can be asked about sustainable makeup.
From deodorant to lip balm to shampoo, we’ve found 7 sustainable skincare brands that are good for the planet and for your skin. Ditch your plastic bottles for earth-friendly, sustainable skincare that will have you looking your best without all the plastic packaging.
Attitude Plastic-Free Skincare
About Attitude Plastic-Free: Attitude Plastic-Free is based in Montreal Canada, and the products are made with natural, plant- and mineral-based ingredients that have the least impact on families and the planet. Attitude has a plastic-free product line that highlights sustainability and zero waste skincare.
Formulations: Attitude products use clean ingredients and are developed with EWG’s strictest standards in mind are free of cancer-causing chemicals, mutagens endocrine disruptors and other ingredients of concern. ECOLOGO® and PETA Certified, hypoallergenic, vegan and cruelty-free.
Sustainability: The Attitude Plastic-Free line uses FSC-certified cardboard packaging that’s made with recyclable cardboard and ecological inks and is designed to reduce single-use plastic waste in our daily routines. The Attitude Plastic-Free line features innovative packaging that is made entirely of biodegradable cardboard and aims to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic. All this is in line with Attitude’s long-term vision to reduce waste, recycle, reuse and reforest.
Giving Back: For every product sold, a tree is planted.
Plastic-Free Products: Shampoo Bar, Conditioner Bar, Lip Balm, Body Oil Stick, Sunscreen Stick, Body Soap Bar, Hand Soap Bar
For The Face: Attitude also has a line of plastic-free products that are geared toward facial care- Attitude Oceanly. This line of products includes face cleanser, face cream, eye cream, night cream, face serum, face scrub and face oil.
Shop: Attitude Plastic-Free
Typology
About Typology: This French company is an online-only, direct to customer model, which means they can sell premium products with the highest quality ingredients at a great price.
Formulations: They use the most essential, natural active ingredients that are sourced from sustainable farms using gentle extraction techniques.
Sustainability: They use flat glass bottles to help reduce their carbon footprint by optimizing shipping volume. They also use use aluminum tubes that are infinitely recyclable without ever losing quality. All of their shipping boxes, tissue paper and paper-based cases are FSC certified.
Giving Back: Typology founded the #BlackForGood movement, which gathers French and international brands, with the objective to bring an ethical dimension to the act of purchase. They are able to make substantial donations to charities and to raise public awareness.
Plastic-Free Products: Face serums, moisturizers, makeup remover, cleansers, toners, hydrolates, masks & scrubs, night care, eye contour
Shop: Typology
Meow Meow Tweet
About Meow Meow Tweet: Featuring mild, natural ingredients, Meow Meow Tweet is here with cruelty free, vegan, low waste skin care products that have a gentle impact on our world—and on sensitive skin. Ingredients like organic unrefined plant oils, clays, charcoal, and cold-pressed essential oils are here to revive and rejuvenate skin of any type.
Formulations: Made without preservatives and in small batches, all products are fresh and as close to nature’s intent as possible. Free from gluten or palm oil. Vegan and certified cruelty-free by Leaping Bunny.
Sustainability: Most Meow Meow Tweet products come in conscious packaging like glass bottles, compostable cardboard sticks, or aluminum with recycled, recyclable, and compostable boxes. Because some plastic is hard to avoid (spray nozzles or pumps, for instance), they have a program that takes back these plastic components to be recycled via TerraCycle.
Giving Back: Meow Meow Tweet partners with rePurpose Global to reduce, reuse, and offset their plastic use, making them plastic negative as well as Climate Neutral Certified.
Plastic-Free Products: Deodorant, Cleansing and Face Oils, Exfoliant Masks, Serums, Body Oils, Toners, Skin Creams, Sunscreens, Face Wash, Skin Balms, Face Soap
Shop: Meow Meow Tweet
Osea
About Osea: Osea is a woman-founded skin care brand with sustainability at the forefront and the ocean as an integral inspiration. They thoughtfully source their ingredients to ensure the ethical treatment of those involved in the harvesting process.
Formulations: vegan, cruelty-free, no synthetic ingredients that harm ecosystems, free of chemicals that are known or strongly suspected of causing cancer, mutation or birth defects. No artificial colors or dyes or questionable, synthetic ingredients. Their organic and sustainable ingredients are packaged in glass bottles which can be recycled, reused, and upcycled. They’ve eliminated synthetic ingredients that harm ecosystems, and they ship their products without the use of single-use plastics.
Sustainability: Most of the products are packaged in glass, but the body scrubs are packaged in PP plastic for safety. Use your local recycling if it accepts frosted or printed glass. If not, use TerraCycle to recycle the glass bottles.
Giving Back: Climate-neutral certified, Osea works with community and family operated collectives wherever possible, ensuring they support local economies and small businesses.
Plastic-free Products: Cleansers, Toning Mist, Serum, Moisturizer, Face Treatments, Body Care
Shop: Osea
Activist Skincare
About Activist Skincare: Activist Skincare is an artisanal line that is lovingly handcrafted in small batches in our studio-lab in Southern California. While creating incredible skincare products is our primary obsession, we are idealists at heart who look at every aspect of our business as an opportunity to be the change.
Formulations: Their products feature a blend of natural botanicals and science’s gentlest, most effective active ingredients, bringing you the best of both worlds while putting a strong focus on non-irritating formulas and avoiding chemicals that are toxic to our bodies and planet.
Sustainability: Activist Skincare ethically sources environmentally-sustainable ingredients and formulates pure and potent products without cheap fillers. They have high ethical standards for how they treat people and our planet. They seek sustainably-minded suppliers, prioritize women and people of color when selecting their partners and vendors, and treat their beloved customers with respect.
Giving Back: They are proud members of 1% for the Planet, and they’re committed to donating at least 1% of their annual sales revenue to environmental advocacy. (In some years they’ve been able to donate as much as 5%.) The donations help support many nonprofits working in a variety of important aspects of protecting our planet.
Plastic-Free Products: Botanical Cleansing Oil, Sea To Skin Cleansing Gel, Deep Moisture Cleansing Balm,, Healing Water Toning Mist, Precious Oils Active Infusion, Active Hydration Vitamin C+ Antioxidant Serum, Calming Force Clear Skin Serum, Avosol Tinted Mineral Sunscreen Stick
Shop: Activist Skincare
J & L Naturals
About J & L Naturals: This husband and wife team have a passion for nature and earth-friendly living. They focus only on natural, simple ingredients with no sneaky chemicals, no unnecessary fragrances and nothing else that shouldn’t be in products in the first place. Bonus – they’re star sellers on Etsy!
Formulations: Vegan, 100% natural, sustainable, gluten-free, cruelty-free, preservative free
Sustainability: Paperkraft and glass packaging. All orders are shipped carbon neutral and 100% plastic-free. Their in-house recycling program takes old empties and recycles them into new products.
Giving Back: J & L Naturals partners with TeamTrees and TeamSeas to give back in the following ways: for every set sold a tree is planted and for every 10 Instagram followers 1lb of Ocean Waste is removed.
Plastic-Free Products: Deodorant, Lip Balm, Face Salve, Muscle Rub, Aftershave, Shampoo Bar, Conditioner Rinse, Cleansing Bar, Bath Soak, Skin Serum, Hair Serum, Aftershave Serum
Shop: J & L Naturals
Fat And The Moon
About Fat and the Moon: Fat and the Moon is committed to the ongoing journey of sustainable, organic and local ingredients and low waste packaging. From consciously sourcing their ingredients, to the evolution of our low waste packaging, to the handcrafted way they make their products, to the inclusive, body affirming messaging, Fat and the Moon is a healing entity.
Formulations: Ingredients are sourced from farmers, humans and businesses that align with Earth First ethos and values. Ethically harvested, non-toxic, organically cultivated ingredients.
Sustainability: All of the packaging materials like paperboard, glass and aluminum are recyclable, reusable, or compostable. Their priority is to use reusable, recyclable containers, and to minimize superfluous packaging.
Giving Back: Fat and the Moon is committed to working with organizations and projects in their local and network community to bolster efforts for environmental and social justice.
Plastic-Free Products: Cream deodorant, Lip salve, Shampoo, Conditioner, Face Wash, Face Oil, Face Paste, Bath Soak, Spritz and Salt Mist, Dry Shampoo
Shop: Fat and the Moon
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