Good On You just rated 239 beauty brands for their sustainable and ethical initiatives. These five brands and their clean beauty products were rated in the top 10.
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How can we shop for clean beauty products that are also great for the environment? Shopping for results-driven clean skincare is already a task in itself when searching for a serum, cream, or topical treatment that is right for your skincare concerns. Add on to that the task of shopping for sustainably-sourced ingredients and recyclable or compostable packaging and suddenly shopping for great skincare can seem overwhelming. Thankfully, databases like Good On You are doing some of the hard work for us- assessing skincare brands for their sustainable initiatives to share which ones are doing great, working towards improvement, and could use a little nudging to incentivize them to reduce their environmental impact.
Since 2015, Good On You has reviewed more than 6,000 brands, mostly in the fashion space, to help conscious consumers make informed shopping decisions. Using publicly available data, the platform assesses brands’ sustainable and ethical impacts. This month Good On You launched into the beauty space, reviewing 239 beauty brands.
Beauty Sustainability Scorecard
The demand for more information on beauty brands’ sustainable and ethical impacts has resulted in industry-wide changes. Some brands have built sustainability and clean ingredients into their business plan. Others have taken initiatives to reduce their impact and adopt reporting standards as a way of showing transparency. Two examples are Tata Harper, who started her eponymous luxury skincare line to offer results-driven skincare made from 100% natural ingredients and L’Occitane, a heritage French beauty brand that began offering take-back-programs to recycle packaging and more refillable products.
These are two examples of the sort of initiatives that Good On You looked at in its assessment. Other key areas are:
- Resource use and circularity
- Climate change: measuring emissions and implementing emissions reduction targets.
- Living wages and worker empowerment.
- Animal-derived ingredients and animal welfare and commitments.
- Refillable packaging and reducing packaging waste
Top Performing Brands
Good On You’s beauty ratings were based on an assessment of 42 key issues. The brands were then broken into two categories- large and small brands. Notably, smaller brands performed better across the board. However, with limited retail outlets, these brands are not always easily accessible to consumers. Looking at both lists, The Wellness Feed rounded up five brands that were in the top 10 for both large and small brands to share sustainable clean beauty products we can all feel good about supporting.
Tata Harper has been using sustainably-sourced 100% natural ingredients since it’s debut product. The brand offers a comprehensive ingredient glossary to learn more about what goes onto your skin.
Youth To The People scored 77, leading the pack when compared to large brands like Dr. Bonner and Garnier. Another brand focused on offering natural ingredients, the company is also active advocating for climate justice.
Youth To The People Superfruit Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser $39
Deciem scored 58 and got “It’s a start” for its efforts to use more responsible packaging materials (glass and recyclable paper) and responsibly source ingredients.
The Ordinary The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 Hydrating Serum $9.90
Aesop is a certified B Corporation and certified Cruelty Free International. It’s ingredients are sustainably sourced and packaging is made from recycled PET waste. Formulas are also refillable at its Australia locations.
Aveda is another B Corp brand certified for using plant-based ingredients and following strict protocols against animal cruelty. Since 1978, the brand has worked towards being a force for good and offering clean, plant-based hair and skincare products.