The Best Eco-Friendly Beauty Brands To Support On Earth Day And Beyond

Can a beauty brand change the world? It might seem like rather a grandiose question – or even a rhetorical one – but at a time in which we need to pull all our efforts into saving the planet, it seems that the answer could be yes. There are a number of brands quietly working to ensure that from where they source their ingredients to what sort of packaging they use, every single step is considered and looks to enact real change in the beauty industry.

An Edelman study explored thus concept, finding that 65 per cent of consumers buy into brands that have beliefs which go beyond just selling, while 57 per cent avoid brands completely if they don't believe in its social or political stance. Brands that are socially responsible are seeing from their customers real engagement, brand loyalty and –ultimately – spending power. So, who are the brands leading the way, and how are they doing it?

Banishing Plastic

It’s no secret that the world is drowning in plastic, killing wildlife (100,000 marine mammals, turtles and a million sea birds are killed by plastic pollution every year) and punctuating peaceful beach walks with a certain sense of foreboding; no surprise considering there’s a horrifying 5.25 trillion bits of plastic already in our oceans.

Beauty brands, a lot of whom are guilty of packaging their products in plastic, now understand that having an eco conscience is as important as the formulations they put out to the world. TakeL’Occitane, which offers refill packs and an in-store recycling service for its products (Origins, The Body Shop and smaller brands like Montamonta do this too).

Saving The Oceans

Our oceans cover 71 per cent of the planet, so it’s really no wonder that they’re taking the brunt of global warming. A crusader among beauty brands, Ren Skincare has long worked to reduce its carbon footprint in the world, working with charities like the Surfrider Foundation and TerraCycle (a super innovative recycling company) to do so. Their SPF, the Clean Screen Mineral SPF30, £30 is possibly the cleanest sun block around, thanks to the ingredients it’s formulated without, not with – these include oxybenzone, octinoxate and avobenzone, three chemicals easily absorbed by marine life that cause DNA damage, stunt growth and bleach coral.

Haircare brand Aveda also partnered with charity: water, an organisation working to provide clean drinking water, hygiene and sanitation to those living in developing nations like India, Nepal and Madagascar this month. Then there’s Soaper Duper, a smaller brand established by Beauty Pie's Marcia Gilgore who have donated £150,000 to WaterAid. They also work to bring water and sanitation to the communities who need it most. Their motto is that soap can change the world because without clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene, it’s difficult to stay healthy; 315,000 children die each year from diarrhoea diseases caused by dirty water and poor toilets, and Soaper Duper’s donations to WaterAid help eliminate this. The Shea Butter Body Wash, £9.99, is a hero product.

Female Empowerment

Much like applying a favourite lipstick or a creamy moisturiser, beauty has the power not just to make us look good, but more notably to make us feel good, too. Nowhere is this truer than through partnerships between brands and communities that work together to empower the people – women – who live and work in them.

The Body Shop works to empower communities across the world with its Community Trade programme, which operates across 28 different countries where TBS sources its ingredients. In northern Ghana, for example, the company buys shea butter directly from the women who make it by hand, also paying them a premium in order to develop their local community. In a traditionally patriarchal society, this means the women finally have some independence – something which has payed dividends in the village. There is now a school, a clinic and clean, safe water access, all thanks to the skills and hard work of the women. Back in 2019, TBS launched its 100 per cent natural shea butter, £15, that has multiple uses. Add to your bath water, use as a hair mask or slather all over for maximum moisture. And know that you're providing the women who made it with a better life.

Then there’s everyone’s brow favourite, Benefit, whose Bold is Beautiful project has raised £1.4 million in the UK alone over the past six years. The project works with two charities, Refuge (which supports more than 6500 different people at any given moment who have suffered all kinds of abuse, including domestic, modern slavery and female genital mutilation) and Look Good Feel Better, an international cancer support charity that works to boost the physical and emotional wellbeing of those undergoing cancer treatment.

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