Embracing Care: 5 of the Best Ethical Beauty Brands

At Greenhouse, we’re big advocates for living sustainably – from cycling to work to choosing organic whenever possible. But how often do we stop to think about how what we put on our bodies is just as important as what we put in them?

The way our beauty products are sourced and produced can have a big impact on the planet. We strive to support brands that focus on using sustainable ingredients, reducing their environmental footprint and ensuring a fair wage for producers.

Here are our top 5 ethical beauty brands:

Neal’s Yard Remedies

Sustainability is part of Neal’s Yard Remedies’ DNA. Founded in 1981, they were one of the first beauty brands to be certified by the Soil Association and now make almost all of their products at their eco–factory in Dorset. This Earth Day, they celebrated 10 years of being Carbon Neutral, after becoming the UK’s first high street retailer to do so in 2008.

Sales of their Bee Lovely range have ensured 50 million bees will be supported by 2020. Local communities are also seeing benefits, with one third of donations going towards support for supplier development.

REN

REN Skincare use only recyclable containers, cartons and their filling material is 100% biodegradable.

As part of their new brand purpose, “Clean to skin. Clean to planet” they recently pledged a commitment to transition to zero waste by 2021. As part of the pledge, the brand will partner with the Surfrider Foundation and their UK affiliate Surfers Against Sewage to protect clean water and healthy, plastic-free beaches.

The Soap Co

The Soap Co is an ethical luxury brand, whose products are handcrafted in the UK by people who are blind, disabled or otherwise disadvantaged. They say, “Just like our design, our ethics are black and white.”

All products are made from natural botanicals, nourishing vitamins and pure essentials oils sourced from UK suppliers. The Soap Co also tick boxes when it comes to sustainability by using old milk bottles which have a 45% lower environmental impact than regular PET bottles. The film on the bottle is made from renewable wood pulp and the sticky labels used can be composted.

The Body Shop

One of the pioneers against animal testing, The Body Shop is now on a mission to become “the world’s most ethical and truly sustainable global business”. In an act of transparency, formulas and products are rated against four main environmental areas; biodegradability, water footprint, renewable ingredients and green chemistry ingredients. By 2020, the company has promised to:

• Build bio-bridge to protect and regenerate 75 million square meters of habitat helping communities to live more sustainably.
• Develop three sustainable packaging innovations.
• Power 100% of stores with renewable or carbon balance energy.
• Reduce the environmental footprint of store refurbishments.

Skin and Tonic

Skin and Tonic like to do things simply, honestly and ethically. We love that they use ingredients that are certified organic by The Soil Association and source from Fair Trade women’s co-operatives in Ghana. The women in this co-operative earn an income by collecting, processing and selling shea nuts, shea butter or coconuts. The income generated helps them provide an income for their families and send their children to school.

The brand uses 100% recyclable glass containers and will soon be providing refills to save on packaging – helping us all on a journey towards closing the loop!

At Greenhouse, we support a wide variety of organisations pioneering new standards of sustainability across multiple sectors. Whether it’s fashion, finance or farming, we’re always on the look-out for new opportunities to reach our clients’ target audiences. If you’ve got a great story and need our help to tell it, we’d love to hear from you.