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If you’re looking to lead a more environmentally friendly life, one area you need to check in on stat is your skincare routine. The skincare industry is filled with products that use harsh chemicals and toxic ingredients, and also have excess or plastic packaging—all of which are harmful to our planet. In the last few years, more skincare and wellness brands have come into the industry using clean, cruelty-free ingredients, implementing more sustainable practises and being transparent with their customers. We’ve rounded up five skincare and wellness brands that will help you make a sustainable difference in your routines.

Herbivore

Instagram: @herbivorebotancials/@smearcrush

How the brand started

“Herbivore began with a simple idea: to make sustainably packaged, vegan, and natural skincare products the new normal,” says co-founder Alex Kummerow. “We started the brand with an initial fifty dollar investment—we did not have much money at the time—and hauled our first batch of soap off to the farmer’s market. Within a few months we had a full range of soaps but wanted to take the brand further. With a passion for research, plants, and making things with our hands, we quickly began to expand the range of products into facial skincare, bath, and body. We took a very DIY approach to the brand. My co-founder Julia [Wills] and I pretty much did it all ourselves for the first two years; we formulated the products, designed the packaging, took the photographs, ran the website, and communicated with customers. Once we started working with a few national retailers, it was time to expand our team, which allowed us to move the company out of the kitchen!”

How they’re incorporating sustainability into their products

From top to bottom, Herbivore is prioritizing sustainability. In terms of packaging, the brand uses post-consumer-recycled glass + plastic for their packaging (jars, bottles, etc.) and plans to be 100% virgin-plastic free lids by the end of 2022. They also screen print their product labels instead of using paper to make recycling a breeze (their paper is also FSC-certified for their minimal outside packaging). When possible, the brand formulates their products with upcycled ingredients has committed to using natural ingredients to ensure that the products are biocompatible with the earth and can break down in nature.

Herbivore also use their platforms to call for systemic change to protect our environment. Last year, they participated in the CodeRed4Climate pledge with over 115 beauty brands.

Key ingredients they use

“We truly believe in the power of plants to transform skin. Most of our formulas offer gentle yet effective plant versions of your favourite traditional skincare ingredients that are usually made synthetically in a lab.”

Some of the ingredients they love are:

Tremella Mushroom: Natural alternative to hyaluronic acid to hydrate + plump skin.

THD Vitamin C: Natural and gentle alternative to traditional vitamin C to brighten skin and improve dark spots.

Blue Tansy: Reduces redness and help clear breakouts.

Turmeric: Evens skin tone and boosts radiance.

Bakuchiol: Natural retinal alternative to smooth skin and reduce appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Youth to the People

Instagram: @youthtothepeople/@shades_of_glow

How the brand started

“Youth To The People was founded in 2015. Our family of women were at the heart and soul of the brand, beginning with our grandmother Eva, who was not only a pioneer in professional-grade skincare, but a dominant force in our lives,” says co-founders Greg Gonzalez and Joe Cloyes. “When our grandmother retired, she passed on the business and work ethic to our Aunt Lori and Greg’s mom Lisa, who are our mentors. Today, we continue our family’s legacy, which shapes our standard for innovation.”

How they’re incorporating sustainability into their products

“It starts with us. We created Youth To The People with the planet as one of our guiding pillars. Knowing that we only have one world to protect, we are committed to making the best and most sustainable choices for Youth To The People and the world—from our formulas, to our packaging, and those we choose to work and partner with.

We choose glass for our bottles and jars to help reduce the quantity of plastic waste created by the beauty industry and FSC certified paper for our boxes to help reduce landfill dependency and deforestation rates.

Our products are made in California, with our extracts being ethically and locally-sourced wherever possible. Our responsible, science–driven, vegan products are kind to the environment, and don’t cause harm once rinsed off.

Through our To The Planet Fund, we continue to partner with nonprofits working to mitigate climate change, who advocate for renewable energy, protect biodiversity, and support the communities most vulnerable to the warming of the planet. Our goal is to donate $1 million to nonprofit organizations working in the climate space through To The Planet fund by 2024. To The Planet Fund is part of our broader philanthropic effort, the Good To The People Funds, a family of three issue-focused Funds that will give $3 million by 2024 across their charitable causes: Climate, Human Rights, and Gender and Racial Equity.

Our actions now will affect our industry for years to come. Every step counts. Our goal: do better than yesterday, do better for tomorrow. We have one world to protect.”

Key ingredients they use

“Ingredients are our muse. We’re on a constant quest to find the latest superfoods in the world, praised for their exceptionally high level of antioxidants, vitamins and other skin-boosting nutrients. We push the boundaries of what they could accomplish in skincare, combining them with the latest proven science into intelligent formulas that not only benefit our customers’ skin health, but also the planet.  Our products support many skin goals.”

Some of their key superfood blends include:

Superfood Blend: Kale, Spinach, Green tea – Studies have shown spinach and green tea extracts to possess anti-inflammatory sebum-reducing properties, making these greens hero ingredients for all skin types.

Superleaf Blend: Yerba Mate, Guayusu – When used on the skin, they can help energize, depuff and have been shown to help visibly reduce the signs of photoaging over time.

Adaptogen Blend: Ashwagandha, Rhodiola, Reishi – When added to skincare routines, these antioxidant-rich herbs and mushrooms can help protect skin, visibly calm reactivity, and help it adapt to changing environments.

Superberry Blend: Acai, Goji, Maqui – Together, these antioxidant-dense and omega-rich berries help skin do its best reparative work at night while also working to visibly brighten skin.

Moon Juice

Instagram: @moonjuice/@serafina_l

How the brand started

“Moon Juice was born from Amanda Chantal Bacon’s own experience — putting an autoimmune condition into remission after being told it wasn’t possible. Amanda had sought out experts and educated herself on diet, lifestyle, spirit, herbs, and mushrooms.”

“I couldn’t get half of the things done in a day that I do if I didn’t have the support of the amazing plants called adaptogens,” says Bacon.

“Adaptogens, are super herbs and super mushrooms that help your body both heal from and ward off the damaging effects of stress. Stress is one of the most devastating aggressors to the body. It can overpower the immune system, shut down the metabolism, trigger pain, cloud the mind, kill the libido, hamper fertility, and cause feelings of overwhelm despair, and exhaustion. Oftentimes, stress stands in the way of our best efforts to take care of ourselves, whether through moving the body, preparing a healthy meal, or taking probiotics. Its effects can be dramatic and chronic, or devious and subtle. Either way, it derails our wellbeing.

When we talk about stress, we’re not just referring to things like deadlines or, bills or inboxes jammed with demands—or even more intense forms that stress takes, such as grief, overwhelming change, and pain (emotional or physical). We’re also including stressors that we have little or no control over, like pollutants in the air we breathe and water we drink, the amount of noise we experience, and even the artificial light in our environment. Adaptogens, as they’ve been used for thousands of years in healing traditions, defend you from this seemingly inevitable erosion.

Amanda’s life changed drastically when she started to incorporate their intelligence into her daily habits along with magnesium and b vitamins. The ease, simplicity, and joy of adding this next-level layer of health to her life is something she wants to share with people in these increasingly demanding times. These potent, safe natural correctives are great for hormonal imbalances, sleep issues, stress, hair health, and skin.”

How they’re incorporating sustainability into their products

“As a brand that is selling stuff, we take sustainability very seriously. We put a lot of time, attention, and energy behind it, but we won’t use broad strokes like ‘sustainable’ and ‘earth-friendly because they are really vague. We think it’s best to focus on tangible examples.

Moon Juice uses PLA for its supplement lids (a plastic alternative made from renewable plant sources), that will fully decompose over time, with all lids to be fully transitioned to a compostable plant-based material by 2023. [The brand’s] coveted Milk Cleanse is made from sustainable sugarcane, and all glass bottles are packaged in FSC-certified paper, and printed with eco-friendly veggie ink. Along with this, all the “Super” subscription refills come in 100% compostable pouches (using PLA), allowing you to refill your original bottle; this will help eliminate the use of thousands of glass bottles and lids per year. Finally, all of Moon Juice’s formulas are made with plant-based Ingredients & responsible sourcing. Moon Juice commits to strict criteria to protect natural environments through regenerative practices and wild-harvesting sustainably, extracting high potency vitamins from plants. Moon Juice monitors native plant populations, hand harvests with caution, and never formulates with endangered plants.”

Key ingredients they use

“Moon Juice formulas contain high concentrations of clinically proven ingredients, with plants being harvested at their peak potency and with all vitamins, minerals, and botanicals meeting the highest quality standards for purity.”

Some commonly used ingredients in Moon Juice’s products include:

Ashwagandha (mood root): Clinically shown to help regulate cortisol, reduce stress-related weight gain, help enhance focus and mental stamina, and reduce irritability.

Rhodiola (brain root): Helps reduce fatigue and increase alertness.

Shatavari (sex root): Supports healthy hormonal balance and enhances drive.

Amla (beauty berry): Clinically shown to help combat oxidative stress and support healthy cardiovascular function.

Silver Ear Mushroom: A hydrating super-mushroom that can hold up to 500 times its weight in water. Supports your skin barrier inside and out, promotes deep hydration and is a vegan source of Vitamin D.

Rainbo

Instagram: @rainbomushrooms

How they’re incorporating sustainability into their products

Beautycounter

Instagram: @beautycounter

How the brand started

“In 2006 I watched a documentary film called An Inconvenient Truth. It was a wake-up call for me. I started connecting the dots on how what was detrimental to the earth was likely also detrimental to human health,” says founder and executive chair Gregg Renfrew. “I began making sweeping changes in my own life and home – I could change out my plastic containers for glass, buy organic mattresses, clean my home with Seventh Generation products, but when it came to personal care and beauty products, I couldn’t find any that met my high standards for efficacy and also had ingredients that were safe for my health. I felt people were being asked to compromise one for the other.”

I started Beautycounter because I saw a void in the marketplace for a beauty brand as well as a movement – people deserve products that are both high-performing and made with ingredients that are safer for human and environmental health.”

How they’re incorporating sustainability into their products

“As the leader in clean beauty, our commitment to the environment is part of why we even exist, and it has never been stronger – we’re paving the way, leading the industry’s evolution. We are building on efforts that have been underway since we launched, as well as introducing commitments that raise the bar, including a commitment we made in 2020 to achieve 100% sustainable packaging by 2025, and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.

I am incredibly proud of the work we have already accomplished, whether to clean up the mica supply chain or to develop an innovative Packaging Scorecard that minimizes our environmental footprint. These are just two small examples, but we publish an annual Social Mission Report to provide a holistic update on a range of issues that impact both human and environmental health. It includes highlights related to our advocacy work that makes safer personal care products more accessible for everyone, as well as to our ingredient safety standards, our responsible sourcing, and our sustainable packaging.”

Key ingredients they use

“With over 100 products across skincare, body care, and colour cosmetics, we use various products that have all gone through our rigorous ingredient screening and testing to meet our high standards of safety. We’ve also worked hard to build a responsible sourcing program to continually address high risk ingredients including vanilla, mica and palm oil, all known to have issues within their supply chains. As an example, harvesting vanilla is an extremely labour-intensive process and the industry has been historically known for human rights issues, so we work with a women-owned supplier to source the highest quality ECOCERT-certified organic vanilla from Madagascar and also to improve the quality of life for their community of farmers. With mica – an ingredient widely used to create the shimmery glow we all know and love – we are the first beauty brand to have completed 100% on-the-ground audits of our trusted suppliers, and in 2020 we released an in-depth documentary as a Responsibly Sourced Mica Toolkit to share what we learned so that others in the industry could implement changes, too.”

Read more:
ELLE for the Earth
11 Clean Beauty and Wellness Staples to Give Your Routine a Boost
7 Ways to Make Your Beauty Routine More Sustainable