We aren’t oblivious to the fact that our beauty choices are causing irreversible damage to the environment. The last couple of years have been full of learnings for us, and caring for the environment is at the top of that list. According to Zero Waste Week, a UK-based waste reduction organisation, the global cosmetics industry is responsible for producing over 120 billion tonnes of waste every year! A number that will continue to grow if we don’t actively take steps to embrace conscious beauty.
While making a stark shift to ensure your beauty routine is sustainable may not work for everyone, it’s best to approach this with smaller steps. I have realised that researching about brands that are making efforts to be kinder to the environment can prove to be extremely fruitful. In the process, I came across a bunch of beauty brands doing their own bit to protect the environment.
Here are a few beauty brands that will help you make an easy switch to sustainability.
Purearth
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Slow skincare that brings you closer to the Earth, Purearth believes that skincare is skinfood. Their products are handmade in limited quantities at a zero-waste studio using only plant and mineral-based formulations. Not only do they give back to the environment but also to marginalised communities that assist them in ethical sourcing of their ingredients.
Ruby’s Organics
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India’s first organic makeup brand, Ruby’s Organics creates clean, pigmented and purposeful makeup products. My first ‘sustainable’ beauty purchase was their Creme Blush, which I loved using. With ingredients that are kind to your skin and the environment, all of Ruby’s Organics products are plant-based and contain bio-actives that help nourish the skin.
The Body Shop
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A beacon of sustainability right from its inception, The Body Shop has been a change-maker in the sustainability space. Not only are their products created with a minimal water footprint and are biodegradable, but they’re also sourced using Fair Trade practices! Additionally, The Body Shop also offers refills for most of their products—making them an ideal clean beauty pick.
L’Occitane
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This luxurious beauty brand offers a recycling program known as the ‘Big Little Things’ programme which encourages you to recycle your empties! Not just that, L’Occitane also has an option for its consumers to purchase refills of their favourite products rather than buying a new product altogether.
weDo/Professional
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Wella Professional’s cleaner segment, weDo/Professional is an eco-ethical haircare brand. From plastic-free packaging to fighting the battle against ocean waste, they have also partnered with Plastic Bank to remove eight plastic items from the ocean for every 1 weDo/Professional product purchased.
Aminu
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Using innovations of psycho-dermatology to deliver high-performance skincare which focuses on an ingredient-based approach, Aminu is a clean-beauty-first brand. By completely eliminating the use of single-use plastics and not compromising on the packaging, this beauty brand also ensures that its products don’t contain microplastics.
asa Beauty
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Luxury beauty made sustainable is what asa Beauty defines. Not only are their formulations clean, but they were the first ones to introduce the concept of refillable beauty by a homegrown brand. Essentially, all of their lipsticks, lip balms and face sticks offer you the option of purchasing a refill instead of a new product altogether.
Kama Ayurveda
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At the forefront of blending traditional Ayurvedic practices with modern, science-backed ingredients—Kama Ayurveda has a wide range of products available. From packaging to sourcing of ingredients and naturally formulating their products, they do it all!
Juicy Chemistry
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Formulated with natural ingredients only, Juicy Chemistry was one of the first beauty brands to walk the path of clean beauty. Constantly coming up with innovative products that target a variety of skincare concerns, this brand also uses packaging that is eco-friendly. Recently, they launched ‘Color Chemistry’, an ECOCERT-certified makeup line which promises you pigmented colours with nourishing, synthetic-free ingredients.
