When it comes to caring for the planet, one of the most impactful things you can do is clean up your beauty routine! Research shows that cosmetic ingredients like synthetic fragrances and chemicals can sometimes end up in our water or soil, harming plants and animals and causing disruption to the natural ecosystems. Additionally, many companies still use a lot of packaging for their products, meaning excess plastic and paper waste.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that as more shoppers demand cleaner, safer and more sustainable products, many independent companies are stepping up to the plate and introducing more eco-friendly options. If you’ve been thinking about becoming a more conscious consumer, your personal care products are a perfect place to start. By opting for cruelty-free, vegan cosmetics made with better ingredients and more sustainable packaging, you’ll help preserve the planet and your skin. To help you get started, here are clean and conscious brands we love, that are leading the way, and changing the game with cleaner beauty products:

Róen Beauty

Róen Beauty is a brand that truly thinks on the next level. They may be known for their beautiful pigment-rich cosmetics but they’re also a company that cares about clean formulas. In recent years, they’ve eliminated the use of glitter - which is known to be harmful to the environment - and innovated their products utilizing low-toxicity ingredients like zinc stearate and responsibly sourced mica, which preserves the color payoff customers love, with no glitter needed.

Rahua

Rahua’s brand tagline is “Rainforest Grown Beauty'' and they are committed to giving back through numerous practices that support preservation of the Amazon rainforest. Water conservation, recyclable sustainable packaging, philanthropy, and community service are all part of their company mission. This popular line focuses on natural formulas for the hair and skin. All Rahua products are vegan, organic, sulfate-free, paraben-free and support indigenous economies.

Ilia Beauty

Ilia has built a reputation for creating clean skin-centric products that go viral; but they’re equally passionate about eco-friendly beauty. Ilia advocates for sustainability across the board, using only recycled aluminum and post-consumer recycled paper printed with vegetable-based dyes to package their iconic line.

SunKiss

Sun protection products are a very important part of any skincare routine. However, certain SPF ingredients have been found to be very harmful to marine life and flora. Enter: SunKiss, a luxury brand that is changing the sunscreen game by offering reef-friendly sun care products. They’re also striving to reduce their environmental impact by reducing packaging waste. Their reusable and refillable aluminum bottles are 100% recyclable and produced using only 5% of the energy expended for plastic packaging.

Moon Juice

This loved indie wellness beauty brand’s glass packaging is infinitely recyclable and reusable and the outer cartons are printed with eco-friendly veggie ink on FSC-certified paper. Going a step further, Moon Juice’s “Supers” glass bottles will transition to Beyond Green lids later this year. Instead of virgin plastic, these lids are made from a corn-based resin (PLA) and will fully break down in an industrial compost after 6 months, or your backyard compost after 1 year. 

Tagged: Beauty