How To Buy Sustainable Beauty
Don’t know how to search for sustainable beauty brands?
Are you struggling to shop sustainable beauty products?
Can’t figure out what brands are (or are not) sustainable?
Then this post is a guide on how to do just that.
Shopping for sustainable and eco-friendly beauty can be a challenge because it’s hard to figure out what counts as sustainable.
Sustainability has become a ‘hot topic’ in the industry over the last couple of years, there are plenty of brands that will jump on the sustainable/organic/natural/eco beauty bandwagon when their actual stance is far from the truth. This is also known as greenwashing.
But how do you buy sustainable beauty? Well, this simple guide will explain how.
What is sustainable beauty?
To shop for sustainable beauty, it’s important to start off by understanding what the term means.
According to the Sustainable Beauty Network, sustainable beauty practices address the following practices:
Company assessment for carbon, energy, water and waste, environmental impacts
Development of overall strategic sustainability plan and mission
Reduction of energy and water usage
Waste reduction in company operations and/or manufacturing
Community outreach and involvement
Partnerships with nonprofit environmental organizations and other key stakeholders
Culture of sustainability within the organization
Sustainable purchasing & packaging practices
Green building design and facility improvements.
Implementing every single measure on this list is challenging and it takes a lot for a brand to do these things. However, by addressing at least several of these issues at once and taking a massive step in the right direction, a sustainable beauty brand is doing its bit for the environment as well as cementing its place in the eco-beauty industry.
Some beauty companies attach ‘eco’ or ‘sustainable’ labels to their brands for marketing purposes, which can be misleading for consumers. Just because a product is listed as ‘organic’ or ‘natural’ doesn’t mean it’s sustainable.
The Sustainable Beauty Network says, “In order for a product, business or brand to be truly sustainable all facets of sustainability must be addressed. In addition to using environmentally friendly ingredients, there are many dimensions to being sustainable. Are eco-friendly packaging and designs being used? How green are the internal operations, distribution and marketing practices? What is the level of involvement in community outreach and socially responsible programs?”
In the world of sustainable and eco beauty, it’s not enough to talk the talk - a brand has to walk the walk. In order for a beauty company or product to be truly sustainable and eco-friendly, it has to satisfy a series of sustainable principles.
How to buy sustainable beauty
First of all, start off by challenging the myths that surround sustainable beauty:
“Sustainable beauty products cost too much money.”
“Searching for sustainable beauty products takes up so much time.”
“It’s inconvenient to find sustainable beauty products.”
There are plenty of high-quality eco-beauty products that don’t cost the earth (literally) and are not too difficult to seek out. Thanks to the internet, it’s easy to find eco-beauty brands and retailers.
Sustainable retailers and brands include:
Content Beauty & Wellbeing
LoveLula
Green People Organic Lifestyle
Eco Beauty Crew
EcoBeauty Shop
Glow Organic Brighton
ZAO Makeup
100% Pure
INIKA
ILIA
Alima Pure
RMS Beauty
Juice Beauty
Au Naturale
Real Purity
Credo Beauty
Love Goodly
DermStore
Speaking of the internet, it’s an excellent go-to resource for information on sustainable beauty. You can find a variety of content - i.e. blog posts, articles, videos and guides - so you can easily equip yourself with all the information you need. After all, Google is free.
Here are some clean, green, organic, natural and eco beauty blogs you should read:
Wonderlusting
Living Pretty, Naturally
The Beauty Bank
The Organic Bunny
Organic Beauty Blogger
The Natural Beauty Workshop
The Green Product Junkie