Listen to the word “Green Cosmetics” and your brain would have said that we are talking about something healthy, organic, natural, Eco-Sustainable and Eco-Friendly. In other words the word “Green” has become synonymous to all those words mentioned above.
Table of Contents
- What are green Cosmetics?
- Why you should choose Eco-Friendly cosmetics?
- 10 Green Cosmetics Brand
- Conclusion
What are Green Cosmetics ?
There is a trick to how something identifies as Green Cosmetics or Eco-Friendly Cosmetics, because some corporations are using such big words only as a marketing gig and nothing else. I know you are confused and would be thinking “So how do we decide that if the product is “green” or not?”
Firstly there is no single answer to this question and secondly different countries in the world have different standards to specify a cosmetic product as “Green Cosmetics”. Here are few points that how as a consumer can do your own “Green Check”:
- Formulation contains ingredients must be derived from
- Agricultural plants: For example soybeans and corn are used for emulsifiers.
- Natural Oils: For Example Palm and coconut are generally used to obtain alcohols.
- Bacteria: Used for aromatic ingredients and pigments.
- Check if the chemical present in the above mentioned products is not obtained artificially in a lab.
- The packaging is made up of compostable, biodegradable or recyclable material.
- The process used for the production in Eco-Friendly for example energy consumption and source, water consumption and how the waste was managed.
- It also includes the packaging in which the product is delivered at your footsteps. Like is the organization using the Styrofoam or a biodegradable Air Pillow?
Meanwhile there are some other points too, that one could take into consideration. Still you could call a product truly green if follows the points mentioned, but we are yet to reach that stage of Eco-Friendliness.
As, there are issues which involves factors like sourcing the materials and other economic constraints few products might not validate to all the points, but you can still call them “Green Cosmetics”. Remember as mentioned earlier that there is no single answer to this question.
Why you should choose Eco-Friendly cosmetics ?
It doesn’t take much to order a product online or similarly pick one from the market. Have you ever thought about the process involved in order to make a product and similarly affects of these on the environment?
This might not be an important question few years ago, but all that has changed now.
The consumer is conscious about how the ingredients are sourced or is it cruelty free etc. For example the natural makeup industry takes such issues into consideration from sourcing cruelty free ingredients to opt for reusable packaging. Therefore these products are there to mitigate the damage caused to the environment.
Here is a list about why Green Cosmetics should be your first choice:
Environmental Cause:
The way the synthetic and chemical ingredients used in traditional cosmetics leaves a negative trail of carbon-footprint. Just think of the plastic packaging used for almost all the products, which eventually is dumped into landfills or floats on the surface of the sea.
Better opt for such products which are not only sourcing the ingredients ethically, but also using compostable, reusable and recyclable packaging. Just imagine how much positive impact would it be on the environment, given the quantity of cosmetics used.
Health Care:
Today we all are aware about how the petrochemicals and parabens used in traditional cosmetics can cause severe health issues. As a result of using them some invites headaches, eye damage, premature aging, moreover recent studies even relate them to serious conditions like cancer, weak immune system, diabetes and allergies.
Toxic Free:
How can we heal our body by applying more toxic products? Though these products might give some result for short span of time, but in longer run they don’t work. Use of natural ingredients like aloe vera, coconut oil, turmeric will not only heal you from outside, but inside as well.
10 Green Cosmetics Brand
With so much confusion it gets hard to find the right product and to provide you some clarity here are few companies which are really putting in the effort into the Green Cosmetics industry. In order to bring you the best natural and organic makeup brands.
Antonym Cosmetics
It was founded by a professional makeup artist from Miami, Florida Valerie (Val) Giraud. The vegan brand has reached the shores of Hollywood and is becoming a major name day by day.
One of the main reason behind such success is the commitment to their promises they have made to the nature and its quite evident because of the various certifications the brand has.
For example few certifications the brand has are as follows ECOCERT Certified (products are made with all natural and/or organic makeup ingredients), FSC certified, Leaping Bunny certified, Our brushes.
Visit them at: https://www.antonymcosmetics.com/
Aether Beauty
Have you ever heard about crystal infused eye shadow? This Green Cosmetics vegan brand does that and it works for them too. The paper based palette is nearly completely recyclable.
Visit them at: https://aetherbeautyco.com/
RMS
This is one of the most popular brand in the list. The ingredients used are organic and toxic-free and this also includes the packaging. Also, they are completely dependent upon wind power for the energy. It’s available on Dermstore, Sephora and Amazon.
Axiology
This luxury lipstick brand is “100% Evil Free”. The lipstick tube is made from recyclable aluminium and the packaging is made up of recyclable trash in Bali. They’re certified by PETA as being cruelty-free and completely vegan.
Visit them at: https://axiologybeauty.com/
Kjaer Weis
The eye makeup specialist was started by a makeup artist who has worked with fashion magazines like Vogue, Marie Claire and Elle. The metal containers are refillable and the rest of product is made from natural and organic ingredients
Visit them at: https://kjaerweis.com/
Tata Harper
The Vermont based Green Cosmetics brand uses glass for majority if its packing. The outer packaging is made from recycled waste of cardboard. The vegan brand is ECOCERT certified.
Visit them at: https://global.tataharperskincare.com/
Ilia
Though the brand uses plastic, their take-back program makes them one of a kind. They not only help you to recycle their brand containers, but they take in other brands as well.
Visit them at: https://iliabeauty.com/
Elate
This Canadian based company is pretty popular among the Eco-Friendly community and it covers a wide range of cosmetics. They are cruelty-free and PETA certified vegan. The brand believes in giving back to the community and it do so by donating to social and environmental non-profit organizations.
Visit them at: https://elatebeauty.com/
Fat and the Moon
This historic Green Cosmetics brand comes from a family legacy of herbalists and natural healers. Therefore you can be assured about the Eco-Friendliness of the product. One impressive thing about the brand is that the products are hand-made and fresh, as they believe that body products are there to live forever.
The products are wrapped in tin and the packaging used is also re-usable. All the ingredients are sourced ethically and cruelty-free. They are not completely vegan though, as they use beeswax for some products, but this should not be a turnoff because with their background they have impacted the industry positively and have made a name for themselves.
Visit them at: https://www.fatandthemoon.com/
Lush Cosmetics:
Lush offers a wide variety when it comes to the Green Cosmetics. Most importantly the brand is a firm supporter of environmental causes from a long time. However what could be the turnoff here is the use of sulfate SLS (used in safe quantity) and palm oil.
Don’t say no to the product just yet, as they are doing great in the packaging front. They use black pots for packaging and recycle it for you too; even they have range of products which are “package free”. They also have a vegan line of cosmetics; I think the idea here is to cater a wide range of consumers.
Visit them at: https://lush.com/
Conclusion
Some of these Green Cosmetics brands have been there for a while and some have made a powerful entry into the Eco-Friendly world recently. There are more than 100’s of Eco-Friendly and Green Cosmetics brands and fortunately the numbers are increasing.
Such competition will push other brands to up their game. You might encounter products which are not winning in all the directions, but show them some love as it help them to improve.
The Eco-Friendly lifestyle need not to stop at cosmetics only. Here is a guide to 10 simple Eco-Friendly alternatives to replace plastic in your daily life.
