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April 22 is Earth Day – a day to raise awareness about environmental issues and support sustainable businesses that are good for the planet. While there are dozens of environmentally conscious fashion brands working to reduce their carbon footprint, the beauty world is also making great efforts to do better for Mother Earth by reducing (or eliminating) their plastic use, becoming refillable or taking back empties.
Enter some of the top clean beauty brands, many of which prioritize sustainability and health in their business ethos. While there are no definitive regulations governing the use of the term “clean,” clean beauty brands are generally free of controversial — and potentially harmful — ingredients such as parabens, phthalates, sulfates, and other endocrine disruptors that are banned in Europe. Many also offset their carbon footprint and reduce emissions by using recycled materials or partnering with companies like Pact, Nordstrom’s Beautycycle, and Terracycle to make it easier for customers to responsibly recycle empties.
While going clean may seem like a no-brainer for brands, the conscious step can be a costly journey due to several rounds of testing and product reformulations. influence. In other words, not all green leaf packaging is created equal. Whenever possible, always read and research the ingredients on your buzzy products to make sure they are right for you. (We did the heavy lifting this time.)
Related: The Hollywood ReporterSustainability issue: the time is now
From a makeup brand often featured in Alix Earle’s TikTok viral videos, to the influencer-owned skincare brand loved by jetsetters like Addison Rae, Jessica Alba, and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, to the groundbreaking haircare brand that makes you think about your shampoo and conditioner tubes, these are the clean beauty brands to support on Earth Day and beyond.
1. Kosas
While TikTokers have been obsessed with Kosas concealer for a while now, their just launched DreamBeam sunscreen is getting equal fanfare from tastemakers like Alix Earle, who recently dedicated one of her GRWM (“get ready with me”) videos to the product. Not only is this sunscreen vegan, cruelty-free, and free of gluten, mineral oil, talc, parabens, sulfates, and phthalates, but it also has a peach-pink tint that helps neutralize the natural bluish-white color of zinc oxide. Consider this the new first step in your makeup routine.
Kosas
2. Tower 28 Beauty
Tower 28 Beauty is known for its vegan, gluten- and cruelty-free products with rich pigments and fun packaging, and for being one of the few brands approved by the National Eczema Association. Their sensitive skin friendly lip and cheek cream blush is a great introduction to the brand as it is a multitasking tinted balm that comes in a variety of shades. Hailey Bieber and Khloe Kardashian are among the beauty-obsessed stars who have praised the brand.
Tower 28 Beauty Beach Please Lip + Cheek Cream Blush
3. Ilia
Ilia is a vegan, cruelty-free, gluten-free makeup brand that offers sustainably sourced packaging. Their multi-stick for lips and cheeks is great for on-the-go application as it can be applied to your cheeks for a natural flush or swept over your lips for the perfect colored shade. Fans of the brand include Vanessa Hudgens, Cindy Crawford, Kate Hudson and other stars.
Ilia
ILIA Multistick
4. Westman Workshop
Celebrity makeup artist (and Gwyneth Paltrow’s go-to beauty expert) Gucci Westman’s cult-favorite brand Westman Atelier creates must-have products that are as iconic as they are free of toxic ingredients. The brand’s fading fixer powder is talc-free and protects skin using ingredients like quinoa seed extract, vitamin C, and probiotics, and we’re also fans of the new dermatologist-tested Skin activatorwhich took five years to develop, leaving skin looking softer and firmer and helping to reduce fine lines.
Sephora
Westman Atelier Vital Pressed Skincare Blurring Talc-Free Setting Powder
5. Sai
Founded by The Moment wellness blogger (and former fashion and beauty editor) Laney Crowell, Saie is known for its non-toxic, high-potency formulas for skin care enthusiasts who love a natural-looking glow. We love their conscious shipping materials (products come packaged in a bag filled with cotton balls that you can reuse and recycle) and their recycling partnership with Pact, and their Earth mission includes eliminating air freight and consolidating their ocean freight to reduce carbon emissions. reduce footprint and numerous eco-certifications (including 1% For the Planet, Climate Neutral Certified, Carbon Neutral Club, Certified Plastic Negative and Leaping Bunny).
Their latest product is the Glowing Super Skin Foundation, with a weightless serum formula in over 35 shades. It provides medium buildable coverage and contains Saie’s patented Hydrobounce complex that works to hydrate, brighten and plump the skin.
Saie
6. Youth for the people
Los Angeles-based Youth to the People, acquired by L’Oréal in 2021, is now because of their natural ingredients and their creative, vegetarian formulas that are both effective and groundbreaking. Their Superfood Cleanser with Kale, Green Tea, and Spinach is an award-winning face wash with superfood extracts that remove makeup, support skin’s pH balance, and unclog pores.
Youth to the People Superfood Antioxidant Refillable Cleanser
7. Kora Organics
Miranda Kerr’s Kora Organics carefully monitors every ingredient for its impact on the health of the earth and people – the company even uses the third-party organization Ecocert/COSMOS to independently certify all of its products to ensure everything is as sustainable as possible made. possible. The brand says organic farming results in 60 percent more antioxidants from its non-GMO and cruelty-free ingredients, and the Kora is also transparent about which of its products are vegan (some contain beeswax).
The skincare brand recently released the Plant Stem Cell Retinol Alternative Serum, which contains bakuchiol, which is gentler on sensitive skin but still powerful at tackling wrinkles and other signs of aging. Other botanicals such as acai stem cells, noni fruit and rose hip oil help to protect and nourish the skin.
Kora organics
Kora Organics Retinol Alternative Serum for Plant Stem Cells
8. Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez
Don’t overlook Rare Beauty for its celebrity founder factor — the cosmetics brand founded by Selena Gomez is cruelty-free, vegan, and free of parabens, formaldehyde (and agents that release it), mineral oil, the sulfates SLS and SLES, and phthalates . The brand has pledged to donate $100 million over the next 10 years to the Rare Impact Fund, which helps people gain better access to mental health care.
Of the brand Stay Vulnerable Melting Cream Blush (available in five shades) is water-resistant and provides a natural-looking rinse. No wonder it’s one of the bestsellers from the celebrity-backed brand.
Sephora
9. Summer Fridays
Founded by influencers Lauren Ireland and Marianne Hewitt, Summer Fridays has long been a favorite of Hollywood style stars and has received Instagram shoutouts from Jessica Alba, Addison Rae, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and more. Their hero product is the Jet Lag Mask, with a fragrance-free formula that nourishes, hydrates and soothes the skin.
Jet Lag Mask for Summer Fridays
10. Coco Child
Cocokind takes its clean initiatives seriously and creates products that are guaranteed dye-free, vegan, phthalate-free, aluminum-free, sulfate-free, artificial fragrance-free and paraben-free. Their AHA jelly cleaner is a unique blend of four percent alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) from hibiscus flowers (two percent) and fermented grape blend (two percent), providing a hydrating trio that keeps skin comfortable and cleanses to the core.
11. Gisou
Not only is Gisou known for its cool, minimalistic packaging – the hair care brand is also committed to being environmentally conscious. In addition to being cruelty-free, the brand is also free of parabens, formaldehyde, formaldehyde-releasing agents, phthalates, mineral oil, retinyl palmitate, oxybenzone, coal tar, hydroquinone, sulfates SLS & SLES, triclocarban, and triclosan. Wow. Test the brand by starting with their honey infused hair mask.
12. Nole
Take your zero-waste initiatives to the next level with Nolé’s shampoo and conditioner set. Not only are Latinx branded bars biodegradable and plastic free, they are vegan, pH balanced, cruelty free and made without parabens, sulfates, silicones, salt and phthalates. They also make your hair shine like never before, thanks to sustainably grown batana oil that’s packed with antioxidants and amino acids.
NOLÉ Shampoo and Conditioner Bar Set for Frizzy Hair
13. Dee
Dae creates hair styling essentials with clean, vegan, and cruelty-free ingredients. This wave spray contains hibiscus flower extract for healthy hair growth, prickly pear seed oil for silky smooth locks and moringa leaf extract to moisturize dry locks.
Dae Hibiscus Wave Spray
