Sustainable Skincare: PART 2

Paula and Henrika
May 13, 2018
5 min read

This is the continuation of our two-part skincare blogpost. Last week, we recognized how the major players in the beauty industry operate unethically and unsustainably. Animal testing and toxic chemicals that pose threat to the environment and our health are common. One alternative we provided was  DIY skincare products which are super fun and easy to make; however, we recognize that many people don't have the luxury of time to create them, and this may not be completely realistic for every lifestyle. So as promised, here are tips to help you make a decision about which brands you would want to support!

Labels as cues for responsible brands – what do they mean?

"Organic" – created from ingredients which have been certified organic by one of the numerous certifying institutions that operate worldwide
"Natural" – safe, non-toxic and chemical-free, made exclusively of ingredients that come from the earth
"Vegan" – free of any animal by-products
"Cruelty-free" – no animal testing in the production of a product and as a finish product; ingredients were not individually tested on animals as well
"Green packaging" – recycled packaging material, biodegradable

When looking for responsible brands to support, it can definitely be disheartening to learn what really goes on. Some brands do great in one category, but not so hot in another. For example, it might be that a brand is cruelty-free and vegan, but not natural and organic (or vice-versa). It can be difficult to decide what's most important—and that's up to every individual to decide for themselves, based on their values. What’s most important is to have an increased awareness of what we're putting on and into our bodies, as there is absolutely a lack of transparency in the beauty industry.

The set of labels we mentioned above is the very first step that help consumers distinct the good brands from those that are not. Because of this, many brands nowadays spend on marketing tactics to make them appear sustainable, brainwashing us to put it simply. This is so prominent within the beauty industry that a term has already been coined to describe it—greenwashing. As consumers, we must be aware of this. Greenwashing is the use of marketing to portray an organization's products, practices, or policies as environmentally friendly when they are not.

In the world of cosmetics, words like "natural" really don't have much meaning. Natural can be defined in many ways. Because there are so few regulations on these products and their labelling, what ends up happening is a lot of greenwashing. There are loads of brands out there that want consumers to believe they are organic or all-natural, while in reality, they are far from it. Even some of our favourite brands are guilty of this. Admittedly, until more recently, we didn't do our research about the ingredients in our makeup and skincare. But going through lists of chemical and potentially toxic ingredients has made us realize how untrue this "natural" label is. Just a few examples of brands that are not made of naturally derived ingredients, even though they label themselves and have the impression as "natural" are LUSH, Tarte Cosmetics, and Aveeno. You can see a fuller list here.

Other ways to greenwash is to play up a positive to try to hide more negative aspects of the business's practices, printing symbols in the packaging that resemble certificated logos, and including claims in their advertising without supporting evidence.

There are many types of greenwashing and there are very few brands out there that are not guilty of a single one of them. This goes to show that it is important for us as consumers to do our own research and look into it deeper because companies do spend more money hiding the truth in marketing than actually using that budget for sustainable pursuits.

Ingredients lists - Quick tips:

When reading ingredients lists:

The list is arranged based on the amount of content; the ingredient that has the highest content appears first. Usually, the first five listed ingredients make up most of the product.

If you're looking for natural products:

An easy rule of thumb is that if you can't easily pronounce the ingredient's name, it's probably not natural. This is a great list, full of the most common chemical ingredients found in cosmetics. One of a Kind Sustainability and Kristin Arnett have lists and articles full of tips and tricks to help you on your path towards natural beauty products!

If you’re looking for vegan products:

Some of the most common ingredients in cosmetics are carmine (or cochineal dye— red colouring/tint made from crushed beetles), gelatin, retinol, and squalene. For more complete lists of non-vegan inputs, read here and here. Cruelty Free Kitty and Logical Harmony have full, updated lists containing vegan and cruelty-free brands!

If you're looking for specifically cruelty-free brands:

Take a look at Leaping Bunny's list of brands! The Leaping Bunny certification is the international gold standard for products that are not tested on animals.

Looking for organic?

ECOCERT was the very first certification body to develop standards for "natural and organic cosmetics". Here is their list of certified organic brands.

In search of eco-friendly packaging?

Look for products with minimal, biodegradable, and/or recyclable packaging, such as paper or cardboard, glass, metal, bamboo containers. Also look into refillable makeup offered by brands. Here is a list by Refinery29 (https://www.refinery29.com/2018/01/187311/beauty-brands-sustainable-packaging)
You can also reuse your own containers! We're lucky to live in a city with a zero waste store (http://www.westcoastrefill.com/), where you can bring your own containers and simply refill what you need! There are some other options out there to buy online, and ensure that what you're buying is waste-free, like this one (https://packagefreeshop.com/ ). Plus, this website (https://www.litterless.com/wheretoshop/) has a guide for where to buy in bulk, so that you can bring your reusable containers.

It seems that more and more people are becoming aware of the issues in the beauty industry when it comes to sustainability, and that's great! We encourage you to go through your cabinets and do your research into your favourite brands' ingredients and practices—we're in the learning process too! However, as tempting as it may be to just start your beauty and skincare collection from scratch, this is not very sustainable! Instead of throwing everything away and buying everything new, which will just cause more waste, gradually replace products as you run out of them.