When purchasing new beauty products, why not try to make the best purchases for you and the environment? Because being eco-friendly is as much about being good to yourself as it is about helping the planet. Here's a short list of four beauty brands to consider in your plight to find the lipstick that lasts, the toner that fixes everything, and that nail color that just makes everything work.
1. Burt's Bees
If you haven't heard of Burt's Bees that is one really large rock you live under, maybe even a boulder, but I had to sing them praise. What separates them most from other brands is their concentration on sustainability throughout a product's life. All Burt's Bees merchandise are crafted with a bare minimum of 99% natural ingredients, the other 1% being a paraben-free, formaldehyde-free synthetic preservative. Though over half their products are 100% natural. While sourcing these natural ingredients, the company strives to uphold a code of conduct to protect the human rights of all workers and treat them with dignity. Burt's Bees creates safe working conditions and a healthy work environment for all, while safeguarding the environment and reducing the environmental impact of operations. The company establishes high standards of ethical conduct and complies with fair business practices and laws. In production, Burt's Bees facilities send zero waste to landfills and are certified as carbon-neutral. All of this information and more is transparent and easily accessible on the company's website.
2. LUSH
LUSH is probably my favorite beauty brand so I have an obvious bias, but you should ignore that as I tell you awesome things about this company and their merchandise. Their logo kind of says it all; "LUSH fresh handmade cosmetics." All their products are made from natural ingredients, which are ethically purchased through fair trade from around the world. Products have minimal packaging in an effort to reduce waste. In essence, what isn't naked, or wrapped in recyclable paper, is sold in little black pots, which, if you return to the store, get you rewards like free face masks. All LUSH products are vegetarian, and most are vegan. You can easily make purchases online, but I highly recommend shopping in-store when at all possible; the smell is absolutely incredible.
3. Tarte
Tarte beauty products, ranging from makeup to skincare, pride themselves on being cruelty-free and vegan. All products are also made without parabens, mineral oil, phthalates, triclosan, sodium lauryl sulfate, and gluten. What is really cool about Tarte products is that an ingredient list is available for every single product and product shade via the online catalog. If you want to know exactly what you're putting on your body, this is the brand for you.
4. RGB
RGB is a beauty product line dedicated solely to nails. All polishes are "five-free," meaning they lack five of the most conventional and harmful chemicals found in everyday nail products: formaldehyde (a possible cancer-causing carcinogen), toluene (linked to nausea, impaired breathing, human reproduction and development) , DBP (a plastic that can affect the reproductive system), Camphor (otherwise known as that harsh chemical smell that leads to nausea, dizziness and headaches), and formaldehyde resin (a nasty skin allergen). All products, formulas, and packaging have the added benefit of being conflict-free; produced under fair trade conditions. The polishes are all also cruelty-free, gluten-free, paraben-free, and vegan.
Their colors are also glorious and I personally want them all.