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Start The New Decade With These Best Sustainable Beauty Buys
Beauty

Start The New Decade With These Best Sustainable Beauty Buys

Your guide to embracing products that respect the planet

The best sustainable beauty buys

By Navin Pillay - published

Considering so many beauty products revolve around cleaning your skin and hair, the industry doesn't always have the best record when it comes to sustainability, with excess and non-recyclable plastic packaging being among the biggest issues. In fact, Zero Waste reported last year that more than 120 billion units of packaging are produced in the global cosmetics industry annually.

Recently however, we've been witnessing a shift, with brands increasingly working to decrease their carbon footprint and stop the waste. These are the best brands to try if you are looking to #passonplastic ...

This article originally appeared on Harper's Bazaar UK.

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Ren has pledged to work towards being 'Waste Free' by 2021. Plus, its award-winning sunscreen contains none of the ingredients that have been linked to coral bleaching and other negative side effects for sea life. Photo: Courtesy
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Ren Clean Screen Mineral SPF30

Before environmental awareness was even on the radar of the collective beauty industry, there was Davines. Set up in 1983 with sustainability already at its heart, the hair brand is committed to improving the world as well as your hair, with a wealth of eco-projects. Photo: Courtesy
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Davines Your Hair Assistant Blowdry Primer

In a bid to cut down on packaging waste, Dior has taken out the cellophane, excess cardboard and even the paper leaflet previously included with its luxury products. Photo: Courtesy
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Dior Fresh Hydration Sorbet Crème

L’Oréal Professionnel's vegan haircare collection, Source Essentielle, is, as the name suggests, all about focusing on ingredient transparency. As a result, it is proudly free from sulfates, silicones, parabens, synthetic fragrance and colourings, with packaging designed to hold the maximum amount of product in the minimum amount of recycled plastic. Photo: Courtesy
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Cosmydor has a strict limited-packaging policy that avoids plastic containers and the formulations focus on natural and organic ingredients with percentages that are clearly marked. The brand's 'little balms' are a highlight, with a rich oil-based texture that hydrates without using large quantities of water. Photo: Courtesy
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Cosmydor

Medik8 believe in 'green chemistry', aka the science of making products using energy efficient processes. The brand uses 100% renewable energy sources to power their production line and are attempting to make their products more recyclable too. Photo: Courtesy
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Medik8 Retinol 3 TR

Stopping the waste caused when you throw away the cotton wool (or worse wipes) you use to take off your make-up, simply wet this soft and fluffy tool (which can be reused up to 200 times) to remove dirt and cosmetics with ease. Photo: Courtesy
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Face Halo The Modern Makeup Remover

Spectrum has recently reduced its plastic packaging by 50 per cent and buying one of their beautiful brush sets will also help support plastic clean-up charities, as the brand has pledged to donate 1% of their revenue to protecting the environment. Photo: Courtesy
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Spectrum 10 Piece Essential Set

In an attempt to reduce its emissions, Jurlique has revolutionised its manufacturing process to encourage water reuse, solar power production, and initiatives such as a tree planting day. Photo: Courtesy
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Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist

Tata Harper's skin-loving products are housed in recycled glass - a material that can be continuously recycled - and soy ink is used for the labelling, scoring more sustainability brownie points. It all means you can clean your conscience as well as your skin. Photo: Courtesy
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Tata Harper Clarifying Mask

If you collect and return six finished Mac products to one of the brand's stores (so they can be recycled) you get to select a free lipstick of your choice in return. Photo: Courtesy
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MAC Lipstick

Orveda make use of ocean-derived ingredients in their formulas but are hyper-aware about not destroying oceanic resources. Instead they work "with, not against" our oceans, meaning they are mineral oil-free, plastic bead free and vegan. They are also committed to using less than 5% plastic in their products - meaning their formulas are housed in glass bottles. Photo: Courtesy
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Orveda Overnight Skin Recovery Masque

Glass, while easily recycled, could be dangerous in the shower, so Soaper Duper focuses on reducing the amount of new plastics created in the world. The brand uses a combination of recycled and recyclable plastic to create its statement bottles. Photo: Courtesy
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Soaper Duper Clean & Juicy Passionfruit Body Wash

Through Cloud Nine's brilliant sustainability scheme, in three simple steps, you can send in your old hair tools for recycling or reuse. Brilliantly, they can be from any brand, so Cloud Nine’s environmental pledge to save 1.5 million straightening irons from landfill isn’t limited to its own stylers. Photo: Courtesy
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Cloud Nine Recycling Service

As well as housing its products in recyclable blue glass and 100 per cent recycled plastic bottles, Neal's Yard Remedies has a refill scheme that allows you to top up two of its products - Geranium & Orange Hand Wash and Bee Lovely Bath & Shower Gel - for just two pounds in participating stores. Photo: Courtesy
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You may not have stopped to think about the sustainability of your menstrual health routine but 100 billion period products are thrown away every year. Dame is trying to cut down the amount of disposable applicators ending up in landfill with its clever and easy-to-use reusable alternative. Photo: Courtesy
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Dame Reusable Tampon Appllicator Set

British fragrance brand Floral Street has committed itself to subverting the norm for excessive packaging in the perfume industry, choosing 100 oer cent compostable boxes and sugar cane tubes, over tissue paper, cellophane and plastic. Photo: Courtesy
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Floral Street Wonderland Peony

In order to help consumers recycle their empty Kiehl's products, the brand has a stamp system, which allows you to return 10 empties in return for travel-sized products. Photo: Courtesy
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Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate

Sana Jardin uses sustainable and waste-reducing techniques to create its scents. The brand also supports the female flower harvesters they employ in Morocco by helping them create and run their own businesses, using by-products from the fragrance-making process. Photo: Courtesy
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Tiger By Her Side Eau de Parfum No. 2 100ml

Colgate's two new toothpastes - one for protection and one for whitening - tick all the right boxes for sustainable beauty lovers. Not only do they efficiently keep your teeth clean and healthy, they also comes in the industry's first recyclable tube and are certified by the Vegan Society. Photo: Colgate
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Colgate Smile for Good Toothpaste

Clean by name, clean by nature. All of Clean Reserve's fragrances are created using responsibly sourced ingredients, manufactured using solar-power and the packaging is made from recycled and recyclable materials. Photo: Courtesy
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Clean Reserve Sola Bloom eau de parfum

Aveda has long been committed to environmental sustainability and managing its ecological footprint, resulting in 85 per cent of its skincare and haircare products being made of 100 per cent recycled materials. Photo: Courtesy
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Aveda Invati Advanced Exfoliating Shampoo

If you are really struggling to eliminate wipes from your beauty routine entirely, at least switch to Yes To's 100% cellulose variety, which are biodegradable and compostable. They also do not contain any plastic binders, as the vegan brand is committed to lowering the amount of plastic dumped into our oceans each year. Photo: Courtesy
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Yes to Cucumbers Hypoallergenic Facial Wipes

Bee numbers are dwindling, which is bad news for some of your favourite fruits and vegetables, which need pollinators to grow. Burt's Bees are committed to reversing this decrease with their #BringBackTheBees campaign. Photo: Courtesy
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Burt's Bees Lip Balm

We Are Paradoxx is a haircare brand with a sense of fun as well as a conscious. The creative products are 90 per cent plastic free with a focus on sourcing all of its tresses-boosting ingredients as sustainably as possible. Photo: Courtesy
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We Are Paradoxx Hangover Hair Elixir

Tags

AvedaBurt's BeesClean ReserveCloud NineColgateCosmydorDameDavinesDiorface haloFloral StreetJurliqueKiehl'sL'Oréal ProfessionnelMACMedik8Neal's YardOrvedaRENSana JardinSkincareSoaper DuperSpectrumSustainableSustainable BeautyTata HarperWe Are ParadoxxYes to Cucumbers
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