A well-crafted self-care regimen is incomplete without thought. And, by thought, we’re referring to your choices as a consumer. Let’s just say that your repository—one that brims with moisture-laden serums, volume-inducing mascaras, and rose-scented lotions—is reflective of your core values. Think about it. Are you supporting a brand that sources its products ethically? Are your products delivered to you in recyclable packaging? Is your go-to brand PETA-certified as cruelty-free?
There’s an undeniable sentiment amongst consumers to purchase from brands that aren’t just selling or marketing their products to us to fulfill their ulterior motives. We’re looking for brands that go beyond — brands that emulate and subscribe to values we identify with.
It’s World Earth Day today. This is enough of an indication for us to assess our choices, and course-correct. A growing crop of brands are giving back to the planet in their own ways. We’re spotlighting their initiatives in a bid to encourage their pursuits, and put together an assemblage of products that don’t just love our skin, but the planet as well.
Beauty Brands Celebrating World Earth Day By Giving Back
POPxo
This is where affordability meets sustainability. POPxo’s products are delivered to you in sustainable paper packaging. From their eyeshadows to their on-the-go products, they apply thought to their entire line-up of products in the way that they’re packaged.
Organic Harvest
You guessed it right. Organic Harvest is all-organic. The brand displays an extensive range of products on its website; and each formula is derived from plants that contain no traces of pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers. Organic Harvest is an action-oriented organisation — by 2025, they plan on planting a million trees to further their mission of safeguarding the future of the planet. This World Earth Day, they’re delivering to their customers a free-of-cost plantable seed pen to create awareness about the benefits of switching to plant-based products.
Simple
There’s a reason why Simple is thriving. You can credit their success to their philosophy: kind to skin, the planet, and animals. It’s…simple, no? This phrase sets the foundation for all of their initiatives. Simple’s line-up of cleansers, serums, moisturisers, and products alike employ no artificial fragrances, colours, dyes, harsh chemicals, or parabens into their formulations. They’re PETA-certified as cruelty-free, and they’re constantly looking for recyclable options for packaging as well as sustainably-sourced cartons and ingredients. And that’s not all. They have a free-from list — like a blacklist — containing more than 2000 chemicals that aren’t infused into their formulas. And it continues to grow. The brand is committed to directing 10% of its profits to Research and Development each year as well. You know that when it comes to being green, they don’t stop at the colour of their packaging.
Love, Beauty And Planet
Love, Beauty and Planet is another PETA-certified cruelty-free and vegan brand. They aim at reducing emissions associated with their products to zero by 2030 and that’s just one out of their many other goals. Some of their other 10-year targets include crafting packaging that’s completely recyclable, compostable, or reusable; reducing their employment of plastic in their packaging; incorporating recycled materials (that they filter out of landfills) to create PCR-plastic (Post-Consumer Recycled Content) bottles filled with deliciously-scented shampoos and lotions; and evolving their caps, which aren’t PCR-plastic, into planet-friendly ones. And they’re in the process of achieving these targets.
Dermalogica
Dermalogica is another professional-grade skin-loving brand that’s PETA-certified as cruelty-free. And they’re certified as vegan on all but two of their products. The brand doesn’t corrupt their concoctions with artificial fragrances, colours, mineral oil, lanolin, S.D. alcohol, parabens, and microplastics either. They plan on meeting certain goals by 2025, and some of them include designing their packaging as reusable, recyclable, or compostable and partnering with suppliers that monitor and manage their carbon footprint.
Love Organically
This one’s a homegrown brand. Love Organically emulates the essence of their name. Seeing as their products are underscored by ingredients that are natural and authentic, their collection includes face-packs, mists, and elixirs replete with plant-based extracts, natural butters, and nourishing oils that enhance the health and appearance of the skin without the involvement of chemicals. And they’re sourced ethically from organic farm-owners, and stored in environmentally-friendly packaging.
M.A.C
We associate M.A.C with being a high-end brand, but there’s so much they’re doing for the planet that warrants acknowledgment. Their Back To M.A.C programme enables consumers in India to recycle their empties, and what cannot be recycled is converted into energy. To further encourage customers to subscribe to their initiative, they reward you with a free-of-cost, full-size lipstick for every 6 qualifying products you bring back to them—about 80 collection boxes have been installed in participating stores in the country. The brand aims at increasing its PCR material in its packaging by 2025 and claims that its overall packaging will be recyclable, refillable, reusable, recycled, or recoverable by then.
L’OCCITANE
L’OCCITANE is a luxurious France-based brand for skincare, haircare, body care, and more. At the start of the year, the brand launched a reduced-waste line-up of products featuring vegan, biodegradable, and free-of-plastic bars of soap and shampoos for travelers as well as eco-aware consumers — all delivered to them in recyclable packaging. Their dot.com also features a category called ‘eco-refills’. These refills, fashioned with the invigorating scents of shower gels and oils, consume 69%-90% less plastic than bottles. The point is to continue refilling your O.G bottles instead of buying new ones. They’ve kickstarted their first recycling programme in India dubbed ‘Big Little Things’ too; one that encourages you to recycle your empties at select L’OCCITANE boutiques across India.
Forest Essentials
For Forest Essentials, sustainability has always taken centre-stage. The brand is constantly evaluating ways to reduce its carbon footprint, and evolving its process to become more planet-friendly. They source their ingredients from farmers who employ environmentally-sound practices and are focusing on using renewable plant sources in their products. They’ve begun to use recyclable PET and Glass in their new packaging too. At the store level, they’re working on providing customers with reusable and recyclable canvas cloth carry bags instead of plastic ones.
When you’re scouring aisles — online or virtual for your next beauty stock-up, remember these names, and do your part. It’s your bill that decides it all.
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