Here’s a frightening thought: the beauty industry creates over 120 million packaging units annually, with packaging making up a whopping 70% of its waste [1]. That's a lot of excess baggage for our planet to carry!
Unfortunately, a large portion of this packaging ends up in landfills and oceans, posing a significant environmental threat. But there's good news – we can make a difference by supporting sustainable beauty brands committed to eco-friendly practices, ethical sourcing and transparency about their environmental impact.
In the UK, the sustainable beauty market is flourishing, with many brands dedicated to sustainability and protecting our planet. By 2025, the UK's green beauty market is expected to reach a value of £339 million [2], highlighting the increasing demand for sustainable beauty products. By supporting sustainable beauty brands, we can positively impact the environment, promote a more sustainable future and show the world that beauty doesn't have to come at the cost of our planet.
So whether you're a seasoned beauty lover or want to make a change, it's time to join the movement and discover the UK's top 10 sustainable beauty brands. These brands prioritise sustainability, ethical production and transparency, and they prove that looking good can feel good too!
1) UpCircle
At Bower Collective, we can't help but love UpCircle. This brand has a unique approach to sustainability by repurposing ingredients that would otherwise go to waste. UpCircle's products, like their Coffee Face Scrub or Cleansing Face Balm with Apricot, are made with natural and organic ingredients, providing genuine therapeutic benefits for your skin and hair. Moreover, they’re committed to being cruelty-free, so you can feel good about the products you use.
The brand is also dedicated to reducing waste by using glass and aluminium packaging, which is both reusable and recyclable. This kind of commitment to the environment makes UpCircle one of our favourite sustainable beauty brands in the UK.
2) Bramley
Regarding sustainable beauty brands in the UK, Bramley should be on your radar. They’re dedicated to using 100% natural and cruelty-free ingredients, ensuring each product smells amazing like their Rosehip, Chamomile & Yarrow Calm Balm.
Bramley uses biodegradable and compostable materials for their packaging and partners with local suppliers to source their ingredients whenever possible. Bramley is a great choice if you're looking for a sustainable beauty brand that truly cares about the environment and the impact of their products.
3) Beauty Kitchen
Sustainable beauty for everyone – Beauty Kitchen aims to develop the world's most effective, natural and sustainable beauty products. The brand understands that small changes in our beauty routines can significantly impact the planet, so they prioritise sustainability in everything they do.
Each product in Beauty Kitchen's award-winning range has been carefully crafted with sustainability in mind, from their ingredients to their packaging. Their entire range of products, like their Dual-Sided Reusable Face Cloth or Seahorse Plankton Revitalising Gel Cleanser, is made with the purest natural ingredients and packaged in reusable or recyclable materials.
4) Evolve Beauty
Unlike most big brands, Evolve Beauty handcrafts all of their products in small batches from their eco studio located in Hertfordshire. This process ensures that each product is given special attention and care, resulting in exceptional quality.
Moreover, Evolve Beauty is committed to using only natural and organic ingredients. Products like their Daily Renew Facial Cream or Lip Treat with Organic Cacao & Orange are screened to ensure they meet standards for cleanliness, eco-friendliness and ethical sourcing. This dedication to sustainability also extends to their packaging, which is made from recycled materials.
5) Green People
Green People is a cruelty-free and eco-conscious skincare brand that offers pure, certified organic skin care for sensitive and allergy-prone skin. They’ve got a real commitment to using only certified organic ingredients, which include plant-based extracts that are sustainably sourced and packaged in low-waste, recyclable sugar cane plastic tubes, glass tubs and bottles. Their eco-friendly products are suitable for all skin types, and they are dedicated to providing you with products that are 100% organic.
6) Pai Skincare
If you’re searching for specialised skincare products for your beauty routine, Pai Skincare might be who you are looking for. They’re a cruelty-free brand that’s B-Corp and Soil Association certified, committed to providing ethical and sustainable beauty products across the UK from their London headquarters. They use the best organic ingredient formulations and are on a mission to create products that are natural and ethical – and good for our skin and planet.
7) REN Skincare
REN Skincare is a brand focusing on clean and effective skincare with bioactive ingredients. Their mission is to create high-performance skincare for different skin needs while being mindful of the planet, and they’re committed to reducing waste at every stage of production and distribution. Zero waste is at the core of their philosophy, as they use sustainably sourced and upcycled ingredients wherever possible.
8) BYBI
Another ethical beauty brand that’s made the cut is BYBI. Their commitment to sustainability is evident in every aspect of the brand, from natural and organic ingredients to eco-friendly packaging. BYBI partners with responsible suppliers and offsets their carbon emissions through reforestation programs, ensuring their products are effective and environmentally friendly. They’re truly dedicated to reducing waste and minimising their environmental impact.
9) Ethique
Ethique is an award-winning beauty brand on a mission to eradicate plastic waste, using biodegradable and compostable packaging and beauty products that are plant-based, vegan, and without preservatives or palm oil. So far, they’ve stopped over six million plastic bottles from being produced and disposed of in landfills, and each year, 20% of their profit goes towards charities that protect the environment [3].
10) Bloomtown
Bloomtown is a UK-based beauty brand inspired to create sustainable, ethical products after witnessing the devastation caused by palm oil farming in Indonesia. Their drive is to reduce our reliance on unsustainable palm oil practices and offer people safe and effective beauty products that don’t make any compromises. Their award-winning beauty range is guaranteed cruelty-free, certified vegan and free from sulphates, parabens, phthalates, SLS and other synthetics.
Keep Your Beauty in Check with Bower Collective
Taking care of our skin is crucial, but it's equally important to do so sustainably. At Bower Collective, we have a curated selection of skincare products from some of our favourite brands, like UpCircle, Evolve and Bramley, and our very own skincare line made with 100% natural, ethically sourced ingredients. Suppose you’re looking for a place to get started. In that case, it could be with our Rosemary & Geranium Hand Cream, expertly crafted with natural and organic ingredients, delicately fragranced with essential oils, and completely free from nasties like SLS and parabens.
To explore our full range, visit our Natural & Sustainable Skin Care Products and reduce your carbon footprint while keeping your skin and the planet happy.
FAQs
1) What is the most sustainable beauty brand?
Determining the most sustainable beauty brand is difficult, as many brands prioritise sustainability differently. Some of the most sustainable beauty brands include Bloomtown, Ethique, Skin & Tonic and UpCircle.
2) Is Clarins sustainable?
Clarins has made some efforts towards sustainability, such as using eco-friendly packaging and sourcing some ingredients from fair-trade suppliers. But the brand has also received criticism for using some controversial ingredients and not being transparent about its sustainability practices. Whether Clarins is considered sustainable depends on one's standards and values regarding sustainability.