Microbeads in our oceans, animal testing, chemicals, and colourants – the aim is to shift away from beauty products that cause harm and to swap for more sustainable options. Sustainability and going green aren’t just buzzwords, they are terms to help bring about a revolution that could help protect, not just our planet, but ourselves. Ethical beauty helps us to feel good inside and out. We have rounded up a handful of our favourite ethical beauty brands that bring about a positive glow…

Lush

Fabulously fragrant, beautifully branded, and just a whole heap of feel-good fun – we LOVE Lush. This international brand has been putting its money where its mouth is for years, ensuring that every single product is vegetarian or vegan-friendly, never tested on animals, and ethically sourced using only the freshest natural ingredients. Along with all that goodness, they also raise stashes of cash for grassroots environmental causes and charities.

Green People

What started as a mother's attempts to heal her daughter's sensitive skin issues has bloomed into a gorgeous green and eco-friendly beauty brand. Green People is a brand that soothes straight from the start thanks to its ethical and cruelty-free approach. Firm believers in clean beauty, this brand delves deep when it comes to sticking to their morals, even refusing contracts with big pharma companies who don’t fit their high ethical standards.

Lumene

Wildflowers, cloudberries, and fresh faces kissed by the great outdoors; the Nordic landscape screams pure unadulterated beauty. Lumene is a stunning brand that captures cool soft moods. Along with curating gorgeous skincare products that rely on wildcrafted ingredients from the Nordic natural world, they also ensure that formulas are 100 percent vegan and cruelty-free.

Arganic

Dana Elemara takes the ancient beauty ritual of argan oil to whole new levels. After leaving a corporate career, this kickass lady now dedicates her life to curating single-origin and cold-pressed argan oil. This magical oil delivers a divine dose of Vitamin E to your hair, nails and skin and can even be used for bread dipping and salad drizzling. Alongside curating this stunning oil, Dana also ensures that Arganic is purely fair-trade and supports Berber women at the argan oil farm in southwest Morocco.

Leahlani Skincare

From the shores of Hawaii and laced with aloha spirit, Leahlani Skincare is every inch as delicious as it sounds. The ethos behind this beautiful brand is all about natural ingredients, botanical bliss, and natures best nectars combined with a nourishing and ritualistic approach to your beauty routine. Cocoa infusions, blessed beauty balms, and a commitment to green beauty make for a feel-good investment.

Want to explore more green beauty brands? Check out our list of the best beauty subscription boxes, where we feature a few vegan-friendly green brands.

Plum

An Indian beauty brand that puts plenty of effort into being cruelty-free, vegan, and environmentally friendly to boot. Plum products all steer clear of parabens and other harmful additives that can often be stirred into beauty creations. The brand donates a portion of its profits to environmental efforts and avoids non-recyclable packaging. Another plus for Plum is that they use their brand to reflect diversity in marketing and are firm believers in natural skin representation advertising against skin whitening creams that can be popular in India.

Alaffia

Planting trees, employing women from rural Togo, contributing to preventing FMG projects, and running educational programs – and this is only the tip of the iceberg for West African brand Alaffia. A beauty brand from Togo, founded by a local who was committed to bringing about positive change, Alaffia is doing amazing things alongside creating beauty products that cover everything from organic skin to haircare. Alaffia believes in empowerment projects with targeted development all funded by the sale of their stunning beauty range. Ingredients include the likes of coconut, lavender, shea butter, and tangerine citrus among other spellbinding wonders sourced from nature.

What are your favourite eco-friendly and ethical beauty brands? Share in the comments and let’s curate a feel-good list together.