Shower Gel

In 2015, the UK’s soap, bath and shower gel market was estimated to be worth around £676 million, with just three brands – Carex, Dove and Imperial Leather – accounting for a 48% share.[1] 

However, as the table above shows there are many companies offering alternatives which are either organic, made without the use of animal ingredients or palm oil free. 

This guide covers brands which produce shower gel, however showering with soap bars will have a lower environmental impact because they do not require the use of plastic bottles. See Ethical Consumer’s guide to soap. 

How often do you shower?

Showering was found to be the biggest single use of water in the home in 2013. It use equated to one quarter of the massive 9 billion litres of used by UK households every day.

However its not just the use of water that is an issue, having a shower is also said to get rid of good bacteria living on your skin; dries out your skin and hair and washes chemicals into water systems.

Doctors have stated that the overuse of soap removes the skin’s natural protective oils and good bacteria.

As Donnachadh McCarthy in the Guardian rightly points out “the only real beneficiaries of over-frequent baths and showers are the companies that make and market soaps and shampoos.” He called for people to revert back to the once a week shower.

In 2015 a study revealed that only 21% of women surveyed took a shower or bath each day and more than one third showered every three days. Another study by the Energy Saving Trust in 2013 found the average Briton showers 4.4 times a week, and take 1.3 baths. Stating “People living in larger households with more people take fewer showers each week, but stay in them longer.”

Toxic chemicals

At Ethical Consumer, we have rated all shower gel brands for their toxic chemicals policies. Those companies which received a best rating had a policy which has banned the use of parabens, phthalates and triclosan.

As you can see from the table below, the majority of the brands have either committed to not using any of the three toxics or have committed to banning one or two of them.

Vegan and organic brands

Companies which are suitable for vegans or vegetarians or are made with organic products have been marked on the table using the symbols A and O. See our feature: organic certification schemes. 

Vegan shower gel:

Bentley Organics range was said to be suitable for vegans.

The following brands were certified by the Vegan Society: Faith-in-Nature and Lush. 

The following brands were certified by the Vegetarian Society: Conscious Skincare (as Vegan), Neal’s Yard.

Organic shower gel:

The following brands were certified organic by the Soil Association: Bentley Organics and Odylique. 

Sante is certified organic by BHID while Weleda is certified by Natrue. 

Animal testing

Although the testing of cosmetics on animals has been banned in the EU, this is not the case everywhere else in the world.  The EU’s REACH legislation has complicated the issue.  We cover these issues in more detail in our feature: global report - ending animal testing.

Ethical Consumer rates all companies selling cosmetics on their animal testing policy. Companies will score a best rating if they have a policy not to test on animals, have a fixed cut-off date (a date after which none of their products or ingredients will have been tested on animals), and are not selling to markets where animal testing of products is required by law.

The following brands received Ethical Consumer’s best rating for animal testing: Aesop, Avalon, BullDog, Caurnie, Conscious Skincare, cut.le.crap, Faith-in-Nature, Green People, Honesty, Logona, Lush, Odylique, Neal’s Yard, Pure Nuff, Sante and Weleda.

Palm oil

Palm oil and palm oil derivatives have become an important component in many body-care products. In particular, it is used for its viscosity and as a skin conditioning agent.

Conscious Skincare, Odylique, Caurnie, Pure Nuff and Honesty all made products without the use of palm oil. 

Lush and cut.le.crap also received Ethical Consumer’s best rating for their palm oil policy. 

The new column on our expanded table shows how all the companies rank on their palm oil policy and practice.

References

1. Mintel Soap, Bath and Shower Products - UK - February 2016