Skincare

A large proportion of the population uses some kind of skincare product to moisturise, cleanse or smooth over the bumpy bits.

Although the big names may dominate the market in terms of units sold, we’re seeing an increasing number of companies offering more ethical alternatives. From 1999 to 2018, the average annual household spending on ethical cosmetics went up from £7 to £31.

What makes an ethical skin care brand?

In this guide we explore which brands have independent organic or Vegan certification; which are cruelty-free or palm oil-free, and which are doing the best at avoiding toxic chemicals and microplastics.

Organic skin care brands

As certification schemes offer an independent check on a company’s ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ claims, we have given certified organic products an extra Product Sustainability mark on our tables. (Look for the [O] next to the brand names).

Organic certification ensures that the agricultural ingredients used in skincare are grown using organic growing methods, without the use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides and GMOs.

Products from the following companies carried organic certifications:

• Avalon Organics
• Bentley Organic Limited
• Conscious Skincare Ltd
• Desford Holdings (Green People)
• Essential Care (Organics) Ltd (Odylique)
• Laverana
• Lucy Bee
• Midsona (Urtekram)
• Neal's Yard (Natural Remedies) Limited
• Pai Skincare Ltd
• Queenie Organics
• Wala-Stiftung (Dr. Hauschka)
• WS Badger Co Inc.

Palm oil free skin care

Palm oil and palm oil derivatives have become an important component in many personal care products. In particular, they are used for viscosity and as a skin conditioning agent.

For example, palmate is an ingredient in many skincare products and is mostly made from palm oil. It is often used to add vitamin A to food or skincare products.

Due to issues of deforestation, habitat degradation, climate change, animal cruelty and indigenous rights abuses associated with palm oil production, we ranked all the companies on their palm oil policy and practice.

The table below shows which companies in this guide received a best rating for their palm oil policies and practice and which avoid palm.

However, even ingredients which technically contain no palm, may be made from a process that uses palm as a feeder material. In the table below, only Queenie Organics is certified to say that it is guaranteed to contain no palm ingredients at all.

Toxic chemicals in skincare

We have rated all the skincare companies 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 (see our feature on toxic chemicals for why we have chosen these chemicals).

As you can see from the Middle and Worst ratings listed below, the use of these chemicals is still widespread.
 

Microplastics and liquid polymers

Under UK law, ‘rinse off’ products should not contain microbeads. However, skincare products are mainly designed to ’leave on’ and are not subject to the ban.

All companies’ policies regarding microplastics were therefore assessed by Ethical Consumer. See our feature on microbeads, 'The hidden plastics in your cosmetics' for more information about our rating and the ethical issues with microplastics.

Skincare companies that are considered to have positive microplastics policies (that exclude the use of microplastics and non-biodegradable liquid polymers in all products) include:

• Green People
• Hain Celestial
• Honesty Cosmetics
• Laverana
• Little Soap Company
• Lucy Bee
• Neal’s Yard
• Pure Nuff Stuff
• Wala Stiftung
• Weleda AG

All other companies lost a mark under the Pollution and Toxics category as they either had no publicly available policy or had a policy that prohibited microbeads only.

Animal testing and cruelty-free skincare

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 also complicated the issue. See our feature on 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, with 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, such as China, where animal testing of products is required by law.

The following brands were certified cruelty free by Leaping Bunny which requires a fixed cut-off date:

• Conscious Skincare Ltd
• Edgewell Personal Care (Bulldog)
• Faith in Nature Ltd
• Hain Celestial (Alba Botanica, Avalon Organics, JASON Natural Cosmetics)
• Honesty Cosmetics
• Lucy Bee
• Midsona (Urtekram)
• Natura ( Body Shop, Aesop) – no evidence was found that the certification included Avon, which had been acquired by Nature in January 2020.
• Neal's Yard (Natural Remedies)
• Pai Skincare Ltd
• WS Badger Co Inc

Superdrug own brand products were also Leaping Bunny certified but its parent company was not.

Tropic Skincare was also Leaping Bunny approved. However, it lost half a mark in the Animal Testing category, because it was 50% owned by Lord Alan Sugar's company Amsvest Limited, which also owned 50% of a cosmetics procedures company, an industry in which animal testing is ubiquitous.

The following companies also got our best rating for animal testing policies:

• Caurnie
• Essential Care (Organics) Ltd (Odylique)
• Desford Holdings (Green People)
• Honesty Cosmetics
• Lush Cosmetics Ltd
• Pure Nuff Stuff Ltd
• Weleda
• Wala-Stiftung (Dr. Hauschka)
• WS Badger Co Inc
• Yaoh