April 22nd, 2021
April is Earth Month and today is Earth Day. Our latest feature on sustainability within our industry takes a further look at what different beauty brands are doing to reduce the use of plastics and to make their products and packaging far more sustainable and earth-friendly, and what social investments they are making. [Read our first part here.]
British MUA Madeleine White originally created juni cosmetics to bridge the gap between luxury, high performance and ‘green’ beauty products. As a make-up artist and consumer with very sensitive skin, she felt that the market was lacking in products that actually worked whilst using gentle, effective ingredients. The brand’s philosophy is to be as environmentally-friendly as possible. Minimising impact, treading lightly and encouraging conscious consumerism. They advocate buying less and buying well.
While researching packaging options, Madeleine realised the vast and significant plastic problem within the beauty industry; many ‘environmentally-friendly’ products still contained plastic components or weren’t fully recyclable. Not satisfied with any of the packaging solutions available on the market she designed her own, innovative answer. After working with environmentalists, university research centres and designers she decided aluminium was the best option because it is infinitely recyclable as it doesn’t degrade. They then created their aluminium lipstick bullet based on a vintage silver one from the 1930s that Madeleine had in her collection.
By using just one material they avoid the costly and often complex issues of separation that can hinder or prevent recycling taking place at all. While consumers can recycle the lipstick casing, they can also be returned to Juni who will ensure they are recycled properly. In fact, in 2020 the lipstick bullet won a Silver award at the Pentawards – the world’s most leading and most prestigious competition for packaging design. This April they were shortlisted for the ADF&PCD and PLD Innovation Awards 2021 in the Premium Make-Up category – alongside Chanel and Jimmy Choo. The winner will be announced in June 2021.
Everything produced at Norfolk-based Juni is 100% plastic-free; including primary packaging, cartons, mailing boxes, etc. The formulas are also micro-plastic free and have gained certification of this from the Plastic Soup Foundation. There are over 500 officially recognised micro-plastic ingredients being used within beauty products and they are detrimental to both our health and the environment.
Made with sustainably sourced organic ingredients, 100% plastic-free, vegan as well as allergen, GM and cruelty-free, Juni are leading the way with luxury, high-performing make-up that values the environment and our health. The lipstick retails at £48 and has been described as “the best lipstick ever” by many of the brand’s loyal customers, as well as being in publications such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Forbes.
Madeleine and her team are currently preparing for their second product launch; Rejuvenating Lip Treatment. This features a sophisticated blend of active ingredients that boost collagen production, plump, increase the overall health and hydration levels of the lips and soothe sore, irritated skin. The product will be housed in their forthcoming bespoke aluminium ‘pebble’, which, of course, is 100% plastic-free.
Luxury Hydrating Lipstick (£48) is available in five shades from junicosmetics.
Making small changes to your beauty routine is just one way you can help to make a positive impact on the planet. Choosing sustainable beauty doesn’t mean you have to compromise on results. Powered by innovative biotechnology to create more sustainable formulas and help restore the world’s ecosystems, Biossance’s commitment to people and the planet applies to everything they create from using renewable resources, planet-first processes and ready-to-recycle, conscious packaging with tree-free FSC certified boxes.
All the brands products are vegan, cruelty free and contain 100% plant-based squalane made from renewable sugarcane irrigated only by natural rainfall. This is then bio-fermented to create a highly stable and sustainable squalane that is skin’s best moisturiser, whilst saving 2 million sharks per year to keep oceans healthy, safe and abundant.
Their new releases this month include Squalane + Vitamin C Dark Spot Serum (£49) this antioxidant serum combines 10% vitamin C and white shiitake mushroom to visibly brighten, whilst effectively fading existing pigmentation and preventing new discolouration from forming. Squalane + Marine Algae Eye Cream (£46) – visibly lifts, firms and smooths the delicate eye area with a melt-in texture, powered by paracress and marine algae. Squalane + Omega Repair Cream (£49) – deeply nourishing with all the good fats (lipids) to support your skin’s barrier – squalane, omega fatty acids, ceramides and plant sterols. Squalane + Vitamin C Rose Oil (£61) – Biossance’s best-selling brightening & firming hydrator infused with vitamin C for an instant healthy-looking glow.
Biossance is available now at cultbeauty and selfridges.
EveryGreen is a new trichology-based haircare, styling and professional colour range, utilising essential and organic oils including lavender, rosemary, sweet orange, apricot, pomegranate, coconut and thyme to increase moisture retention, restore shine and vitality to hair and calm irritated scalps.
Environmental, social and economic sustainability is at the heart of the brand, which launched in the UK in last month. EveryGreen is dedicated to sourcing sustainable, certified organic ingredients, using fully recyclable containers, and avoiding unnecessary outer packaging. On a social level, the brand supports ActionAid, changing lives of women and girls around the world as well as setting up the EveryGreen Project which enables young entrepreneurs to integrate into the world of work.
The brand has adopted the concept of ‘less is more’, creating gentle but effective formulas without SLS or SLES, petroleum jelly, silicones, parabens, artificial colourants, or allergenic fragrances to ensure even the most sensitive scalps are soothed and hair is kept in optimum health, while not harming the environment.
Searching for Intergenerational Equity is one of EveryGreen’s main objectives when it comes to their sustainability development as a brand. A 2020 WHO campaign, intergenerational equity believes in the preservation of natural resources and the environment for the benefit of future generations. The brand only source ingredients from suppliers who share this sustainable vision for their land and crops and aim to maintain them for years to come.
The products are also vegan and cruelty free, and are packaged in recyclable and biodegradable packaging, favouring the use of only primary containers, such as box containers for the products, in order to avoid wasting paper and cardboard.
Complementing the salon professional, vegan trichology hair colour, EveryGreen offers 8 solution based ranges for a tailor-made approach to haircare, comprising specific formulas designed to tackle a variety of common hair and scalp ailments. This includes shampoos, conditioners, masks and treatments dealing with anti-oxidant, dry hair, anti-frizz, damaged hair, coloured hair, anti-dandruff, loss control and rebalancing. Products retail at £14.50 to £23.50 and are available now from sbs-hair.
Rihanna created Fenty Skin with a mission to provide uncomplicated skincare solutions for all that both care for skin and the planet. The clean, vegan, cruelty-free formulas celebrate the best that the planet has to offer with effective globally sourced ingredients – including Barbados cherry and Kalahari Desert melon – and the packaging is earth-conscious with the three R’s in mind: Reduce, Reuse & Recycle.
The brand have incorporated post-consumer recycled materials and eliminated outer boxes wherever possible, created refillable systems, and provided easy-to-follow guidelines on how to recycle the products on FentySkin.com in their ever evolving mission to be earth-friendly.
Fenty Beauty supports the Clara Lionel Foundation, created by Rihanna in 2012. CLF supports and funds groundbreaking and effective education, health and emergency response programs around the world and also engages in global advocacy with the goal of improving the quality of life for young people everywhere.
To celebrate Earth Month @FentySkin will be sharing earth-friendly skincare, recycling and upcycling tips across their socials. Make sure to check them out.
R+Co BLEU is a luxurious, couture-calibre capsule collection from R+Co, created for all hair types and textures, that brings glamour, sophistication, unparalleled quality and ingredient innovation to daily hair care with a new range of clean, high- performance daily essentials. The brand is founded upon the guiding principle that luxury today is defined by unparalleled quality and performance, overarching thoughtfulness and a commitment to sustainable practices. Their cutting-edge packaging is both recycled and recyclable, creating a continuous cycle of sustainability. They are committed to using post-consumer resources (PCR) which includes recovering plastics and single-use components once the initial lifecycle has been completed.
R+Co BLEU is one of the first brands to feature 100% recyclable packaging. Bottles and jars are made of 100% post-consumer recycled material, which use 88% less energy to produce, further lowering the carbon footprint. Tubes are constructed from bioresin sugarcane plastic, which has been shown to biodegrade in 180 days in soil and 60 days in compost. Canisters are crafted from 100% aluminum. A recyclable resource, 75% of the aluminum ever produced in the United States is still in use today.
Cartons and secondary packaging are developed from 100% post-consumer recycled paper sourced from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified farms and feature soy-based inks. A beautiful sheet of seed-embedded paper is included with each product which, when planted, grows wildflowers. R+Co BLEU partnered with One Tree Planted, so with every BLEU purchase, a donation is made to promote reforestation efforts around the world.
R+Co BLEU launches today, 22nd April, exclusively at premier salons, cultbeauty and netaporter.
Tropic, the UK’s fastest growing skincare brand, are the first beauty brand in the UK and Europe to be awarded the Protect Land + Sea seal of approval from the Haereticus Environmental Laboratory for their entire sun protection range. This means their formulations are safe for the planet and marine life.
The line, which launched in April 2020, includes Great Barrier sun lotion, (from £18) Skin Shade sun cream (from £18) both available in SPF15, 30 and 50, Sun Day facial UV defence SPF50 (from £10) and SunStick SPF50+ (£20), as well as its Skin Shade SPF50 tinted facial product (£24).
All their vegan suncare products are naturally derived and cruelty-free as well as being broad-spectrum, water-resistant sun protection, formulated using certified reef-safe ingredients.
Common sunscreen ingredients such as oxybenzone, octocrylene and octinoxate are known to be harmful to coral reefs, causing them to be banned from personal care products in Hawaii in 2018. The Skin Shade range is formulated using mineral sun filters only, including non-nano zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, while the Great Barrier range includes a combination of both mineral and chemical sun filters.
Plus every purchase from the brand helps fund education through United World Schools which helps to give children in the world’s poorest regions access to free education.
Available from tropicskincare.
Read the first part of this series on sustainable beauty here.
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