Body & beauty

Clean Beauty

How to make environmentally-friendly choices when picking your products

Most of us are used to looking at ingredients to check for nasties, but have you ever thought to look for eco credentials? As the world opens its eyes to the damage it’s doing, we guide you through simple changes you can make to ease the environmental impact of your regime.

Mia Tozer, brand assistant at Urban Veda (urbanveda.com), explains: “As a consumer looking to reduce your carbon footprint, it is definitely worthwhile researching the companies you are interested in. Those who are sustainable in their manufacturing and packaging process will be transparent about this, especially given that so much attention is currently focused on issues such as plastic. Ordering in bulk or buying the larger sizes of products also helps as the resulting implications are less.”

Nneka Fleming, founder of Novel Skincare (novelskincare.co.uk) agrees: “The clean, eco-friendly trend in skincare comes hand in hand with the growing self-care movement which calls for everyone to take responsibility for their wellbeing, including what feels right and wrong. You can’t do that without considering the wider environmental factors associated with the choices you make.

“There’s an environmental cost to every beauty product but there are steps you can take to reduce this. Ask yourself: what’s it made of? Can it be reused or recycled? Does it include excess packaging that has to be thrown away? Look at the ingredients and consider whether there are toxic substances in there? Many companies will leave you to decipher their list, but the best defence is to simplify your skincare.

Nneka’s tips to reduce waste in your regime

Streamlining your beauty routine will dramatically cut down on the waste that you produce. Take a look at your shelf and ask what impact the products will have on the environment – will they leave a trace? With future purchases I’d recommend these top tips:

1. Shop with ethical and sustainable brands who take care to source products which are sustainable and transparent in terms of their ingredients, ethos and environmental goals.

2. Check for the recycling symbol on labels before you buy. This will also help you to recycle after you finish using a product – glass is best but, if a product is made from plastic, aim for PET1, the most widely recyclable plastic. Remember the higher the number, the less likely it is that it will ever be recycled.

3. Once you’ve purchased and used a product, make sure you dispose of it correctly. For example, don’t pour something down the drain which isn’t meant to go there!

Products embracing eco-friendly…

Face Halo, £7, boots.com

Hailed as the modern make-up remover, this will clear your face using specially designed microfibre and only water. Each pad is reusable and lasts for around 200 wash cycles.

Nuddy Soap, £4.95, nuddy.co.uk

Have you ever stopped to think of the plastic you use each time you scrub up with a shower gel? Make the switch to soap with this 100 percent plastic-free product, which is filled with natural ingredients.

Harmony Rescue Mask, £39, wearewildbeauty.co.uk

The people at this brand are passionate about reducing their environmental impact, so all bottles are made from glass, from local European suppliers, in paper boxes with compostable labels.