Ahead of World Earth Day tomorrow, we've devoted our weekly roundup of our team picks to our favourite eco-conscious beauty choices
In honour of World Earth Day (April 22 2021) we're shining the spotlight on beauty and wellbeing brands who are making an effort to be more eco-friendly, be it with recyclable packaging, charity donations or carefully considered ingredients.
Upcircle Best-Sellers Bundle, £63.99
Loved by: Hattie Sloggett, GTG columnist
"You might know of indie brand Upcircle as the pioneers of the by-product beauty trend. If you don't, let me introduce you. Upcircle repurposes ingredients from various industries, including the argan, tea, juice, date, olive and wood industries. Not only that but all of their products are recyclable. However, this Earth day they are going 'full circle' and launching their new refillable scheme so you simply purchase from the refill section, use and then when you're finished with it, free-post back to the warehouse where your much-loved product will be sterilised, refilled and returned. It's hard to pick one product from this vegan brand as they are all wonderful so I opt for the top five. The bundle includes their award-winning face serum made with coffee oil, moisturiser made with argan powder, eye cream made with caffeine and maple wood, cleanser made with apricot powder and the herbal blend infused face scrub. This natural-ingredient packed bundle of joy will leave your feeling clean, revitalised and super glowy. So, not only will your skin thank you but so will the planet."
Clean Reserve Lush Fleur, £82 for 100ml
Loved by: Melanie Macleod, digital writer
"To celebrate Earth Day this year vegan fragrance brand Clean Reserve is sponsoring the Protect Our Species campaign to raise awareness of the importance of protecting our planet’s pollinators. Last year the brand highlighted bees with a special edition of its Radiant Nectar scent and this year it has turned its attention to butterflies. The brand's floral Lush Fleur fragrance has been released with a limited edition butterfly illustration on the box and bottle, making it look as pretty as it smells. It has top notes of mandarin, raspberry and bergamot, heart notes of damask rose and base notes of vanilla , moss, amber and musk, for a subtle, powdery rose scent."
Earthkind Organic Oats conditioning bar, £8.95
Loved by: Jemma Thompson, design and social media manager
"Years ago, if you suggested I switch from my regular hair conditioner to a bar, you would have received a firm no. Fast forward a few years and they’ve become a staple in my haircare routine. There’s nothing better than a product that combines efficacy and eco-conscious values and this conditioning bar from EarthKind is exactly that. Founded by leading trichologist and cosmetic scientist Tony Maleedy, EarthKind specialises in planet-friendly, vegan, natural, plastic-free and sulfate-free haircare made from high quality and biodegradable ingredients. The conditioning balm is made with organic oats that contain zero water and uses wheat amino acids, oat proteins and coconut oil to strengthen, smooth and protect hair from environmental stresses. It's great for all hair types and leaves my locks feeling nourished, healthy, and strong."
Susanne Kauffman Hand Soap Refill, £28 for 250ml
Loved by: Catherine Fulwood, commercial partnerships manager
"I’m a huge fan of the chic Susanne Kaufmann packaging and when my bottle nears to empty I start to panic; enter the brand's innovative refill packaging developed to reduce packaging waste and leave a lighter footprint on the planet. Each refill helps to prolong the shelf life of the beautiful glass bottles lowering your environmental impact. You can also get top-ups for other cult picks from the range including the shampoo and cleansing gel, so you can do good for the planet all in the knowledge your bathroom will be looking and smelling the part too."
Loopeco Tranquility Bath Salts, £34.99 launching on April 22
Loved by: Melanie Macleod, digital writer
"British brand Loopeco launches on Earth Day 2021 and is a 100 per cent plastic-free line aiming to create a closed-loop economy where everything is shared, repaired, reused or recycled. Where waste is to create something new. The boxes these salts come in are embedded with seeds and are plantable, plus Loopeco is a carbon-neutral company, offsetting its carbon omissions with charity Carbon Footprint to plant trees in the south-east of England and supporting carob offsetting projects in Uganda to help provide clean drinking water to rural communities. Housed in apothecary style glass bottles, these salts include arnica and dead sea salt to soothe weary limbs and help you feel rejuvenated no matter how long your day has been."
Buy from April 22
Glossier Body Hero Exfoliating Bar, £12
Loved by: Victoria Woodhall, editorial director
"Beautifully scented with Glossier’s characteristic ‘clean laundry’ fragrance (fans of Glossier’s Body Oil might do a little dance) this exfoliating bar combines eco with cool and practicality. It’s packaged solely in cardboard and while it looks like a bar of soap, it's so much more. There’s a well in one side, if you want to add any extra body washes to your exfoliation regime, although for me it works hard enough by itself. Superfine grains of biodegradable bamboo powder give a pleasingly glow-getting scrub without being scratchy, as you run this over your limbs. There’s less waste than conventional body scrubs which seems to wash off in the shower before they have really had a chance to get to work. With this, you use exactly what you need. My bar is a few weeks old now and still going strong!"
Skin and Tonic Plump Up Hydration Serum, £28
Loved by: Jemma Thompson, design and social media manager
"Skin and Tonic has been around since 2015 and has always focused on using fresh, organic and sustainable ingredients formulated in the UK. Since then, the brand has come on in leaps and bounds and has turned its attention to a relaunch of the range. From packaging to formulation, its self-care skin range is more eco-conscious than ever, focusing on using recyclable glass packaging and offsetting its carbon footprint. I’m loving the whole range, its first-ever product, Calm Balm , is a strong favourite before bed alongside the new Plump Up Hydration Serum which uses hyaluronic acid to plump and boost my skin’s radiance while helping the good bacteria in my skins flora to thrive."
Innersense Hydrate Trio, £78
Loved by: Hattie Sloggett, GTG columnist
"If, like me, you have thick, curly and thirsty hair you need to check out organic beauty brand Innersense who created a locks life-saver in the form of its hydration trio including a cream hairbath (how lush does that sound?) shampoo, emollient-rich conditioner and a flower-essence infused leave-in spritz. The products work magically together to provide nutrition, hydration and revitalisation. The combination of shea butter and coconut oil in the shampoo and conditioner makes shower time effortless leaving your waves feeling soft and manageable, yet lightweight and clean, while the leave-in conditioner is packed with lavender, honey, oregano, rosemary and rooibos tea, all of which calm, soothe, heal and nourish, not only your hair but your scalp too. Not just good on the inside, Innersense are good on the outside too. An Earth Day champion it is converting to 100 per cent post-consumer recycled plastic for its packaging and has partnered with Plastic Bank to make a positive impact on the ocean's plastic problem by collecting more plastic than it produces."
Irene Forte Hydrating White Wine Body Cream, £89
Loved by: Catherine Fulwood, commercial partnerships manager
"I was lucky enough to try this luscious body cream just after returning from holiday last year when my skin had seen a little too much sun and needed some extra hydration. With Sicilian organic white wine no less, plus hyaluronic acid, olive oil and a plethora of other vegan ingredients homegrown in Sicily it feels good for you and is all-natural all at the same time, plus the sustainable ceramic packaging is dreamy."
Forgo Handwashing Starter Kit, £39
Loved by: Melanie Macleod, digital writer
"Forget picking up your hand wash in the supermarket, Forgo has made it *much* more fun. This starter kit provides you with a glass bottle and three sachets of powder (different scents include citrus, wood and natural which is unscented). You add one paper sachet of powder to 250ml of hot water in the glass bottle, shake vigorously (really vigorously) and voila, your very own hand made foaming hand wash. The powder sachets (which you can reorder for £20 for three refills) are 99 per cent plant-based, there's zero waste because the paper sachets can be recycled and you can reuse the glass bottle endlessly."
Moo & Yoo Body Bundle, £38
Loved by: Hattie Sloggett, GTG columnist
"Moo & Yoo is a family-owned vegan brand from the Scottish highlands. It hit the ground running with its delicious shampoo, conditioner and hair mask last year and has now added the Icelandic moss, the purest algae on the planet, body wash and lotion to the collection. A gentle formula packed full of vitamin E and C oils and essential fatty acids, it is also anti-inflammatory and leaves the skin feeling supple, soft and hydrated. The best results come from pairing both the wash and the lotion but they are also equally fabulous when used alone. This value-based team does everything sustainably, from its use of 100 per cent vegan ingredients, recyclable glass bottles and a tree planted with every purchase. So it is no surprise that the brand has upped its give-back game for Earth Day. For the entire month of April, you can get 10 per cent off in celebration of our beautiful planet, they will be planting not one but two trees for every purchase and to top it all off the family will be doing a beach clean up on their local shores. If that's not a brand with integrity, then I don't know what is."
Birchbox X Stasher, from £13.95
Loved by: Jemma Thompson, design and social media manager
"In celebration of World Earth Day Birchbox has partnered with Stasher, a reusable silicone alternative to single-use plastic bags as part of its promise to ensure at least 25 per cent of the contents of its traditional boxes are reusable items. This month Brichbox is ditching its usual boxes (which are also 100 per cent recyclable, biodegradable and made with recyclable materials) and encouraging subscribers to make sustainably-minded choices at home. The innovative, eco-friendly Stasher bag can be used to store anything from food to beauty products to stationery. Not only is the Stasher bag worth around £10, you'll also receive a mix of five full and sample-sized handpicked beauty products as part of the collaboration., including the likes of Greenfrog Botanic Shampoo Bar, Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing, and a Nails inc nail polish. It's a step in the right direction and I can't wait to see what Birchbox do next as part of their pledge."
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