Helping hands: brands that are as ethical as they are effective
Increasingly, we want our beauty products to be as ethically sound as they are effective. Hannah Coates reports on shopping with a conscience
the body shop has educated 25,000 children and saved 8,000 hectares of rainforst
Research shows that 73% of Millennials are willing to spend more money on a product if the brand is socially conscious*. If you’re among them, here are the beauty brands to buy into – and their game-changing products. With the health and beauty market expected to reach £26.7bn by 2022**, there’s never been a better time for brands to get altruistic and support charities, communities and the world in general. Here – in light of International Women’s Day – we delve into what our favourite beauty brands are up to…
The body shop
For long-term pioneers of the do-good movement, The Body Shop, giving back is as integral to its DNA as the products it creates, working with initiatives such as Community Trade to support the local populations that produce its ingredients. Pins Brown, head of ethical trade and sustainable sourcing at the brand, explains, ‘ Trade becomes an engine of development in these communities, improving livelihoods and investing in social and environmental projects that have a huge impact on people’s lives.’ In fact, in just over 30 years, The Body Shop has educated more than 25,000 children and preserved 8,000 hectares of rainforest as part of its efforts to source ingredients consciously.
Take the shea butter in its best-selling Shea range (all of which is sumptuously hydrating and smells amazing, but FYI – we like the Shea Lip Butter [ 1], £4.50), which lands in those products by way of 640 different women using an 18-stage process passed down from mother to daughter for generations in Ghana. ‘ We buy the shea butter to help empower these women with financial independence and a voice in the community,’ says Pins. ‘ We also pay a premium to help fund community projects each year, including safe water access, healthcare and building schools for children.’ So, when the brand’s new 100% natural Shea Butter, £15, melts into your skin, hair or bath, know you’ve played a positive part in improving life for women across the globe.
Kiehl’s
Thanks to a rich 50-year history of raising funds for global causes, rest assured that every swipe of Kiehl’s cult Crème de Corps body moisturiser, £48, on your dry limbs has actually been helping the world – from women’s health issues to the environment – as well as your body. For the past five years, the brand has been partnering with MTV’S Staying Alive Foundation, whose quest is to help prevent HIV, fight stigma and generally raise awareness, by working with an assortment of LGBTQ+ projects worldwide. So far, they have raised over £310,000.
One of the projects is the Mumbaibased Yaariyan, which offers a safe online community to LGBTQ+ living in India, where homosexuality is criminalised. The brand’s limited-edition Ultra Facial Cream [ 3], £24.50, a super-hydrating godsend, launches just before Pride in May, and £5 of each pot sold will go straight to MTV Staying Alive.
chantecaille
The skincare and make-up brand that endeavours to support global environmental and conservation issues (and do it in style), Chantecaille is now partnering with the Attenborough Foundation to plant a tree in Kenya every time one of its new Lip Cristal lipsticks [ 8], £42, is sold. The idea behind this is that each tree produces oxygen and absorbs CO₂, thereby filtering our air, offsetting emissions and helping to ease the effects of climate change on the planet. If you don’t do it for the environment, do it for Sir David. (And the fact that the lipsticks are glitter-infused and give a light, balmy twinkle to lips.)
Lancôme
By buying any Lancôme product (we’re going for the new Teint Idole Ultra-wear Nude foundation [ 6], £33.50), you’ll now be doing your bit to help eliminate illiteracy in England, where one in seven women don’t have the support they need to accrue basic literacy skills. The partnership with the National Literacy Trust, called Words for Work, aims to educate these women, in turn boosting their confidence and employment prospects. Further afield, via a global scheme entitled Write Her Future, Lancôme plans to contribute €2.4m over five years, directly helping 8,000 women.
bareminerals
We’ve all tried one of the brand’s swishand-tap mineral foundations [ 2], £27, and now Bareminerals is dedicated to donating 1% of sales to its Power of Good Fund – an initiative that works with an array of charities relating to women’s education, entrepreneurialism and mentorship, as well as offering a further 1% of employees’ time to volunteer for different causes. Currently an initiative in the US, it is set to be rolled out worldwide and will be global by 2020.
THE SOAP CO
Each of The Soap Co’s products is designed for good, whether that’s for the skin, people or the environment. Not only does the brand hold The Planet Mark, a certification that it’s committed to year-on-year sustainability progress, but it also creates jobs for blind, disabled and otherwise disadvantaged people in its East London and Keswick bases. The emphasis is on developing skills, building confidence and encouraging independence. Stats already show it’s a success, with 50% of the people the company has been involved with finding new roles in other employment. Buying just one of its hand or body washes equates to an hour’s paid work for one of its employees. We’re obsessed with the Mulberry & Amber soap [ 4], £9, with added pumice to gently exfoliate while cleansing.
REN
Eco-warrior REN has committed to zero waste by 2021 and works with a host of different charities, like Surfers Against Sewage, to keep our coastlines as clean and healthy as they can be (see the lovely likes of their Atlantic Kelp and Magnesium Anti-fatigue Body Wash [ 10], £22, in a 100% recycled bottle, with 20% reclaimed ocean plastic). But new on its to-do-good list is a partnership with Terracycle, a global leader in recycling, to introduce a revolutionary new waste-free shopping system named LOOP that really sounds like an industry game changer. The idea is to put a stop to products being one-use by offering to pick up your empty container, refill it, and bring it back to you – quickly, efficiently and, most importantly, conveniently. Thus far, REN is the only premium skincare brand participating. Watch this space.
ELIZABETH ARDEN
Putting the lipstick – that symbol of female empowerment – at the centre of its March On initiative, Elizabeth Arden has created a limited-edition Pink Punch shade [ 7], £24, with ambassador Reese Witherspoon. Every single penny of the proceeds goes to UN Women, a champion of women worldwide, which is dedicated to achieving gender equality and ensuring there are enough policies, programmes and services to benefit women globally.
THIS WORKS
This year, £1 from each sale of This Works’ cult Deep Sleep Pillow Spray [ 5], £18, on the brand’s website will go towards homelessness charity Shelter, which notes a shocking 165% increase in homelessness since 2018 – the highest since figures began to be recorded. To help everyone from rough sleepers to entire families living in temporary accommodation, the aim is to raise £30,000 for the charity by way of its Your Safe Space campaign. ‘ We know only too well the value to our mental and physical health of getting a good night’s sleep and the importance of having a safe home to call your own,’ says Anna Persaud, CEO of the brand.
ALWAYS
You might be shocked to learn that thousands of UK schoolgirls (and their families) can’t afford sanitary products. Always has been tackling the issue of period poverty by donating a pad to those in need every time a pack of its sanitary pads is purchased. So far, it has given over 14 million pads to students across the UK and has been working with poet Hollie Mcnish to create Insta-poems that tackle the stigma surrounding period poverty.
REVLON
Partnering with model Adwoa Aboah’s online community, Gurls Talk, which gives girls a space to discuss mental health issues, addiction and the day-to-day issues relating to just, well, being a girl, Revlon’s new limited edition ‘It’s Okay To Feel Every Feeling’ kit [ 9], £12.99, is packaged in vibrant shades of blue and includes a lipstick, lip topper and a nail varnish.
AVON
A recent study by Avon found that half of women’s productive potential – in the workplace and in life – is under-used, which is why the brand has launched the #Standforher campaign, an initiative that supports women in many different ways, whether it’s those who have experienced domestic violence or survived breast cancer or who need support achieving their career goals. The brand will donate $100,000 to fund education programmes for girls and women.