Green Beauty Boom

These brands have environmentally minded initiatives—some new, some longstanding, and all with the aim of giving Mother Nature a helping hand. Going green sure looks good. —Sheri Radford

Valmont’s Luminosity line includes an exfoliator, mask, serum and sublimating cream packaged in glass bottles that are completely recyclable. White mulberry root is one of the star ingredients, grown using aeroponics to save water.

New Kérastase refillable shampoo bottles and eco-refill pouch sets represent the brand’s first-ever renewable packaging innovation. Available in five must-have ranges, the two-step refillable system provides an entirely reusable, recyclable and, of course, luxury hair care experience. The pouch is made with 82 per cent less plastic than the packaging of two 250 mL Kérastase shampoos, and the refillable bottle is made of 100 per cent recycled aluminum.

Lancôme’s Absolue Soft Cream has been rechargeable via a reload caps system since 2018. Simple purchase a recharge capsule online or in store, remove the empty capsule from your pot and drop the new capsule in. Talk about a dream cream!

The Body Shop installed 400 refill stations in stores last year, with 400 more rolling out in 2022. Ditch the plastic and refill cute aluminum bottles with shampoos, conditioners and shower gels.

Province Apothecary just unveiled a silicone sheet mask, perfect for applying your favourite serums and balms. Wash and air dry the mask after each use, and it can be reused hundreds of times. In contrast,
single-use sheet masks are usually made from (and packaged in) non-recyclable plastic and covered in chemicals.

Teaology has launched four masks for face and neck made from biodegradable cotton fibres. These vegan, cruelty-free masks are infused with powerful ingredients like green tea and matcha.

Ultra Rich Body Cream by L’Occitane is still made from organic shea butter, but has been reformulated for sensitive skin. Plus, the product now comes in more sustainable packaging: when you run out, keep the aluminum jar, remove the plastic insert and pop in a refill.

AG Hair has launched refill pouches for its Balance shampoo and Boost conditioner, from the Plant-Based Essentials range. The easy-to-pour pouches use three-quarters less plastic than the brand’s usual bottles.

Clean beauty brand Pura Botanicals has partnered with Pact Collective, so customers can drop off their hard-to-recycle packaging like lids, pumps and droppers to the brand’s flagship boutique in Edmonton. “This program allows us to recycle these items through Pact so they don’t end up in a landfill,” explains founder Lane Edwards. Watch for Pura’s pop-up coming to Vancouver later this month.

Choosing glass over plastic has always been a conscious choice for Youth To The People. Not only does glass protect the integrity of formulas better than plastic, it’s also a more sustainable, earth-friendly solution. The brand’s glass packaging is endlessly recyclable, and can be crushed, melted and made into a new glass product without any loss in quality, time and time again.  

Klorane recently unveiled bar versions of its two bestselling mango and oat milk shampoos. Tucked inside eco-friendly packaging, the bars are free of silicone, parabens, sulfated surfactants and mineral oils.

Garnier’s Whole Blends shampoo bar is the company’s first-ever product to come in plastic-free, completely recyclable packaging.

Attitude just launched Leaves, a line of 29 plastic-free bars made from vegan ingredients and packaged in recyclable cardboard. These solid beauties run the gamut: shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, soap, dry body oil, body butter stick, body scrub and more. Because they’re solid and have minimal packaging, they’re ideal for travel. And, for each one sold, Attitude plants a tree.

Husband-and-wife team Wayne Dunn and Gifty Serbeh-Dunn started Baraka to sell unrefined, fair-trade shea butter from Serbeh-Dunn’s homeland of Ghana. The Vancouver Island-based couple also sells fair-trade kombo butter, baobab powder, virgin coconut oil, cocoa butter and more—perfect for the DIY crowd—along with black soap made with ingredients like aloe vera and banana.

Bella Aura offers three of its most-popular products in Baby Bella tubes made from sugarcane, which are both refillable and recyclable.

Ardell Beauty just introduced Eco Lashes: three styles of eco-friendly reusable eyelashes crafted from plantbased, cruelty-free fibres joined on an organic cotton band. Each set comes packaged in a biodegradable paper carton printed with soy ink.

Hereward Farms makes non-toxic, cruelty-free products infused with lavender that’s sustainably grown and harvested on the family’s 150-acre farm in Ontario. The serum, toner, body oil and more are handmade in small batches and packaged in charming glass bottles.

Maybelline New York recently introduced its Conscious Together sustainability program. By 2030 the brand plans to achieve goals such as using only recycled plastics for its plastic packaging and having 95 per cent of its ingredients be bio-based.