May
Sustainable Skincare: How to Tell Which Brands Actually Mean It
“Natural.” “Eco.” “Sustainable.” “Green.” “Conscious.” If you have spent any time looking for genuinely sustainable skincare, you know these words appear on almost every product — but rarely mean anything specific. This is what the industry calls greenwashing: using the language of sustainability without the credentials to back it up.
This guide gives you the tools to separate brands that deliver from brands that only perform.
What “Sustainable Skincare” Actually Means
Before evaluating brands, it helps to understand what sustainability in skincare really involves. It is not one single thing. It is several dimensions a brand can address well, poorly, or selectively:
Formula. What is inside the product? Are the ingredients of responsible plant or synthetic origin? Are problematic substances like parabens, aggressive sulfates, PFAS, and microplastics avoided?
Packaging. What is it contained in? Recyclable glass, PCR plastic, refillable materials? Have both primary and secondary packaging been designed with waste reduction in mind?
Cruelty-free. Have the products or their ingredients been tested on animals at any stage of production? Is there third-party certification to verify the claim?
Supply chain. Where do the raw materials come from? Are there verifiable commitments around labour conditions and the environmental impact of production?
A brand can do one of these dimensions well and fail badly at the others. Glass packaging does not compensate for a formula containing microplastics. Calling something “natural” does not mean it is cruelty-free.
The Greenwashing Warning Signs
Learning to detect greenwashing is the most useful skill you can develop as a consumer of sustainable skincare.
“Natural” with no certification. The word “natural” has no legal definition in cosmetics — in the US, the EU, or anywhere. Any brand can use it with no restriction whatsoever. It means nothing without third-party certification to back it up (Ecocert, COSMOS, NATRUE).
“Free from” claims without context. “Paraben-free.” “Sulfate-free.” “Silicone-free.” These claims can be true and completely irrelevant at the same time. A product can be paraben-free and contain other more problematic preservatives. Selective “free from” labelling is a standard greenwashing marketing technique.
Green packaging with a conventional formula. The recycled cardboard box is visible and photogenic. The ingredients are in small print on the back. Many brands invest heavily in communicating the packaging while maintaining formulas with zero environmental commitment in the actual ingredients.
Cruelty-free with no certification. Any brand can print “not tested on animals” on their label. The only internationally verifiable standard is Leaping Bunny certification, which audits not just the brand but its ingredient suppliers. Without Leaping Bunny or an equivalent third-party certification, the claim is simply not verifiable.
The Certifications That Matter
When you are looking for genuinely sustainable skincare, these are the certifications with real credibility:
Leaping Bunny (CCIC). The reference standard for cruelty-free. It audits the entire production chain, including ingredient suppliers. It is not enough for the brand itself not to test — no supplier in their chain can either.
Ecocert / COSMOS Organic / COSMOS Natural. Certifications for natural and organic cosmetics. They regulate the minimum percentage of natural or organic-origin ingredients and exclude a list of problematic substances.
FSC (Forest Stewardship Council). For paper and cardboard packaging. It guarantees that the wood or cellulose used comes from responsibly managed forests.
Cruelty Free International (Leaping Bunny) vs PETA. While PETA has its own “Beauty Without Bunnies” certification, the Leaping Bunny standard is more rigorous in verifying the supply chain — not just the brand’s own practices.
How to Evaluate a Specific Brand
When you find a sustainable skincare brand you are interested in, these are the questions to ask:
Do they publish the complete INCI ingredient list on their website, not just on the packaging? Do they have verifiable third-party certifications, or only their own claims? Is their packaging genuinely minimal or just minimalist in aesthetic? Can you contact them and get concrete answers about their suppliers?
Brands that genuinely stand behind their commitments have no problem answering these questions. Brands that do not tend to have very beautiful websites and very little specific information.
Auren’s Commitment
At Auren, we built the brand starting from these questions — not as an afterthought.
We are Leaping Bunny certified. We never test on animals, and we do not work with suppliers who do. Our primary packaging is recyclable glass or PCR plastic. We publish the complete INCI composition of every product on our website, without small print. And we do not use the words “natural” or “eco” without something concrete to back them up.
We are not perfect. No brand is. But we are honest about what we do, about what we do not do yet, and about the direction we are moving in.
Because that is exactly what we ask you to demand from any sustainable skincare brand you choose.
This article was written with AI assistance and reviewed and edited by the Auren team.
Last updated: May 2024
