Who doesn’t love the idea of using eco-friendly makeup? Making the switch to sustainable ingredients and packaging is great for you and the planet. Unfortunately, environmentally conscious cosmetics can often feel out-of-reach to many.
Many consumers feel like a switch to sustainable beauty isn’t possible because of the lack of options. Smaller, eco-friendly makeup lines tend to offer fewer products with less varied skin tones, limiting access to sustainable makeup for the BIPOC community.
Fortunately, several companies have made it their mission to change that. The inclusive makeup brands below have planet-friendly options for every skin tone, from foundation to lipstick.
5 Eco-Friendly and Inclusive Makeup Brands
1. Fenty Beauty
Product to Try: Fenty Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation, $36
Shades: 50
In 2017, Rhianna’s Fenty Beauty changed how the beauty industry approaches inclusivity. The inclusive makeup brand hosts an extensive range of foundation colors, including a color designed to accommodate albinism.
The lineup was so groundbreaking that it was named one of the 25 best inventions of 2017 by Time magazine, and the subsequent popularity of including harder-to-find shades for women of color was dubbed the Fenty Effect.
To our delight, Fenty Beauty has also named sustainability as one of its core company tenets. The brand is shifting to refillable packaging, which significantly reduces plastic waste, and they include recycling instructions on every product. Fenty also uses ethically-sourced, natural ingredients.
All around, Rhianna’s makeup line is challenging the cosmetics industry for the better, pushing for a more inclusive and sustainable future.
2. ILIA
Product to Try: ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint, $48
Shades: 30
Known for its diverse and real-life marketing, ILIA is pushing the beauty industry to be more authentic. Not only does the inclusive makeup brand offer 18 foundation shades, but they show their products on models of diverse skin colors and skin types.
ILIA is also known for its exceptional sustainability practices. Their packaging is made from 100% recyclable materials, including recycled aluminum and responsibly sourced paper. The brand also partners with TerraCycle. Customers can mail in up to five beauty products a month (which don’t all have to be ILIA products!) into TerraCycle using their Zero Waste Box. TerraCycle then ensures the products don’t end up in landfills.
As an added bonus, ILIA’s products are clean and consciously sourced, meaning their materials are good for the planet before they’re even packaged.
3. Habit Cosmetics
Product to Try: Bright Lights Vegan + Organic Creme Highlighter, $28
Shades: 3
This Black-owned beauty brand features crème-based color pots and highlighters made for every skin tone. Habit’s founder, Aja Frierson, says she wants to make sure women of color are represented in the clean beauty space.
All of Habit’s products are vegan and non-toxic, and they use 100% post-consumer plastic packaging. While Habit is founded on inclusivity and sustainability, they’re also all about empowerment. For select Habit products, 40% of the sales give back to women and communities of color.
✨ Habit has sustainable nail polish, too! You’ll find it in our September Drop, launching on September 6th. Click here for a text alert! ✨
4. Elate Cosmetics
Product to Try: Elate Refresh Foundation, $32
Shades: 10
One look at Elate’s packaging and you’ll be impressed. Take their Refresh Foundation, for example. It comes in a glass bottle with a recyclable plastic pump, and the bamboo component of the lid can be crushed and composted.
Currently, 100% of their products are compostable or recyclable, and 75% are plastic-free. Even better, 75% of their products are organic, and 100% are vegan and non-toxic.
Elate may be known for its low-waste packaging and eco-friendly ingredients, but inclusivity is also at the heart of the female-led company. Their inclusive makeup comes in a wide range of shades, making it easy for people of all skin tones to find the right product for them.
5. Mango People
Product to Try: Mango People Bronzer, $24
Shades: 3
Sravya Adusumilli, the founder of Mango People, struggled to find a clean beauty brand that carried products made for her skin tone. And thus Mango People was born.
Inclusivity is integral to the brand. Not only do they offer a diverse range of shades, but they model their products on many different skin tones so customers can make an informed decision about which products are right for them.
Representation is listed as the company’s first value, and sustainability is named as the second. All of their products are natural and organic, and they have a refill program to reduce plastic waste.
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