Stella McCartney Brings Her Spirit of Sustainability to a New Skincare Line

Most beauty lines launched by a notable name serve as a continuation of the maker's ethos—a reflection of aesthetics and values that furthers their brand while offering an accessible entry point for consumers. So it's only natural that Stella McCartney's new skincare line, Stella McCartney Beauty, should showcase sustainability, a cornerstone of the designer's decades-long career.

Since the brand's launch in 2001, Stella McCartney has eschewed fur, feathers, and skin, continuing to champion sustainable materials and packaging while eliminating options that don't match brand standards (think PVC and angora). McCartney has collaborated with the likes of Parley for the Oceans to create products from ocean plastic debris; Greenpeace to help end deforestation in the Amazon; Extinction Rebellion to highlight the fight against climate change; and the Humane Society to help promote a fur-free world. And don't even get us started on the brand's 2021 garments crafted from mushroom leather.

Stella McCartney Beauty is something of a culmination, a line conceptualized with eco-mindedness at its core, rather than as an added value.

Stella McCartney Beauty and Sustainability

The brand's collection of three products—the Reset Cleanser, Alter-Care Serum, and Restore Cream—come in refillable containers, with formulas comprised of natural-origin ingredients derived minus pollution or lack of renewability. McCartney works with Quantis to ensure that actives are ethical on every level, from sourcing to traceability.

The brand takes extra steps, too, including tips on how to care for reusable packaging to ensure longevity, and certifications from Cruelty Free International (Leaping Bunny) and the Vegan Society. Prices range from $60-140, those costs reduced significantly once the initial product is purchased (an added perk of refills).

Just don't call it clean.

"What is clean?" McCartney asks Elle UK. "I struggle with it—this trend for greenwashing. I have an allergy to all of it. I get why people use that word because it conjures up wonderful images of purity, but I would never use it. Language is really important. The work we’ve been doing for years is real and now that work is open to dilution because of marketing words like this."

In a world where eco is something of an afterthought, brands like Stella McCartney offer a business blueprint for putting the planet first.