Clean Beauty Products The Best Zero Waste Makeup of 2023 River Organics is our top choice of clean cosmetics in minimal packaging. By Neeti Mehra Neeti Mehra Neeti is a freelance writer for Treehugger who covers sustainability and conscious living. She has edited three magazines during her career and she is currently a columnist and is a contributor to a host of publications. Learn about our editorial process Updated September 16, 2022 Share Twitter Pinterest Email Clean Beauty Products Tips & Techniques We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more. Getty For long, the gold standard of a beauty box was lilliputian brochures, oversized boxes, and reams of diaphanous wrapping. Tucked in its belly was usually a tiny (or a large) container, often made of plastic. The cosmetic industry for decades has been notorious for producing waste, especially tons of plastic waste. Compounding this issue, only a minuscule 9% of the billions of tons of plastic produced globally is recycled. But now, consumers are demanding better alternatives, and some brands are stepping up to the challenge. They’re conscious of not only what goes in the bottle but also the whole packaging caboodle. To navigate the zero-waste universe, we checked in with Kathryn Kellogg, author of 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste and founder of Going Zero Waste. “Beauty products are notoriously difficult to recycle,” says Kellogg. What you should really keep an eye out for, she says, are "products that you can upcycle (unleash your DIY skills by turning glass beauty pots into candles), refill schemes and products with extended producer responsibility, for instance, where brands have partnered with recycling companies such as TerraCycle or take back the packaging.” Ahead, our pick of the best zero waste makeup brands, plus a few that are the next best thing, with extremely minimal and eco-conscious packaging. The Rundown Best Overall: River Organics at Riverorganics.org Jump to Review Best Capsule Collection: Elate Cosmetics at Elatebeauty.com Jump to Review Best Budget: Clean Faced Cosmetics at Etsy Jump to Review Best Mineral: All Earth Mineral Cosemetics at Allearthmineralcosmetics.com Jump to Review Best Luxury: Kjaer Weis at Credo Beauty Jump to Review Best for Lip Color: Axiology Of The Earth Balmies Trio at Axiologybeauty.com Jump to Review Best for Blush: Bee You Organics Organic Blush at Beeyouorganics.com Jump to Review Best Overall River Organics Courtesy of River Organics View On Riverorganics.org Kiss packaging peanuts goodbye! If the beauty industry’s junk gnaws at you, then make sure River Organics is part of your lineup. Art Historian Corinne Lefebvre and natural product chemist Fabien Scorza, partners for life, founded River Organics, a plant oil-based makeup company that minimizes litter as far as possible (think paper and glass packaging). It uses kraft-based packing material to wrap the goodies before shipping them in 100% recycled padded mail envelopes made by Eco-Enclose. Its unbleached, compostable, and biodegradable labels come from Pure Labels. The business cards are printed and cut from kraft paper at home. What’s more, the company packs in 60% more blush in the paper tubes than they could in similar-sized rigid plastic doodads, dialing down waste. We also love that they match every dollar you donate to offset your carbon footprint. Best Capsule Collection Elate Cosmetics 4.8 Elate Cosmetics View On Elatebeauty.com Certified B Corp Elate Cosmetics, with its philosophy of reduce, reuse, and recycle, is primed for building the perfect capsule collection, where less is more. Attend online masterclasses (for a small fee) or take a quiz on their website to choose among spiffy palettes, handy canisters, and cutesy compacts. The refillable, cruelty-free makeup contains 75% organic ingredients. Its products come primarily in lovely compostable water-treated bamboo containers, recyclable aluminum pans, and glass jars. And plant mommas rejoice! It ships refills in plantable wildflower seed paper envelopes made from waste fiber. You can also buy visually imperfect palettes and compacts (though usable), otherwise destined for the dump. What’s more, the complete collection can be composted or recycled. While approximately 75% of its packaging is plastic and waste-free, the company striving to bump off the dregs forever. Best Budget Clean Faced Cosmetics Courtesy of Etsy View On Etsy This beloved Etsy shop has affordable, vegan, plant-based, plastic-free makeup. Metal tins and glass bottles with metal caps are its choice of containers. With ingredients such as cocoa powder, organic matcha, coconut oil, and rose powder, you might just be tempted to try the entire collection, ranging from blushes and bronzers to lipsticks and mascaras. For refills, you get a peachy 10% discount. The powders are shipped in biodegradable bags, while you need to dispatch clean containers back to them for refilling creams, balms, and lipsticks. The 9 Best Sustainable Makeup Brands of 2023 Best Mineral All Earth Mineral Cosemetics Courtesy of All Earth Mineral Cosmetics View On Allearthmineralcosmetics.com Makeup artist Julie Wieczorek and natural skincare aficionado Guy Hanson teamed up to create a cosmetic company, which uses pure minerals and botanicals packed in a mix of recycled, recyclable, and compostable materials. At the heart of this vegan and cruelty-free Cornish beauty brand is the low carbon footprint, recycled and recyclable puck-shaped ‘Pot of Life.’ This curious sifter-style case is fashioned locally from discarded fishing nets plucked from the Cornish coast. Refill these long-lasting pots endlessly by reordering favorites, which are ferried to you in biodegradable, recyclable tubes. The duo previously sold products under the brand "Angel Face Mineral Cosmetics," some of which came in plastic packaging. If you happen to have any of these old containers lingering at home, you can send them in for recycling under All Earth’s Eco Swap service (with Terracycle) whenever you shop with them. Best Luxury Kjaer Weis 5 Kjaer Weis View On Credo Beauty View On Kjaerweis.com View On Neiman Marcus Sleek, stylish, and sustainable, Kjaer Weis’ uncompromising standards, incredible aesthetics, and ingenious refillable packaging have redefined sustainable luxury makeup. Its refill system (a simple triad of pop-out, pull hard, and click in) hinges on artistically sculpted cases made from glossy metal and lacquered paper that simply implores you to replenish your stocks. The carefully crafted outer packaging and shipping material are recyclable and compostable, made from FSC-certified materials with lettering in water-based ink. We’re also partial to this brand for its meticulous cruelty and gluten-free formulations that are certified organic by COSMOS or CCPB. The 9 Best Natural Mascaras of 2023 Best for Lip Color Axiology Of The Earth Balmies Trio 5 Courtesy of Axiology View On Axiologybeauty.com Axiology’s journey started in Ericka Rodriguez’s Brooklyn kitchen. Rodriguez perfected her minimal ingredient lipsticks finally after 200-odd experiments as she trotted across the globe. Our favorite crayon-style balms contain no more than 10 luscious goodies, including oils (like avocado and grapefruit), butters (such as kokum and soy), and wax (including sunflower seed wax). Ditching the plastic tube, the multi-purpose, silky crayons are wrapped in recycled paper that can be peeled off and recycled or composted. The containers are made from 100% recycled paper. Available in super-sized packs, sets, and singles, we can think of nothing kinder to smear on our cheeks, eyes, and lips. Price at time of publish: $38 Best for Blush Bee You Organics Organic Blush Courtesy of Bee You Organics View On Beeyouorganics.com An accident left Larissa Warren’s skin scarred and sensitive to conventional makeup, so she experimented to make her own, resulting in Etsy shop Bee Your Organics, and now, also a store in Spokane, Washington. Hand-formulated, gluten, and cruelty-free, the selection of mineral and organic cheek blushes and stains add a dreamy glow to your face. We love the luminosity of the organic blushes made sans mineral, mica, and iron oxide, coming in wee tins. (You can opt for a plastic version with a sifter, but it isn’t zero-waste.) Made from deliciously clean ingredients, including organic hibiscus, beetroot, and cacao along with kaolin clay, they’re available in shades such as Dusty Rose and Georgia Peach. We’re blushing. Price at time of publish: $24 The 9 Best Natural Blushes of 2023 Final Verdict Perk up your natural beauty without adding to the litter with River Organics’ plant oil-based nourishing makeup, packaged in paper and glass to minimize litter. Meanwhile, Clean Faced Cosmetics is an affordable, vegan, cruelty-free and zero-waste cosmetic brand. What to Look for when Shopping for Zero-Waste Makeup Let go of junk, literally. Whether it’s the gunk you’d end up slathering on your face or boxes that would end up in the landfill, cut through the clutter to pick up natural makeup that has minimal impact on the planet. Here's how to sift through stock like a pro: Take a Close Look at Containers Does it come in recycled and recyclable paper or cardboard? Is it packed in an easily reusable glass container or a metal tin? Or is it packed in plastic? Ask the right questions before you choose, and know which materials can be easily recycled in your area. Check Packaging and Shipping If you prefer to shop online, it’s good to check if your order will be shipped in sustainable packaging, or in mountains of Styrofoam or reams of bubble paper. Check out EarthHero, Credo Beauty, Ecoroots, and Package Free Shop for better alternatives. Experiment with Products We love all-in-one lip, eye, and cheek tints in cute vintage tins or crayon style, lipsticks in cardboard tubes, as well as refillable mascara. Basically, every ingeniously redesigned product that keeps our beauty regimen clean and our planet green. Quality Over Quantity Buy what enhances your natural beauty, is gentle on your skin, and doesn’t add to the debris of beauty waste. Invest in quality, clean, and toxin-free cosmetics in fuss-free packaging that you love to use. So now you know how to buy, what should you actually buy? An integral part of a zero-waste beauty routine is streamlining your makeup drill. Zero-waste advocate Kathryn Kellogg tells us how to build a capsule, zero-waste makeup collection. “It is very similar to putting together a capsule wardrobe. You whittle down your products to what you know to be useful, love, and wear almost every day,” she says. Kellogg recommends the one-in and one-out rule. This stops you from buying multiples of the same product, ending up with loads of cosmetics that never go past the experimentation stage, lying unused until the expiration date has passed. “By focusing on pieces that you truly love and use often, you will be able to create a capsule makeup collection which saves money, waste, and lots of drawer space,” she concludes. Why Trust Treehugger? Treehugger wants to help our readers make kinder choices for your skin and the earth by sifting through the clutter of brands so that you don’t have to. We researched ingredients and packaging materials and consulted with a zero-waste expert about what to look for in waste-free makeup. Author Neeti Mehra writes about responsible luxury and is committed to slow living. Practicing a sustainable lifestyle, she’s exploring the landscape of zero-waste and refillable skincare, haircare, and cosmetics. The 7 Best Reusable Makeup Remover Wipes