9 clean, sustainable, and eco-friendly beauty and personal-care brands you can find at Target
Versed
Did you know that in Europe, over 1,300 potentially harmful chemicals are banned from cosmetics? In the United States, that number is just 11. When the makers of Versed, a new clean skin-care brand carried at Target, learned about the somewhat lax regulations in the US, they set out to do something about it. "We formulate to EU standards, avoiding over 1,300 chemicals of concern in our products," Melanie Bender, the general manager of Versed, tells Business Insider. "We're also vegan, certified cruelty-free, and don't use added fragrances and colors — all in direct response to what our community is asking for."
The ingredients in Versed's products (the Day Dissolve Cleansing Balm is my personal favorite) aren't all natural, but they are all proven safe for the skin and body. "Not all natural ingredients are good for your skin — like poison ivy — and not all synthetic ingredients are bad for your skin — like hyaluronic acid — so our 'no list' is informed by what the leading regulatory bodies are doing and what's important to our community," Bender explains.
In addition to clean, safe formulations, Versed offers sustainable packaging. "As a brand, we're committed to helping reduce the flow of packaging waste to landfills," says Bender. 92% of the brand's bottles, tubes, and boxes can be recycled — and there's a handy recycling guide for every product available on VersedSkin.
Products to try:
Love Beauty and Planet
Personal-care company Love Beauty and Planet is all about the little things, like their "#smallactsoflove" initiative. By making small tweaks to the sourcing, formulating, and design processes for its products (which include hair care, deodorant, and even dish soap), it cuts down on waste in more ways than one.
For starters, every bottle is made from 100% recycled materials, and can be recycled (by you) once they're empty. The ingredients used are ethically sourced and organic; and while that's great for your skin and hair, it's also great for the fair-wage workers that harvest said ingredients. Finally, Love Beauty and Planet's hair-care products feature something they call "fast-rinse technology," which means you can take shorter showers and save water. See? The little things add up.
Products to try:
Hello
It seems everybody is jumping on the "clean beauty" bandwagon — but for me, it's just as important to adopt clean personal-care products, too. Like toothpaste, for instance. This product may be an afterthought for some, but lots of traditional formulas feature less-than-natural ingredients and potentially harmful chemicals, like parabens and peroxide. That's where oral-care brand Hello comes in.
"Our products are free of artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners, dyes, SLS/sulfates, parabens, microbeads, triclosan, and peroxide," Craig Dubitsky, the founder of Hello, tells Business Insider. Instead, Hello's toothpaste is formulated with "naturally friendly and effective ingredients." Its Activated Charcoal Whitening Toothpaste (my top choice) is a must, since it leaves your mouth feeling fresh and is sourced from sustainable bamboo. "Our products are vegan and cruelty-free, and our pastes and rinses are made in the US," Dubitsky adds.
Products to try:
Grace + Tonic Botanical Beauty
If your personal preferences go beyond "clean beauty" and lean toward the "natural and organic" end of the spectrum, then you're going to love Grace + Tonic, Target's first COSMOS-certified beauty brand ever. "The four-piece collection (Cleansing Mud, Eye Serum, Moisture Cream, and Discovery Set) is proudly COSMOS-certified — the global gold standard for verifying the integrity of natural and organic cosmetics," LeRoux explains. "Our products are carefully formulated with high-performance botanicals to be as efficacious, beneficial, and sustainable as possible."
What does that mean for you? Products that actually work, and that are made without parabens, artificial colors and fragrances, GMOs, sulfates, or mineral oil. The formulations are vegan and cruelty-free, and are dermatologist-tested for skin safety. I'm personally a bif fan of the Eye Serum, since it's under $30 but gives me better results than some of the $100+ luxury products I've tried.
"Encased in sustainable, Italian-glass packaging, they're also endlessly recyclable and reusable," LeRoux adds. In short, these products feel high end, but won't break the bank.
Products to try:
W3LL People
Natural skin-care products are becoming more readily available, but clean, green makeup? That's still a little tough to find. Thankfully, Target has you covered with W3LL People, the latest beauty brand to hit its digital shelves.
All of W3LL People's formulas — from foundation to highlighter to mascara and lipstick — are formulated with hydrating, plant-based ingredients and contain no toxic chemicals, fillers, or preservatives. Basically, the brand is all about the power of botanicals. Its favorite is aloe vera, which was known as "the plant of immortality" by the ancient Egyptians, and can be found in almost every product W3LL People makes. Plus, one of the founders is a professional makeup artist, so you know the formulas hold up.
Products to try:
Saalt
"In the US alone, 20 billion menstrual products are disposed of annually," Cherie Hoeger and Amber Fawson, the founders of menstrual cup company Saalt, tell Business Insider.
Traditional pads and tampons are among the most polluting products on the planet, and with consumers becoming more eco-conscious, Target went looking for alternatives. Enter the Saalt Cup.
Essentially, silicone menstrual cups like Saalt's can be inserted like a tampon to collect, rather than absorb, menstrual fluid. They can be reused for up to 10 years, making menstrual cups "one of the simplest ways to divert massive amounts of waste," say the founders. (I've used it myself — and honestly, I'll never go back to tampons.) "More people are recognizing the environmental benefits of switching to the cup," Hoeger and Fawson say, but the Saalt cup offers so much more than that. It's a safe, hassle-free period experience, too.
According to the founders, "The Saalt Cup is made of 100% medical-grade silicone that is nontoxic and chemical free." It's pretty comfortable (I promise), can be worn for up to 12 hours at a time (which is great for swimming and sleeping), and it also translates to over $1,500 in savings over the course of your life, since you no longer have to buy tampons or pads every month.
Products to try:
S.W. Basics
Great skin care shouldn't be complicated, says S.W. Basics, a skin-care company stocked by Target. The brand believes that fewer ingredient mean better (and gentler) results; and as someone with reactive skin, I really appreciate that. I love that the company tells you how many ingredients are in a particular formulation on the front of every bottle. Its Day Serum, for example, has only five, and the Liquid Facial Cleanser has just three … whereas traditional options have more like 20-30. Translation: These products are (probably) less likely to irritate sensitive skin.
What's even better, every ingredient used is totally natural and certified organic, Fair Trade, or sourced from a small family farm.
Products to try:
Meow Meow Tweet
Before I discovered Meow Meow Tweet on Target, finding a natural deodorant that truly deodorized was one of my life's greatest struggles. The adorable (and biodegradable) packaging was what initially inspired me to click "Add to Cart," but I'll keep coming back to the Grapefruit Antiperspirants And Deo Stick for one main reason: It's the best natural deodorant I've ever tried.
Besides keeping sweat (and odor) at bay, the product is aluminum- and paraben-free. It relies on plant-based, organic ingredients instead, like arrowroot powder, cocoa seed butter, and essential oils. This particular formula is also free from baking soda, which can sometimes be irritating to the delicate underarm area.
Products to try:
Rael
"I didn't know much about the toxic chemicals in the conventional pads and tampons until I met my co-founders, who shared research showing shocking test results," Yanghee Paik, a co-founder of organic, feminine-care company Rael, tells Business Insider. "The traditional pads I'd been using contained not only chlorine, fragrance, and pesticides, but also carcinogens and irritants such as styrene (used in car tires), chloromethane (used in petroleum refining), and acetone (nail polish remover), which can often cause cramps, allergic reactions, and skin irritations." Paik realized that most women probably had no clue what was actually inside the pads they were using, so she set out to offer women safer alternatives with Rael.
"We sourced certified-organic cotton responsibly grown in Texas and applied a unique shape and design, developed in Korea, to make the products high performing and comfortable," Paik says. "We also use natural pulp at the core and non-toxic adhesive, making our products as clean and eco-friendly as possible."
The brand's organic cotton pads are now available at Target, making them "easily accessible to all women around the country," as Paik says. They're also priced in line with non-organic options ($4.99-$6.99).
Products to try:
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