A few months ago, we highlighted our brand’s personal commitment to becoming a sustainable and environmentally conscious skincare company. Although we still have a long way to go, we’re excited for what’s to come, and what we’ve accomplished so far. We’ve always believed in being transparent about our sustainability practices—but unfortunately, we can’t say the same about other brands on the market today.

Although a skincare company may claim a more sustainable approach to their products, it’s much more complicated than that. Simply using recycled packaging and donating 1% of profits to the planet—or even becoming carbon neutral—isn’t enough.

Instead, let’s break down what you should look for when building your sustainable skincare routine.

Sustainable Skincare Ingredients

High-quality sustainable skincare products contain ingredients that have been minimally processed, denatured, or chemically altered. When researching a brand’s ingredients, make sure you understand where each one has come from, how they were grown and how they were harvested. You’ll also want to check how many ingredients are in the product you’re purchasing. Generally speaking, fewer ingredients mean a more sustainable product.

Lastly, make sure the ingredients are able to be grown quickly and easily. If an ingredient takes years to grow, it’s not going to be the most sustainable option—yep, even if it’s considered “all natural.”

Our Take: Your skin doesn’t need much to look its best. As a brand, we’ve spoken up against layering, championed educating yourself on ingredient labels and ensuring you’re only using one particular active ingredient in your routine. The fewer products, the better. Also, every ingredient we use in our products is listed on our website with a coordinating safety rating, courtesy of the Environmental Working Group.

Sustainable Skincare Packaging

Packaging is just as important as the product it holds. The next time you order a product, see how much plastic is found inside the box. More importantly, take note of what the container itself is actually made of. For the most part, you’ll want to avoid plastic and opt for glass or metal. If you do choose a plastic, make sure it’s recyclable—like PET (polyethylene), PETE (polyethylene terephthalate) and HDPE (high-density polyethylene).

Once your product has been used up, it’s time to be environmentally conscious about how you dispose of its packaging. Before recycling your containers, clean them out completely and take them apart. From there, you can either send your empties back to the company if they have a recycling program, or find a creative way to reuse them (psst…try this!).

Our Take: Our packaging is mostly glass, but the droppers contain a plastic component that we’re trying to eliminate altogether. And although our boxes are made from forestry certified recycled paper, our goal is to completely eliminate the outer box in the future. Want more? Pack an order with me!

Sustainable Skincare Philanthropy

A sustainable skincare company doesn’t need to stop at the ingredients and packaging of their products—they can donate to other organizations that work for a better planet. Take a look at a skincare brand’s mission statement, not only for their transparency, but what they choose to do in addition to creating their products. This could be anything from restoring and maintaining the ecosystems, investing in fair labor and ethical work conditions, or supporting causes against animal cruelty.

Our Take: As a small brand, we’re committed to working with other small, sustainable brands to make a big difference. We are Leaping Bunny Certified, 100% vegan, and manufacture our products using a wind-powered facility.

Creating the perfect sustainable skincare routine won’t happen overnight, but even small changes can make a big difference. What would you add to this list? Have a specific question about sustainability we can answer for you? Leave a comment below!