#GetYourGreens

How To Spot (And Avoid) Greenwashing In Beauty

While natural beauty has been enjoying an unprecedented boom, many of us are still left scratching our heads when it comes to what exactly we should be buying, and indeed, what we should be avoiding. Vogue investigates how to navigate natural beauty now...
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Portrait of American fashion model and film actress Uma Thurman as she leans back against a wall, in underwear and pantyhose (or tights) for an unidentified magazine photoshoot, while partly obscured by flowers in a vase, mid 1980s. (Photo by Andrea Blanch/Getty Images)Getty Images

Fashion is finally waking up to sustainability – but the lexicon surrounding eco-friendly and ethical fashion and beauty is fraught with inaccuracies. In ‘Get Your Greens’, Vogue explores how the industry is advancing towards a greener future.

What really makes a "natural" beauty product? Is it recycled, or recyclable packaging? Is it the promise of nothing artificial added? Or is it as little as a few flowers sketched onto the packaging? The organic and natural beauty market has been enjoying record highs: with the global natural beauty market set to hit £17 billion by 2024, and the global wellness market topping a staggering £3.2 trillion last year, it's no wonder that many brands are keen to pledge allegiance to all things green.

Yet, things are not always as straightforward as they seem. "Generally speaking, natural and organic, are fairly unregulated terms," explained Georgia Barnes, business development manager for beauty and wellbeing at the Soil Association. "For example, a product just has to contain 1% organic ingredients, and you can call it organic! Even if it's loaded with pesticides in the other 99%." This effect has been dubbed "greenwashing" - concealing murky, un-environmentally friendly practices while ostensibly claiming to be "natural".

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Sometimes referred to as "green sheen", greenwashing as a term dates back to the 1980s. As a practice, it's been compounded by the lack of regulation around terms like "natural" and "organic". "The irony is that when consumers are buying natural beauty, they're looking for so much more than just a tiny percentage of ingredients," noted Barnes. "They're looking for those principles that underpin the supply chain, such as no damage to local landscapes, animal cruelty, or unsustainable farming."

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In order to know when you might be seeing greenwashing, it's important to decide for yourself what you consider acceptable in your beauty products. For example, The Soil Association work with COSMOS to establish global standards for the beauty market, and give can brands a seal of approval. The COSMOS Organic Certification means a product has at least 95% organic ingredients, ensures protection for vulnerable plants and is cruelty and GM free, among other things. COSMOS Natural, on the other hand, is for for products that maybe can't receive organic status but are still planet-friendly. "Organic is essentially a type of farming, and not all ingredients are farmed, per se - for example, a scrub might have salt that's harvested but not farmed," added Barnes.

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Of course, there's a lot more to sustainable beauty than just the origin of the ingredients. It's all well and good having responsibly sourced, all-natural ingredients, but if they're housed in endless layers of tissue paper, single-use plastic and glitter, is it still the right choice? "Sustainable beauty is a multi-layered issue," added Barnes. "For example, Garnier recently received COSMOS certification for one of their lines, and it took them ten years to get there. We don't just look at ingredients - we also go to the brands' plants and labs and see what they're doing with their waste - are they recycling it? Are they using harmful and harsh bleaches to clean their equipment?"

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There are other tools at your disposal. "Use your voice," urged Barnes. "If you love a product but hate the silly amount of packaging it comes with, say something! Interact with brands on social media and they will start to take note."

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Likewise, streamlining your beauty routine can be beneficial. Barnes noted that multi-use products, like a lip and cheek stain, or an all-over balm ultimately have a smaller footprint than buying everything individually - both for your purse, and the planet.

The anti-greenwashing guide

1. Choose the COSMOS logo

A certification from COSMOS takes a lot of the legwork out of shopping for green beauty. The Soil Association update their list every year to account for new launches, and you can search for existing products here.

2. Investigate ingredients

Both the Soil Association and the Environmental Working Group in the U.S publish exhaustive lists of particular ingredients to avoid. They're also helpful to help you understand why a certain extract might be harmful, so you can make decisions for yourself.

3. Take care of your empties

It doesn't matter how brilliantly minimal and recyclable packaging is if you don't take the time to recycle it. Be sure to separate out glass, paper and cardboard accordingly to make the most of these materials.

4. Look for the leaping bunny

Another indicator of a product's ethical status is the 'Leaping Bunny' logo, which certifies a product has passed rigorous animal-cruelty checks.