Shopping for eco-friendly beauty products used to be pretty difficult, but these days, thanks to the emergence of natural beauty brands and environmentally conscious retailers, it’s easily accessible.
While none of these online retailers is solely dedicated to selling beauty, the selection available is impressive, and you’ll basically be able to find anything you need from makeup and makeup wipes, to skincare and reusable razors. Best of all, these companies are Australian, so you’re also putting your hard-earned money back into the country. It’s a win-win.
★ zilch
Rachel Sebastian’s new year’s resolution for 2018 was to go plastic-free. In 2020, she launched her waste-free online marketplace, zilch, which stocks eco-friendly products that have gone through a strict vetting process.
“Every single product has zero waste, not just an alternative with less waste,” reads the zilch website. “No plastic at all in the product, it’s packaging or shipping. And no bullshit, in the form of loopholes, guilt-trips, or cruelty in its production.”
Based in the Sydney suburb of Marrickville, zilch is where you can shop for everyday items like toothpaste, dental floss, cotton buds, shampoo and deodorant. And, each product has been handpicked by Sebastian, so you can rest assured that you’re purchasing products that truly are waste-free.
“[I go] down a deep rabbit hole of research, making sure the products tick all the boxes. Then from the selection I have, I dig deeper to see how good those brands really are,” she told Broadsheet.
Prices vary for each item, but there’s a minimum of three products per order. According to Broadsheet, all orders are packed in fully compostable and recyclable packaging.
zilch delivers Australia-wide, or you can opt for contactless pick-up from Marrickville.
★ Nash + Banks
Founded by entrepreneur Niccii Kugler in Sydney’s Northern Beaches in 2018, Nash + Banks is a curated lifestyle destination championing authentic, remarkable and sustainable brands for those who give a damn about people and the planet.
Nash + Banks stocks a wide variety of eco-friendly items including organic hand-loomed cotton towels to vegan handbags that utilise pineapple leaves as well as a selection of essential beauty products. You can choose from natural, refillable deodorants, shampoo, conditioner and cleansing soap bars and hard cologne, a natural soy wax fragrance product.
★ Little Eco Shop
Little Eco Shop’s founder Hazel, a former environmental scientist, is passionate about sustainability and created the online store in order to help Australians become a little more ‘green’ without having to spend a bunch of money.
This is a great place to shop for environmentally-friendly homeware items like beeswax wraps and eco-friendly cleaning products. It also sells a range of conscious baby products, including reusable nappies.
Beauty and health-wise, you can shop reusable pads, menstrual cups, reusable makeup wipes, bamboo hairbrushes and more.
★ Biome
Biome was created in 2003 by Tracey Bailey in an attempt to empower others with the knowledge and access to carefully vetted choices that would make a difference. It’s safe to say that Bailey accomplished this mission, with six physical Biome stores around Australia.
Biome also has an excellent selection of eco-friendly products online and the beauty section is extensive and includes body products, makeup, hair care, soaps and shower gels and mosquito repellent — just to name a few things.
★ Flora & Fauna
Created in July 2014 in Galston, NSW, the team at Flora & Fauna are “passionate about living ethically, passionate about our environment and about natural alternatives. There aren’t enough ethical products, and truly ethical businesses out there, so we’ve set about changing that to provide you with great choices that are carefully sourced, tried and tested.”
If you’re after skincare, makeup, body and hair products that are natural, eco-friendly or zero-waste then Flora & Fauna are worth a look. Flora & Fauna also have a wonderful recycling program so you can return your beauty packaging back to them for disposal.
“So now you can return your beauty packaging to us and we will collate, separate them and get them to TerraCycle. Plus in exchange for returning your bottles and packaging to us, we will credit your Flora & Fauna account AU $10 for being planet-friendly and helping our environment.”
Head to the website to find out what can and can’t be recycled.
★ Nourished Life
According to its website, Nourished Life is “Australia’s home of clean beauty.” Created by Irene Falcone, Nourished Life is the go-to place if you’re looking for natural and certified organic beauty products. These labels are often thrown around as there’s little regulation in this area but Falcone is super strict on what products she carries on NL.
All products have to fit within her “Nourish Matrix”, which focuses on ingredients, as well as where and how the product was made. While Nourished Life sells a range of wellbeing and home products, its beauty product selection is next level.
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