Although fragrance has always been one of our most considered investments in our beauty routines, its role in our overall sustainability efforts towards ustainable Luxury can sometimes be overlooked. After all, how unsustainable can perfumes be?
In terms of packaging, fragrances actually had the upper hand (when was the last time you saw a perfume in a plastic bottle?) compared to their cosmetics and skincare counterparts. But what about the things that go into it?
“There are no clear industry standards for ethical products, so it’s important to choose brands that have clear, transparent policies and certifications,” says Michelle Feeney, founder of Floral Street. “Dive into the background of the companies they are buying from – who owns them and what is their approach to sustainability?” Really understand the terminology they’re using and make sure they can back up what they’re saying.’
One common misconception about supposedly sustainable fragrances that Finney highlights is that “natural” ingredients are often associated with being environmentally friendly. “Natural materials are not necessarily sustainable, and are often more delicate. A fragrance should contain a mix of natural and synthetic ingredients,” she explains.
“Synthetics are lab-grown, contain no animal-derived materials and no animals were harmed in the process of making them for fragrances. Not only are they cruelty-free alternatives, but they can also be more environmentally friendly. We shouldn’t take too much from Nature, where ingredients can be over-harvested, or worse, become non-existent.
To make your journey to having a sustainable perfume wardrobe a little easier, we’ve rounded up some of the best eco-friendly perfumes available.
Clean Reserve is committed to sustainability from the inside out. Their partnerships help support small farming communities that harvest their ingredients ethically (without disrupting the natural ecosystem) and their packaging is as eco-friendly as can be, from their 100% recycled boxes to their wooden lids.
Floral Street was born from Vinnie’s passion to create a more sustainable beauty scene after identifying a gap in the market for a range of eco-friendly, affordable and exciting fragrances.
“We reduce the use of fragrance by having a high 20% fragrance oil content, our packaging is recyclable, you can reuse our beautiful glass bottles by refilling them in our Covent Garden, and our biodegradable pulp perfume carton is recognized We have him as a green champion.”
Not only does its celebrity and beauty editor fan base cement Le Labo as one of the coolest contemporary fragrance houses, but it also carries some good sustainability credentials, too.
The brand has taken a holistic approach to making its packaging as environmentally friendly as possible (recyclable or upcyclable all the way), and its ingredients are good, too.
Plus, you can return the empty bottle to the store to refill it and get a discount for your ethical shopping habits.
Nue Co believes in an interconnected physical, social and environmental ecosystem, so preserving the well-being of our planet is central to their ethos.
Forest Lungs, the brand’s latest innovative fragrance launch, features cedarwood oil created from sawdust waste materials from a sustainable recycling program in Morocco.
Furthermore, the company has an in-house recycling program that allows you to return the 2% of their packaging (i.e. pumps and springs) that cannot be easily recycled at home.
Upcycled perfumes are the latest trend to disrupt the sustainable fragrance arena by taking one man’s trash and turning it into treasure.
One example of a pioneering fragrance from this region is Boy Smells Tantrum, where essential oils are distilled from the byproducts of the furniture industry and transformed into a lively peppery green scent.
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