11 Eco-Friendly Shampoo & Conditioner Brands For A Sulfate-Free Scrub
On the hunt for the best eco-friendly shampoos and conditioners?
Luckily, eco-friendly hair care is now easier than ever.
It’s not just about what you put in your body but what you put on it, right?!
Whether you have dry or oily hair (or anything in between) there are environmental friendly shampoo and conditioner brands on this list that will do the trick, without leaving a stain on your conscience.
You know—shampoo bars and bottles that don’t pollute the Earth or your body.
The only thing we like teasing is our hair, so we’ll start by answering the question on everyone’s mind (er, scalp): what is the best sustainable shampoo?
Everything we recommend to you on Sustainable Jungle is independently researched and we ask all brands to confirm their claims. To avoid waste, we test products on an as needed basis. This post contains affiliate links. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a small commission. Learn more about why we do this here.
A Head Start On The Most Conscious Eco Conditioner & Shampoo Brands
Everist makes the (hair)cut thanks to their waterless concentrates made from aloe vera and glycerin that take the plastic out of your ‘do’s ‘poo.
Rather than sulfates and parabens, Ethique’s eco-friendly shampoo bars ingredients include natural butters and oils, wrapped with thoughtful, plastic-free packaging.
Looking for liquid eco-friendly conditioner and shampoo?
Award-winning brand, Plaine Products takes sustainable packaging a step forward with both plastic-free and refillable packaging.
For a quick rinse through of how we picked out the best shampoo for the environment, have a read at the bottom of the article.
The Full List Of Environmental Friendly Shampoo & Conditioner Brands
- Ethique | Visit Store
- Everist | Visit Store
- HiBAR | Visit Store
- Plaine Products | Visit Store
- etee | Visit Store
- Conscious Skincare | Visit Store
- Yarok | Visit Store
- Acure | Visit Store
- Green People | Visit Store
- Friendly Soap | Visit Store
- B.O.B | Visit Store
1. Ethique
Ethique’s Ethical Shampoo Bars
Ethique is another one of those companies specializing in eco-friendly shampoo and conditioner bars.
We obviously love them because they’re totally waste-free! Just throw the wrapper in your indoor compost bin or outdoor pile.
There are a number of options to choose from, meaning these shampoo bars have pretty much become our staple for just about everything—from those with oily hail to “touchy” sensitive scalps.
For example, if you need an eco-friendly dandruff shampoo, the Heali Kiwi shampoo bar calms the scalp with ground oatmeal and repairs dry, flaky skin with Karanja and Neem oils.
Each one is way more concentrated than regular liquid products, so they last up to six times longer—and we can confirm this is true from our own use.
It’s a huge bang for your buck and our planet, making Ethique’s some of the best eco shampoos around.
You can also shop any of their “Concentrate” products, which are bars designed to be turned into eco-friendly liquid shampoo and conditioner by adding water at home.
About Ethique
Originating from New Zealand, Christchurch, Ethique’s wildly popular eco-friendly toiletries and cleaning products (like zero waste dish soap) are now available around the world.
Everything comes as either a bar, a solid stick packaged in a compostable cardboard tube, or both.
Ethique products are super sustainable and tick each one of our boxes, being certified cruelty-free, vegan, and palm oil free.
Not only are their shampoo and conditioner bars eco-friendly in packaging and ingredients, but they’re crafted through climate-neutral operations.
Ethique also donates 2% of revenue or 20% of profit (whichever is higher) to charity.
*Also available on Amazon, Holland & Barrett (UK), and Nourished Life (AU)
2. Everist
Everist’s Best Eco-Friendly Shampoo
What are the ingredients in eco-friendly shampoo?
According to Everist, aloe vera leaf juice, natural essential oils, and vegetable glycerin are all you need to make the best environmentally friendly shampoo.
Everist’s waterless hair concentrates are the perfect solution for people who feel stuck behind bars.
Housed in aluminum tubes or aluminum tins, these shampoo pastes can be used for 50+ washes.
In fact, their eco shampoo is so effective that, according to Bluebird Climate, it has a 77% smaller carbon impact and 62% smaller waste impact than traditional, water-based solutions.
Everist’s patented, bond-repair technology and award-winning formula is not only eco-friendly, but also color-safe and suitable for all hair types. Yes, even those of you with unmanagebally frizzy hair.
No surprise here, all formulas are free from havoc wreaking sulfates, parabens, dyes, and synthetic fragrances.
About Everist
Everist is our favorite one-stop shop for zero waste bathroom essentials, including natural body washes.
All products are proudly vegan, cruelty-free, and mostly plastic-free.
The only plastic component you’ll find is the cap, which is needed to prevent leaks. They have experimented with several alternatives without success, but their CapBack program ensures those pesky plastic caps get a second life.
The carbon-neutral corporation is an active member of 1% For The Planet.
3. HiBAR
Note: Maintenance Bars and Soothe Bars contain a trace amount of honey. All other bars are vegan.
HiBAR’s Biodegradable Shampoo Bars
Wrapped in recyclable cardboard packaging and sustainable travel ready, HiBAR sets the bar high for what environmentally safe shampoo bars should look like.
Their concentrated, waterless formulas are free from parabens, keratin sulfates, silicones, soaps, and artificial dyes. Cue in color-safe and pH balanced natural ingredients like nutrient-dense coconut oil, moisturizing shea butter, and fragrant floral oils instead.
A literally outside the box invention, each teardrop shaped bar is designed to fit comfortably in your hand for easy use.
Looking for eco-friendly shampoo and conditioner for curly hair?
Try Curl. Babussa and pracaxi butters add definition and seal in moisture. Bye bye frizzy flyaways, hello kinky curls.
How about a solution for thin, fine hair?
Their Volumize shampoo made with African dates and B5 takes lifeless hair out of the grave.
They also offer some of the best biodegradable conditioner for thicker, dryer hair in the form of the Moisturize sustainable conditioner bar, which locks in moisture using coconut oil and rice protein.
Each one is lightly scented using only natural fragrances derived from essential oils and plant extracts.
About HiBAR
Thanks to HiBAR, you’ll never have to sacrifice having soft hair and smelling fresh for the sake of the planet.
The clean beauty brand makes all sorts of bars for your face, body, and hair. Zero waste face wash, eco-friendly deodorant, and more.
All which are free from parabens, phthalates, sulfates, and artificial fragrances.
Their products are all cruelty-free and leaping bunny certified and come housed in plastic-free packaging, including a fully recyclable box and compostable inner wrapping.
Since opening, they have eliminated almost five million plastic bottles.
4. Plaine Products
Plaine Products’ Eco-Friendly Shampoo Bottles
Will Plaine Products work for you?
You bet your bun they will!
The shampoo and conditioner are color safe and come in your choice of unscented, citrus lavender, or rosemary mint vanilla.
Not only does Plaine Products work for any hair type, but they also work wonders for our planet.
Every plastic-free order comes housed in refillable bottles. Simply ship your empty shampoo and conditioner bottles back to Plaine, and they will refill them with non-GMO, sulfate-free, silicone-free, and biodegradable shampoo and conditioner.
With vegan, plant-based, and natural ingredients (like aloe instead of water as the main ingredient), you’ll get a safe, gentle cleanse and lush healthy locks.
No wonder their eco-friendly shampoo and conditioner have received so many 5-star reviews!
About Plaine Products
Lindsey and Alison Delaplaine are the brilliant women behind sister-owned Plaine Products.
Not only does “Plaine” connect with their last name, but it also aligns with the brand’s mission to provide plain and simple hair and body products that are free from cruelty, animal products, chemicals, and palm oil.
Did we mention that everything’s plastic-free and refillable?
From body wash refills to some of the most zero waste shampoo around, all you need to do is reorder, keep the same pump, then send back the empties with the included return label to be cleaned and refilled.
For these reasons and more, Plaine Products is a Certified B Corp and recipient of Real Leaders Impact Awards.
They’re a member of 1% for the Planet, too.
5. etee
*Note: Not all etee products are vegan, but their shampoo and conditioner bars are. They do not use palm oil directly, but some natural ingredients may be palm derived.
etee’s Environment Friendly Shampoo Bars
Lather up like our planet depends on it.
With etee’s ethical shampoo and conditioner bars, you’re getting all natural ingredients and no plastic. Zero, nada, zilch!
They took a top-performing liquid shampoo, modified it, made sure it still cleaned and nourished hair, and left the addition of water up to you, courtesy of your shower.
Adding water in the shower prevents the shipping of water from A to B and the need for a plastic bottle.
These bars come in compostable boxes, but they do offer one Deep Conditioner cream that comes in a reusable glass jar. Use this after your shower and blow-dry in for some long-lasting, hydrating hair-apy.
Your lush locks will: feel beautiful thanks to 100% plant-based ingredients, smell beautiful thanks to essential oils, and keep our planet beautiful since there’s no plastic, SLS, or animal testing.
Each long-lasting bar is equivalent to roughly three to four plastic bottles.
About etee
etee may have got their start with only reusable beeswax wraps, but their offerings are now comprehensive.
With items like zero waste laundry detergent and zero waste hand soap, they tackle many of our daily needs
In doing so, they have prevented more than 100 million single-use plastic products from being manufactured.
While not all products are vegan, they offer plenty of vegan options. While they don’t use palm oil directly, their Coco-glucoside and hydrogenated vegetable oil may be derived from palm oil depending on sourcing.
etee personally make everything they sell in Toronto, Canada in a factory powered by renewable energy.
They also regularly support a range of charities, like The Mississauga Food Bank, Mask Match, and Hue Man Race.
6. Conscious Skincare
Conscious Skincare’s Ecological Shampoo
Don’t like the slippery, sliding shower performance of plastic-free bars?
Conscious Skincare has killer plastic free liquid shampoo and conditioners
In their hair care lineup, they offer eco-friendly conditioner, shampoo, an argan oil hair treatment, and a gift pack containing all three.
These ethical hair care products (which all have rave reviews) are organic, palm oil free, cruelty-free, and (mostly) vegan.
The eco shampoo and conditioner is made from a special formulation that contains a number of hair-loving essential oils, including Cypress, Sage, and Lavender. Not only can you help Mother Nature, but now you can smell like her too (mimicry is the sincerest form of flattery.)
While the key active ingredients in the zero waste conditioner are moisturizing coconut oil and shea butter, the shampoo is made with a base of volumizing po-vitamin b5, inulin, and jojoba oil.
Both formulas are suitable for all hair types and come housed in a fully recyclable glass bottle with an optional plastic dispenser.
About Conscious Skincare
Founded by Rebecca who so kindly took the time to write us a detailed breakdown of the brand’s ethos, Conscious Skincare is a very impressive organic shampoo and skincare brand from an ethical standpoint.
Whilst their packaging is not zero waste, they have put a lot of thought and care into it:
“Our packaging from start to finish is recyclable or made of recycled materials as much as possible; including; Jars, Bottles, Lids, Dispensers, Paper (packaging and letters) and Outer protective packaging.”
Refills are available for some products for UK residents and others, like their natural face serums, come in reusable glass dropper bottles.
Their award-winning product range is worth checking out and sharing with your friends and family (eco-warriors or not)!
7. Yarok
Yarok’s Eco Conditioners & Shampoos
Each Yarok product caters to a different appetite with their Feed Your Moisture and Feed Your Volume sustainable shampoo and conditioner.
The former is especially recommended for hair that is thick and curly or dry and damaged.
The entire range is made of all natural and mostly organic ingredients and is free of alcohol, parabens, sulfates, chemicals and gluten.
Instead, natural oils and herbal infusions take their place in finished products that are vegan, cruelty-free, sulfate-free, and palm oil-free.
About Yarok
Founded by Mordechai Alvow who is many things including a Certified Aromatherapist and Celebrity Hairstylist, Yarok specializes in natural haircare.
These eco-friendly hair products are “formulated exclusively from organic, wild crafted and otherwise responsibly harvested plant ingredients that are handpicked for their medicinal and sensory benefits, and are sourced from pristine locales around the world”.
Their packaging is not plastic-free, but is reusable and recyclable.
A full 3% of all Yarok’s profits go directly to benefiting Pachamama Alliance and protecting the Amazon Rainforest.
*Also available on Nourished Life (AU)
8. Acure
Acure’s Eco-Friendly Shampoo & Conditioner Liquids
Acure Organics makes environmentally safe shampoo from (you guessed it) organic ingredients.
Their shampoos are available in a wide range of specific options to suit different hair types and styling needs, such as full body, clarifying, ultra hydrating, smoothing, volume, natural dry shampoo, and brunette-specific options.
We’ve tried the Ultra Hydrating body wash and shampoo combo range, and it’s as good as the name suggests. After all, no one can really go wrong with hydrating argan oil and pumpkin seed.
Except maybe those of you with already oily hair to begin. You should probably try their oily hair shampoo made with watermelon fruit extract and blood orange instead.
Since their liquid shampoo tubes are recyclable but not zero waste, the Coconut & Argan shampoo bar is a better head-to-toe solution for our zero waste warriors out there.
It also works as body and hand soap—because don’t you know we love a good 3-in-1 action!
About Acure
Based in the USA, Acure Organics is a family owned business specializing in skincare (think organic face moisturizers, deodorant, and more).
Their products are cruelty-free, vegan and palm oil free. Many of the ingredients they use are USDA certified organic.
They also source ingredients from fair trade suppliers where possible.
Some of their charitable partners include Unite For Her, a breast cancer non-profit, and Turning Green, a student-led environmental advocacy movement.
*Also available on Amazon | Nourished Life (AU)
9. Green People
*Note: We have attempted to confirm these policies with the brand with no response to date.
Green People’s Eco-Friendly Hair Shampoo And Conditioner
Green People has a huge range of hair care, the entirety of which are SLS free and mostly organic.
When we say huge, we mean like REALLY huge. The likes of not only generic liquid shampoo, but also mem’s shampoo, baby shampoo, and eco-friendly shampoo bars.
We can’t speak for all of their paraben free shampoos, but we’ve personally tried (and loved) the Organic Quinoa and Artichoke Shampoo and Conditioner. The strengthening quinoa protein boosts shine while smoothing artichoke shields against UV damage.
A wombo combo for healthy hair growth!
All of their products are certified organic, cruelty-free, and vegan.
The sugar cane PE packaging and PP plastic cap can be recycled curbside.
About Green People
Green People specialize in organic, chemical-free beauty products that include haircare, skincare, and makeup.
They have created over 400 organic formulas that have received over 44,000 5-star reviews and over 270 awards.
No surprise considering they are PETA and Soil Association certified, and source Fairtrade ingredients wherever possible.
Whale some of their products contain palm oil, they state their palm oil is sustainably sourced from countries where there are no native orangutans.
Since their palm oil is certified organic, it is required to be grown and harvested sustainably.
They support a variety of charities from children’s hospice to marine conservation.
10. Friendly Soap
Friendly Soap’s Eco-Friendly Shampoo And Conditioner UK
Looking for the best eco-friendly shampoo and conditioner?
UK-based Friendly Soap has it.
They have four eco-friendly shampoo bars: The Lavender & Geranium, Lavender & Tea Tree, Peppermint & Eucalyptus, and Unscented.
All which are cruelty-free, palm oil free, vegan, and 100% natural (read as: free of parabens, sulfates, triclosan and phthalates).
No to mention they come packaged in compostable, recycled, and recyclable card packaging.
In the same spirit of less, they only use a handful of ingredients: Castor Oil, Coconut Oil, Olive Oil, essential oils, water. As you can see, they are all about oils, but never about palm oil.
If you have thin or brittle hair, not to worry this product won’t dry your precious locks out.
About Friendly Soap
Friendly Soap is an award-winning vegan and cruelty-free soap bar maker—and not just for your body, but for your pits, pores, and chores, too.
All of their handmade products are palm oil free and made using the old school cold press method, which ensures there are zero byproducts.
Transparent with their manufacturing processes, Friendly Soap is an accredited Living Wage & Fair Trade Tax Employer, meaning this is fair trade shampoo, too.
Part of the proceeds from their sales support Just a Drop, an international charity providing communities with handwashing stations and materials to make their own soap.
11. B.O.B
Good People Inc.’s Earth Friendly Shampoo
What makes B.O.B some of the best green shampoo and conditioners bars?
For one they’re all are made sans harmful chemicals and plastic packaging.
Instead, think natural ingredients like purifying green clay, nourishing coconut oil, and natural botanical oils. All which are carefully crafted for slightly different hair types.
For example, B.O.B’s Purifying Shampoo Bar is the best choice to treat oily hair types. Green clay provides deep cleansing while kernel oil strengthens hair—a killer combination that will keep your scalp’s natural oils in line.
About Good People Inc.
B.O.B is women and LGBTQ+ owned, vegan, cruelty-free and soap-free.
Did we mention, they include zero parabens in their formulations?
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Why Choose Eco-Friendly Shampoos & Conditioners?
Did you know that in the United States alone, 550 million empty shampoo bottles are thrown away every year?
It’s safe to assume that globally, that number reaches billions.
Recent studies show that 50% of all plastic bottles are collected for recycling, and only 7% of those bottles are actually recycled. Since all the different components and materials are tedious to disassemble, many recycling facilities just don’t find it worth it.
While you may think you’re making waves by chucking that shampoo bottle in the recycling bin, chances are it still ends up in a landfill or the ocean.
When it comes to pollution and hair care products, plastic isn’t even the biggest issue.
Ingredients matter too. Traditional shampoos contain no shortage of sulfates, parabens, TCS (which turns into the carcinogen chloroform), and formaldehyde. All which are used to prolong shelf life at the sake of our health.
The problem with these toxic chemicals is that: 1) They suck for our bodies; and 2) they suck for our planet.
Sulfates and TCS can form carcinogens linked to kidney disruption and hormone damage, parabens have been linked to breast cancer, and formaldehyde has been shown to cause or worsen asthma.
All while also killing corals, acidifying surface water and soil, and polluting the air (supposedly as much as cars!).
By switching to environmentally-friendly shampoo and conditioner, you can eliminate these daily toxins and save the health of your body and the planet from a world of troubles. But what makes a shampoo eco-friendly?
How We Found The Best Environmentally-Friendly Shampoo & Conditioner
Now you may still be asking, “How do I know if my shampoo is eco-friendly?”
Well, you can do a little digging, and see how it compares to our ethical and sustainable beauty criteria, which is how we found the eco-friendly shampoo brands listed here:
- Non-toxic: Free from toxic chemicals means parabens, phthalates, sulfates, and SLS, which are terrible for your scalp and for the planet. Instead, we want natural skin care ingredients.
- Vegan and cruelty-free: No animals or animal byproducts, except maybe the occasional bit of ethically-sourced honey to stimulate hair growth. And from ingredients to final product, it must not be tested on animals, ever.
- Palm oil free: We prefer palm oil free shampoo, but we also consider those using sustainably sourced (RSPO) palm in effort to better palm oil practices all-around.
- Ethical ingredient sourcing
Thoughtful packaging: The best eco-friendly shampoo packaging is virtually no packaging (AKA paper wrapped bars), but refillable and reusable options (like glass and aluminum) are also okay. Plastic-free is ideal, but if a brand is still using plastic, it needs to be readily recyclable.
Final Thoughts On Ethical, Environmental Friendly Shampoo & Conditioner
With so many options on the market, it’s never been easier to be an ethical consumer.
Though it does take us a while to find products that tick all our ethical & sustainable boxes, we do enjoy a good hunt for our hair (including eco-friendly hair brushes)!
We hope this resource gives you some new ideas when deciding which eco-friendly shampoo or conditioner is right for you.
If it did, we ask you to share with your loved ones, so everyone can have an earth-happy hairdo.
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Dr. Bronner’s is not eco friendly. It has palm oil in at least some of its soaps and it is all packaged in plastic. I bet these are all packaged in plastic and they are therefore not ecofriendly. Why can’t they use containers like milk cartons or produce concentrates that people can add water to at home? The earth is in big trouble and I don’t see much help from companies like these!
Hiya – Rebecca here, I’m the female CEO/Founder of The Solid Bar Company – we have created and hand make a range of luxury personal care items here in the UK including Shampoos and Conditioners – and they are all palm oil free, sustainable, plastic free, biodegradable, zero-waste, cruelty-free 100% vegan and much more – so why not get planet-friendly with us here: https://thesolidbarcompany.com/ and get 10% off your first order with code THANK YOU at checkout best wishes!
Thank you Rebecca, we’ll take a look when we next update this article and will be in touch!
All of Maple Holistics shampoos are cruelty free.
Good to know, thanks Tara!!
Not a bad list for starters …. but why are they all packaged up in so much plastic? Not on your list but they should be as one of the best 100% vegan, sulphate, SLS and paraben free, cruelty free, silicon free shampoos and conditioners out there and made by an ethical female led UK small business and it works great on my tangled frizzy hair – I actually know what that word silky means after all these years of seeing it in other ads as it keeps my previously wild hair under control now at last! And forgot to mention that they are also non-plastic and no water!! so a double thumbs up from me. Check them out at The Solid Bar Company, Recommended!
Hi Cat, thanks so much for taking the time to comment. Sorry about the delay in replying. Totally agree with you on the plastic! This article was written before we moved to zero waste shampoo bars ourselves! We have just published our zero waste shampoo and conditioner list which you might find more suitable. Thank so much for The Solid Bar Company recommendation. They do indeed look awesome. We’ve just moved to Australia so to avoid shipping, I won’t try them but will take your word for it and add them to the list for addition to the next iteration of the zero waste shampoos article. Thanks so much again, really appreciate it!
Thanks for noticing; you’re welcome – they serve me well, so should be good for your readers, and I know for a fact they ship to Oz as I sent some to my cousin up in Palmerston City a few months ago! ???
Good to know thanks Cat!
Are you sure that Acure are palm-oil free? From a post back in 2013 you can find this information.
Acure Organics:
Hi Faith!
Thank you for your interest in ACURE! The only palm oil we use in our formulas comes from the fruit of the Babassu palm (Sustainable) trees in South America. The products in our line that contain babassu oil include:
Sensitive Skin Moisturize
Pure Mint + Echinacea Intense Volume Shampoo & Conditione
Exfoliating Body Wash
Thank you for contacting us! Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns.
Unless things have changed since then, it seems that they do use palm oil in their products.
Hi Dvir,
Thanks for taking the time to comment and fact check! I’ve copied in the email below that I received from Acure in September 2017 from Kristen at Acure. It took a couple of emails to get the answer as they didn’t answer the palm oil question on the first go. Perhaps it’s a definition thing – It seems the Babassu palm is native to South America (see here and here). A quick google search suggests that Babassu oil has been harvested very sustainably from these natural growing palms for a long time, creating livelihoods for local people and other types of monocultures are threatening these native palms. Here is another article of interest and here. What do you think? When you checked this out with Acure, did you get any more intel on the sustainability of the Babassu Palm?
Hi Joy!
Apologies for the delay in response as we were impacted by hurricane Irma and were out of commission for quite a few days.
In regards to palm oil- that is correct. We do not currently use palm oil in any of our products nor do we utilize any ingredients derived from palm oil.
In regards to fair trade, while we are not currently fair-trade certified, we always take great care to ensure that all of our ingredients are ethically sourced and provide fair, living wages to all parties involved. We do our best to source ingredients domestically, however, some ingredients are not available within the U.S., such as our Argan Oil, which is sourced from a womens coop in Morocco.
Hope this helps! Please feel free to reach out with any additional questions and certainly update us on the post so that we can share it as well!
Kristen
These products may not have “palm oil” on their ingredient list, but they do contain palm oil derivatives such as glycerin.
Hey Bean, thanks for commenting, delighted that you have made this super important point! Where a brand has claimed to be palm oil free, we have emailed them directly to ask them about their palm oil AND palm oil derivative policy and asked them to confirm that palm oil free also means palm oil derivative free – have a read of each respective brand guide and check out our articles on palm oil here and here.