7 Organic & Eco-Friendly Lipsticks For 7 Sustainable Minutes In Heaven
Roses are red, violets are blue, kissing is great, so here are some eco-friendly lipsticks for you.
We like to avoid toxic chemicals when it comes to making ourselves look and feel fine with any kind of sustainable makeup—but that goes doubly for makeup near our mouths.
Unfortunately, petroleum-based toxic chemicals (like methylparaben, polyparaben, retinyl palmitate, and synthetic dyes) commonly find their way into our favorite splashes of lip color.
No wonder we favor sustainable smooching with natural and organic lipstick alternatives.
While we can’t tell you what the best eco-friendly red lipstick is for your skin tone, we can tell some of the best ones for your health.
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.
The Best Sustainable Lipstick Brands We’re Puckering Up For
We’d love to give Axiology a big smooch for offering the absolute best sustainable lipstick packaging that’s completely compostable.
For long-lasting color and a long-lasting planet, INIKA Organic provides with sustainably sourced ingredients (think: shea butter, jojoba oil, argan oil) and Plastic Neutral packaging.
Before we zip our lips and get to the brand list, you can pop to the bottom to read more about our criteria for rating environmentally friendly lipstick.
The Full List Of Eco-Friendly Lipstick Brands
- Axiology | Visit Store
- INIKA Organic | Visit Store
- Dab Herb | Visit Store
- RMS Beauty | Visit Store
- Juice Beauty | Visit Store
- Elate | Visit Store
- 100% Pure | Visit Store
1. Axiology
Axiology’s Non-Plastic Sustainable Lipstick
What is the most sustainable lipstick?
We try not to pick favorites, but Axiology’s Multi Sticks make it hard not to.
Instead of parabens and toxic chemicals, you’ll see their lipstick natural ingredients include organic coconut oil, avocado oil, and other nourishing seed oils.
Available in a full range of colors, each one has a little shimmer due to trace non-nano mineral additions like mica and titanium, tin, and iron oxides.
If you want to go even lower waste than these paper eco-friendly round lipstick tubes (or just want to skip the mineral shimmer), check out their Balmies crayons.
Both are 3-in-1 products that can be used on the lips, cheeks, or eyes.
They’re also both vegan, cruelty-free, and absent any synthetic fragrances, gluten, palm oil, alcohol, and synthetic preservatives.
About Axiology
Axiology actually started from a search for cruelty-free lipstick with natural ingredients.
From humble beginnings in founder Ericka Rodriguez’s kitchen, they’re now one of our favorite zero waste beauty brands.
PETA-certified vegan and cruelty-free, their products contain minimal, all natural and mostly organic ingredients, sourced from fair trade whenever possible.
In addition to not using palm oil, they try to actively combat the effects of palm oil deforestation by donating to Orangutan Foundation International.
All packaging for products and shipping is plastic-free, consisting of FSC-certified cardboard tubes and outer boxes made from recycled paper by a woman-owned initiative in Indonesia.
Axiology is also available on The V Spot (Aus)
2. INIKA Organic
*Note: We are confirming policies directly with this brand.
INIKA Organic’s Organic Lipsticks
When INIKA Organic says they make “natural lipstick”, they mean it. Each one contains 100% natural ingredients, 72-82% of which are certified organic.
Whether you’re after lipstick, lip gloss, lip tints, lip glaze, or colorless lip care products, you’ll get them in eco-friendly lipstick tubes made entirely of aluminum or glass pots.
If you’re after non-plastic sustainable lipstick, try their Organic Lipstick Crayons. These wood pencils come with a recyclable aluminum tip protecting cap.
No matter which you choose, you’ll be getting nourishing oils—like shea butter, jojoba oil, argan oil, and sunflower seed oil, to name a few—combined with other botanicals, essential oils, and vitamin E.
Some contain minerals like titanium dioxide, mica, iron oxide, manganese violet for shimmer, but there are options without.
About INIKA Organic
Of all organic lipstick brands, INIKA Organic might just be the most accredited.
With over 60 awards and certifications from Vegan Society, COSMOS Natural, and PETA, this Australian cosmetics company is proving you can still be big while doing things better.
While they use some post consumer recycled plastic for product housing, they are Certified Plastic Neutral, meaning for every kilogram of plastic used, they collect and recycle an equivalent amount of the environment.
Thor 4.7 tons of collected plastic (so far) have been turned into fencing for disaster-stricken farming communities.
They also decreased their use of virgin plastic by 84% last year
3. Dab Herb
Dab Herb’s Organic Lipsticks
Dab Herb helps us smooch sustainably with their lip gloss, tints, paints, and balms.
Everything is made from 100% non-toxic food-grade natural and organic ingredients—many of which are also organic—like hemp seed oil, sweet almond oil, avocado oil, shea and cocoa butters, beetroot, rosehips, and other plant-based pigments.
The only preservative here is natural, non-GMO Vitamin E that’s certified Kosher.
For sustainable liquid lipstick, the Organic Lip Gloss with Tint is your best bet. With antibacterial red root, skin softening alkanet root, and antioxidant beetroot, suffice it to say it’s the best eco-friendly red lipstick.
All varieties come in recyclable, reusable, or compostable containers, like glass tubes and pots and cardboard tubes.
The glass containers can be sent back to Dab Herb’s California HQ to be refilled.
About Dab Herb
With a focus on “Nature to Nurture,” Dab Herb Makeup is one of the best zero waste makeup brands that combines wellness with consciousness.
In an effort to quell woes over chemical-ridden cosmetics, Dab Herb seeks out the best cruelty-free, food-grade, and vegan ingredients available.
Founder Crissy is committed to creating “medicinal makeup” using responsible sourcing practices. They use fair trade-equivalent standards and don’t use palm oil or its derivatives.
They also support Made in the Free World, a human trafficking organization.
You’ll receive any Dab Herb creation in a plastic-free shipping package, some of which might be reused shipping materials.
4. RMS Beauty
*Note: Some RMS Beauty products contain beeswax, but there are vegan options.
RMS Beauty’s Natural and Organic Lipstick
RMS Beauty’s long-lasting lipstick with organic and natural ingredients comes in several forms, such as tinted lip balm, lip gloss, and more.
For a traditional tube, their Wild With Desire Lipstick leaves nothing to be desired. Available in eight bold shades, this richly pigmented, bleed-free lipstick is best for anyone who wants a splash of color infused with healing antioxidants.
Finish with a swipe of Lip Shine, and you’ll have luscious lips in a way that keeps our planet lush, too.
Instead of chemicals, you’ll find ingredients like certified organic castor seed oil, organic candelilla wax, and organic cocoa seed butter.
Note some do contain iron oxides, titanium dioxide, mica, and some artificial colors, as well as beeswax.
RMS’ eco-friendly lipstick packaging includes recyclable aluminum tubes, glass pots, and, in the case of their multi color palettes, plastic cases that are 100% recyclable through the PACT cosmetics recycling program
About RMS Beauty
A Clean at Sephora brand, RMS Beauty aims to make conscious makeup more mainstream and create healthy luxurious beauty products using the highest-quality clean ingredients.
Founder and renowned makeup artist with 36 years of experience, Rose-Marie Swift (the RMS of the name) developed this brand in response to her own heavy metal load-induced health problems.
This cruelty-free brand uses raw, minimally processed, and non-toxic ingredients instead, all viewable in full because “[they] have nothing to hide”.
They’re all non-GMO, non-nano, soy-free, cruelty-free, silicone-free, paraben-free, and palm oil free.
Some ingredients are certified organic and wildcrafted and ALL are personally verified by Rose-Marie herself.
It’s so clean, it’s no wonder they’re considered one of the best pregnancy safe makeup brands.
They also only use packaging that is reusable, recyclable, or minimal, like recycled glass pots. Their shipping boxes are 80% post-consumer recycled cardboard and are manufactured using 100% wind power.
Lastly, they aim to make the world a more beautiful place by giving to a variety of organizations like the Environmental Defense Fund, Sea Shepherd, and the sex-trafficking victim recovery program Doors to Freedom.
5. Juice Beauty
Juice Beauty’s Natural and Organic Lipstick
Are you trying to find the best natural and organic lipsticks?
Well, pucker up, buttercup, because Juice Beauty has you covered.
The Luminous Lip Crayon is pigment-rich and available in seven shades ranging from a vibrantly bright fuchsia to a mellow pale nude.
We’ve tested the lip crayon and can confirm it works for all skin types, providing a beautiful, subtle shine.
Juice Beauty doesn’t use artificial dyes, utilizing bold colors from plant-based phyto-pigments. They infuse the pigments with a foundation of certified organic botanicals instead of petroleum byproducts, which results in a less harmful beauty product.
The Luminous Lip Crayon is 100% vegan and cruelty-free and doesn’t contain any toxic compounds like parabens, petroleum, phthalates, sulfates, artificial colorants, or synthetic scents.
Instead, it uses nourishing ingredients like mango seed butter, turmeric root, and jojoba oil. It’s packaged in sustainable FSC-certified paper material.
After testing it, we can confirm that, unlike most conventionla lipsticks, these ones actually leave our lips feeling plumper and more moisturized than before. No need to layer natural lip balm below it; this formula does it all.
About Juice Beauty
Juice Beauty believes in Farm to Beauty, meaning they source the majority of their plant-based compounds from nearby West Coast USDA Certified Organic farms or grow their own at their Innovation Center in Sonoma County, California.
All of their products are cruelty-free, vegan, Leaping Bunny Certified, and Environmental Working Group (EWG) verified.
They are in the process of swapping to sustainable packaging alternatives, like glass, FSC paper, and Bioresin samples and travel containers.
Juice Beauty gives back to different organizations, including EWG and Breast Cancer Prevention Partners (BCPP).
6. Elate Cosmetics
*Note: Elate uses stearic acid derived from RSPO palm oil.
Elate Cosmetics’ Environmentally Friendly Lipstick
Not only are they vegan and cruelty-free, but the affordable organic lipstick, lip pencils, and tinted lip balm conditioners from Elate Cosmetics round out your eco-friendly lip care kit.
All are made with certified organic and sustainable lipstick ingredients like organic castor seed oil, mango seed butter, and meadowfoam seed oil.
They do use some palm oil derivatives (namely stearic acid), but it is derived from RSPO-certified courses.
The pencils are naked (be sure to compost the shavings!), the organic lip balms come in reusable glass pots, and the eco-friendly lipstick tubes are FSC-certified bamboo.
About Elate Cosmetics
Conscious beauty is everything for Elate Cosmetics, which is why they incorporate these five principles into their organic makeup: impact, ethics, community, future, and mission.
Not only are 90% of their ingredients organic, PETA, Cruelty-Free International-certified, but many are fair trade, too.
Any non-nanoparticle minerals (mica and titanium dioxide) come from members of the Responsible Mica Initiative.
For powdered products, they provide refills in seed paper envelopes that grow into wildflowers.
This Canadian company is a member of the Green Business Association, a member of the Surfrider Foundation, and a Certified B Corp.
Elate donates extensively, allocating 1% of profits to social charities, 1% to environmental charities, and more to plant trees and offset emissions via Bullfrog Power.
7. 100% Pure
*Note: Not all products are vegan and palm oil free, but there are vegan products. We have attempted to confirm policies but have yet to receive a reply.
100% Pure’s Natural Lipstick
If you’re looking for organic pink lipstick, look no further.
FAny kiss is possible with 100% Pure, because they’ve got some in all colors and forms: sustainable matte lipstick (in 24 colors), sustainable liquid lipstick (in 10 colors), lips gloss, tints, and balms.
Made of plant-based materials and pigments, their lipstick organic ingredients include things like cacao, rose petals, rosemary leaf extract, and pomegranate seed oil, as well as some beeswax and palm oil.
While their lipstick tubes aren’t zero-waste, 100% Pure is working toward petrochemical-free packaging in favor of recycled glass, tin, cardboard by 2024.
Any plastic that still remains is recyclable in-store, meaning that you can still give second life to that non-eco friendly lipstick tube—free sample as a reward.
About 100% Pure
For everything from eco-friendly makeup brushes to vegan foundations, 100% Pure is committed to “producing the purest, healthiest products”.
The founders use strict standards to ensure that their products never contain toxic or harsh ingredients, instead opting for natural nourishment from the likes of shea butter
They also only use natural ingredients for pigment, so instead of FD&C colorants and heavy metal dyes, they use vegetable, tea, cocoa, and other antioxidant-rich fruit pigments.
Some shimmer does come from mica.
All products are made in the USA and sourced via fair trade or Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) standards.
They’re also completely cruelty-free and painstakingly ensure none of their ingredients are animal tested or derived.
Beyond doing no animals harm, they do extra good by donating one bowl of vegan dog food to a shelter dog in China for every order (or planting a tree—you choose at checkout).
Shipping materials are recycled or compostable and, with the aim of becoming Carbon Positive, their HQ is fully solar-powered.
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How We Found These Sustainable & Eco Friendly Lipstick Brands
What is eco-friendly lipstick?
Well, we can tell you what it’s not: toxic chemicals, known carcinogens, dangerous synthetics, and anything else you wouldn’t want in or around the mouth
We want natural lipstick ingredients so close-to-nature you could nearly eat them*.
*We are not endorsing the consumption of these products.
Here’s how we found the best eco-friendly lipsticks using out sustainable and ethical beauty criteria:
- Non-toxic: This is the most important consideration for us when it comes to the most natural and organic lipsticks. We look for natural lipstick that is organic, GMO-free, sustainably sourced, and from the earth (i.e. mango seed butter, coconut oil, fruit and vegetable tints).
- Cruelty-free: No animal testing.
- Vegan: Cruelty-free doesn’t necessarily mean vegan, so we also had tightly pursed lips for animal byproducts in our makeup. Ethically-sourced beeswax, honey, and goat milk are the exception—carmine (i.e. crushed up bugs) is not.
- Palm oil free: Or RSPO-certified.
- Ethical ingredient sourcing policies: A splash of color on our lips is great, greenwashing is not, so we want to know from where and how a brand gets their ingredients (especially since natural mineral pigments like mica in makeup can be ethically questionable).
- Thoughtful packaging: The best sustainable lipstick cosmetic packaging is zero waste (reusable or compostable) but they need to at least be somewhat easily recyclable.
Final Thoughts On Eco-Friendly & Organic Lipsticks
Puckering up for the planet has never been so much fun—and that’s saying a lot, because, well, kissing was already fun!
We don’t want our makeup routines to end up being the kiss of death for this planet, so we’re filling our sustainable makeup bags with products made with ingredients that would make Mother Earth proud.
This list goes to show that there are many sustainable lipstick brands just as excited about using earth-friendly ingredients to get that perfect pout.
Now it’s time to share your organic lipstick, both with sustainable snogging itself and by giving his article with your lip loving friends.
When it comes to spreading the word about safe cosmetics, we want our lips to be anything but sealed!
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