Lip balm is lovely. Lip balm in a plastic container? Ehh…not so much.
Plastic has all but taken over the beauty care aisles, and lip products are some of the worst offenders. But since we’re zipping our lips to single-use plastics, we’re opting for sustainable lip balms.
We’re not ones to kiss and tell, but considering that 1 billion plastic lipstick tubes end up in landfill each year, our lips can’t stay sealed on this issue.
Fortunately, a growing number of clean beauty brands are walking the talk with plastic-free products that are a balm to our lips and the planet. While it may not seem like a game changer, switching to a beauty brand with less wasteful packaging adds up.
So that’s what we’ve rounded up here. A list of lip balms made by brands who not only use low-waste or no-waste packaging but also safe ingredients and ethical sourcing.
As we refresh our articles in the coming months, we’ll be employing our new Brand Rating System to examine the most smoochworthy brands. In addition to zero waste lip balm packaging, we’ll also consider circularity, chemical use and climate impact. For more on how we evaluate brands, see our rating approach here.
We independently research all featured brands and we ask them to confirm their claims. In many cases we personally review recommended products. This post contains affiliate links which means we may earn a commission if you buy something. Learn more here.
Index: Eco-Friendly Lip Balms
- ATTITUDE Jump to brand
- EcoRoots Jump to brand
- Axiology Jump to brand
- Ethique Jump to brand
- Dab Herb Make-Up Jump to brand
- Battle Green Jump to brand
- Tap Tap Organics Jump to brand
- Rainwater Botanicals Jump to brand
- Plant Makeup Jump to brand
ATTITUDE
Price Range: $5–$20
Canadian brand ATTITUDE boasts a comprehensive catalog of products for beauty, home care, bath, and mom and baby needs. They’re a go-to of ours for zero waste sunscreen and lotion bars, not least because all of their body care products are EWG VERIFIED™, so we know there aren’t any ingredients of concern.
All products are also PETA-certified, and Ecologo® certified for their low environmental impact. Some products use RSPO-certified Mass Balance palm oil. Except for diapers and dishwasher tablets (which are made in France), products are made in-house in Montreal, Quebec. For each one you buy, ATTITUDE plants a tree via One Tree Planted and Eden Reforestation.
For “kissably-soft lips,” their zero-waste lip balms have you covered. For added sun protection they offer SPF 15 lip balms and tinted SPF 30 lip balms that combine nourishing plant and mineral ingredients, including non-nano zinc oxide. They also offer non-SPF lip balms in mint, coconut, watermelon, and unscented varieties.
Each lip balm comes packaged in an FSC-certified biodegradable cardboard tube.
My Personal Review of ATTITUDE’s Lip Balm:
“I sampled the watermelon lip balm and love the ultra-nourishing feeling of the plant ingredients like coconut oil, castor oil, and shea butter. It smells lovely, too. I also tested the coconut SPF 15 lip balm which feels equally hydrating but does need some rubbing in order to avoid a white cast on the lips.”
Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content
EcoRoots
Price Range: $9
Colorado’s EcoRoots has us feeling Rocky Mountain High about its selection of elevated home and beauty products. In addition to selling a select line of ethical brands, the woman-owned zero waste store creates an in-house collection that is vegan, cruelty-free, natural/organic, and packaged and shipped plastic-free.
Most items (including their sustainable chapsticks) are handmade in small batches in the USA, and are free from palm oil, synthetic fragrances, parabens, phthalates, and gluten. This fellow 1% for the Planet member allocates their donations to environmental initiatives, including Ocean Conservancy.
EcoRoots’ lip balm uses a combination of organic olive, coconut, jojoba, rosehip seed, and sunflower seed oils designed to replenish chapped lips. Instead of beeswax, vegan candelilla wax provides the shape and extends the longevity of the balm. You can choose between unscented, strawberry, mint, and a lightly tinted lip balm scented with lingonberry.
My Personal Review of EcoRoots’ Lip Balm Tubes:
“I tested EcoRoots’ Natural Lip Balm, and it’s hands (er, lips?) down one of my favorites, as it glides on super smooth and has a luxurious feel. The compostable tube is easy to use and holds 3 times the amount of a standard lip balm, and based on how long it’s already lasted, I predict it will last a while.”
Review by Joy McConnochie, SJ’s Co-founder
Axiology
Price Range: $14–$98
BIPOC and woman-founded brand Axiology is one of our favorite sustainable makeup brands. Founded by Ericka Rodriguez, all of Axiology’s products are PETA-certified, palm oil-free, plastic-free, nano-sized particle-free, fragrance-free, and made with simple, natural ingredients, many of which are certified organic.
They prioritize fair trade ingredients where possible (such as their shea butter and moringa oil) and their mica comes from an ethical supplier. Their compostable and recyclable outer packaging is sourced from a women’s co-operative in Bali that recycles the island’s paper trash. On top of all that, they also give back via donations to animal welfare charities.
We’re big fans of multi-use products, and their collection of 3-in-1 lip, cheek, and eye sticks is exactly that. Axiology’s Multi Sticks (available in 13 gorgeous shades) contain coconut and avocado oil for a creamy, hydrating lipstick. If you’re looking for an eco-friendly chapstick without color, the Vegan Lip Balm is the perfect choice. Both come in compostable cardboard tubes.
My Personal Review of Axiology’s Lip Balm:
“I’ve used several of Axiology’s products and love them all, but their newest product addition—the Vegan Lip Balm—is what I reach for most often, simply because I don’t often have the need for colored tint. But this clear balm is ideal for just about every situation and its simple recipe of just seven natural ingredients is highly effective.
“I especially like to apply it before bed, and let the power of the rich coconut oil and meadowfoam seed oil work its nourishing and hydrating magic over night.”
Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content
Ethique
Price Range: $8.50
Ethique started in New Zealand but is now a global beauty brand. Having gained fame from their then-innovative zero waste deodorant, shampoo, and conditioner bars, Ethique has been zero waste from day one.
The Certified B Corp, prioritizes direct trade partnerships for ingredient sourcing. All products are Leaping Bunny-certified, PETA-certified, and Orangutan Alliance-certified palm oil-free. They donate 2% of all sales to charity and plant a tree for every order.
Ethique’s sustainable lip balms come in three delectable flavors: Pepped Up (peppermint), Juicy (grapefruit and vanilla), and So Cocoa (cocoa butter). There is also an unscented version and a tinted version. They’re made with nourishing ingredients like coconut oil, moringa oil, jojoba oil, and cocoa butter and housed in a home compostable tube.
My Personal Review of Ethique’s Lip Balm:
“I tested the Juicy grapefruit and vanilla lip balm. Its creamy formulation glides on smoothly and smells divine—the perfect combination of sweet and citrusy that isn’t too overpowering. Each chapstick has lasted about twice as long as a standard lip balm I’d say, so a lot more bang for your buck with this option.”
Review by Joy McConnochie, SJ’s Co-founder
Dab Herb Make-Up
Price Range: $15–$27
In a world of chemical-ridden cosmetics, California-based Dab Herb creates “medicinal makeup” by trading in harsh and toxic ingredients for natural, food-grade, organic ingredients for its natural eyeshadow, mascara, and more.
They’re invested in responsible sourcing and fair trade practices, so they don’t use palm oil and choose ethical mica that is mined and processed in the US. They only use paper mailers and reuse materials from their suppliers for large orders. They also accept returned containers for reuse.
Dab Herb’s sustainable lip balm selection is sumptuous—Think Lemon-Matcha to Hibiscus Grapefruit. They also have food-grade lip toppers, tints, paints, and glosses for added shimmer and color. All products contain ingredients like hemp seed oil, avocado oil, and plant-based food pigments.
Their refillable lip balm containers typically consist of glass with a metal cap. They offer bamboo and PP (plastic) push-up tubes for their herb lip paints, glass tubes with bamboo caps for their lip gloss, and Kraft paper tubes for their lip balms.
My Personal Review of Dab Herb’s Herb Lip Paint:
“I tested Dab Herb’s Herb Lip Paint, a super blendable lip balm-lipstick hybrid that’s good enough to eat—quite literally, as it’s made from 100% food-grade ingredients. Color is courtesy of plant pigments including beetroot, alkanet, and cherries and the ultra-nourishing unrefined avocado oil and hemp seed oil keep our lips feeling luxuriously hydrated. They used to stock a nude version which was my go-to when I just needed a little lip boost, but it appears this is no longer available.”
Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content
Battle Green
Price Range: $14
Shipping from the UK, Battle Green is taking the clean cosmetics industry by storm. From eco-friendly deodorant to shampoo and conditioner bars, they’re a one-stop shop for plastic-free swaps.
Battle Green’s beauty and body care products are handmade in small batches in North Wales. Everything is PETA-certified, palm oil-free, packaged zero-waste in reusable tin pots or compostable cardboard, and shipped plastic-free. Battle Green is a member of Surfers Against Sewage and makes monthly donations to fund beach clean-ups.
Each chapstick is formulated to lock in moisture with nourishing ingredients including cocoa butter, jojoba oil, and castor oil. Choose between ten delectable flavors and two types of packaging: an 11g compostable paper tube or a 15g reusable tin.
My Personal Review of Battle Green’s Cardboard Tube Lip Balm:
“I’m a little bit in love with Battle Green’s apple-flavored lip balm. It smells (naturally) lovely and feels super nourishing and hydrating. It’s smooth to apply, and a little goes a long way, so we reckon it will last a long time. Plus, the added vegan candelilla wax gives it a long-lasting and slightly waterproof quality, so I found I don’t need to reapply more than once a day.”
Review by Deidre Maene, SJ Writer
Tap Tap Organics
Price Range: $9
Inspired by her childhood in Costa Rica, Tap Tap Organic’s founder Patricia takes the country’s “Pura Vida” motto to new heights. A pure life is precisely what they’re after—pure from parabens, petroleum, plastic packaging, and inorganic ingredients.
Instead, the Latina and woman-founded brand sources strictly organic or locally wild-harvested (in the case of their Costa Rican coconut oil) ingredients from Central and South America before manufacturing in San Francisco.
Their zero waste skin care offerings include body butter, beauty oil, beauty balm, and lip balm. All are packaged in zero waste, returnable packaging; add a free return label to your order to send back your empties.
Their pocket-sized tins of lip balm are formulated to nourish, moisturize, and protect. Choose between vanilla and rose, both subtly scented with organic essential oils. The latter can also be used to give your cheeks a subtle glow. Both contain only five simple ingredients: organic or wild-harvested coconut oil, organic sunflower oil, organic cocoa butter, organic beeswax, and vanilla or rose absolute essential oil.
Rainwater Botanicals
Price Range: $5–$8
Rainwater Botanicals started in 1999 with a simple healing salve, and they’ve been taking care of our bodies from their Washington state studio ever since. From skin-nourishing concealers, to smelling fine all the time à la sustainable perfumes, there isn’t much they don’t tend to.
All products are handmade and produced in small batches using local and/or organic ingredients. Everything is palm oil-free, and they never test on animals (but rather test on themselves).
Whether you choose Anisette, Cranberry, Ginger Nut, Pink Grapefruit, or Iced Mocha, you’ll get a tinted eco-friendly lip balm with natural ingredients like wild shea butter, organic castor oil, organic tamanu oil, essential oils, and mineral color. They also offer non-tinted lip balms. All are plastic-free and housed in a slide-lid tin container or compostable paperboard tube. Note that their strawberry lip balm contains beeswax, but the rest are vegan.
Plant Makeup
Price Range: $14–$22
Plant Makeup queen Jess “discovered the language of plants in a medicinal herb greenhouse.” From there, her interests blossomed into a herbal tea shop and a line of beauty products and botanical fragrances that she makes herself in Massachusetts.
They offer organic foundation, primer, concealer, highlighting oil, eye shadow, glitter balms, and lip balms—all made with plant-based, local ingredients free of palm oil, GMOs, mineral mica tints, and oxides. They’re cruelty-free and packaged plastic-free in upcycled, recycled, and compostable materials. Not all products are vegan, however, as some (including their lip balm) contain locally sourced beeswax or certified organic honey.
If cute lip balm containers is what you’re after, check out Plant Makeup’s shimmery range. You’ll find a purple-colored lilac-infused lip balm, a limited edition wild rose lip balm, an earthy red/orange lip balm with madder root, a chamomile lip balm, a creamy vanilla lip balm, and several other botanical beauties.
All of these come in reusable pots, except the vanilla lip balm, which comes in a compostable paperboard tube.
Hello – we’d love to be included in your next write up! My company, Stoked Goods, makes an organic lip and face balm which is made in a biodegradable tube!
Let us know your thoughts and thanks for spreading the good word about non-plastic lip balms!
Best,
Peter
Co-founder