The Ethical Brands Directory 2025 lists brands that have publicly available sustainability promises and earned third-party certifications regarding their sustainability efforts.
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Consumers are prioritizing sustainability, which means so, too, are beauty businesses. In response, Sustain Beauty Co has created another industry-first resource, this time to assist time-starved beauty professionals as they research brand partners that also prioritize the planet. The Ethical Brand Directory 2025 lists beauty brands that have publicly available sustainability promises and third-party certifications is now available on the Sustain Beauty Co website for the beauty community to review.
“The 2024 Sustainability in the Beauty Industry Study echoed a theme common in previous years that salons and salon professionals want to see their partner brands also make changes,” said Valorie Tate, founder of Sustain Beauty Co. “This new resource is a way for us to celebrate beauty brands that are making changes, like our salons and stylists. It is not an endorsement or a certification of any sort. It is purely a resource that celebrates like-minded brands that have prioritized sustainability in some way.”
Previous research by SBCo into industry attitudes found 86% of those questioned wanted their existing brands to be actively working towards sustainability, while more than 50% said they’d switch brands if it was more sustainable, even if it were more expensive.
“Year after year we hear from salon owners and stylists that they do not want to carry the torch alone, but it’s important to approach this shared problem with some humility across the board,” added Valorie. “Not one company, or individual, in this industry is perfectly sustainable and we are a ways off achieving our goals. Many beauty brands, salon owners, school owners and stylists we speak to are nervous to mention efforts to edge toward being environmentally friendly for fear of being shamed for what they aren’t doing. This directory is not a name-and-shame exercise. It’s a resource to show which brands are prioritizing sustainability today and moving towards a better future.”
The Ethical Brand Directory 2025 is an amalgamation of information already available in the public domain, brought together to help professionals quickly identify how sustainable brands are becoming. It has joined the growing online library of resources published by Sustain Beauty Co that focus on how to become more sustainable and how to navigate the topic with clients. Beauty brands are invited to request a listing review on the Sustain Beauty Co website, where the team will review to confirm there is in fact a pledge for sustainability before adding your brand.
To explore further, visit https://sustainbeauty.co/pages/ethical-beauty-brands
About SBCo: Sustain Beauty Co was born with the mission to help identify authentic, credible and environmentally responsible brands that put stylists at the forefront of their purpose. All Sustain Beauty Co products must: 1) Reduce the footprint of consumables in our industry. 2) Empower artists to create beauty responsibly.3) Protect the stylist and the environment equally. 4) Come from ethical sources and responsible manufacturing facilities.
