But Is Your Clean Beauty ETHICALLY Clean?

If you thought boycott fatigue was intense, allow me to introduce you to boycott burnout.

About seven years ago, I decided to shift to a more holistic style of living — at least when it came to my body, skin, and beauty care routines. (I still haven’t been able to forgo my occasional sea salt vinegar chips and sour candy binges. One day at a time.)

Even before my father was suddenly diagnosed with glioblastoma, which eventually took him from us, I had been concerned about all the ingredients we were recklessly slathering onto our bodies. From sunscreen to shampoo to eyeliner to detergent, it all began to surface as toxic, especially when you consider the accumulation of exposure on a daily basis.

Simply put, clean beauty is a movement that focuses on promoting beauty (cosmetics, skincare, and body care) products with nontoxic, safe, and environmentally friendly ingredients. These ingredients are often natural, organic, and/or free of harmful chemicals such as sulfates, parabens, phthalates, and more.

Clean beauty also centers on ensuring products are produced through environmentally friendly processes (i.e., carbon emission reductions, water waste reductions, etc.) and packaged in recyclable and/or recycled packaging. For example, many clean cosmetic brands are prioritizing waste elimination by shifting to refillable packaging.

The transition was (and remains) challenging. Between the risk of adverse reactions and the risk of BDS noncompliance, the clean beauty market is a whole other animal. Researching BDS safety is not new to me; I’ve been doing it since I was 15, so I have over 20 years of experience in the field when it comes to BDS safe beauty and body care, but clean beauty presents an entirely new curve-ball.

Most clean beauty brands are independently founded and owned. While some eventually get acquired by bigger, more known companies (which are easier to research), others retain indie ownership. This means we have to deep dive into the personal lives of the owners and figure out their political and ethical stances. Many were quiet about Palestine all their time in establishment (no surprise), but managed to begin posting pro-Israeli rhetoric after October 7th 2023. While this sucks for our BDS-friendly list, it makes researching a lot easier.

FYI: BDS (Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions) “is a Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice and equality. BDS upholds the simple principle that Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as the rest of humanity” (BDSMovement.net) and involves withdrawing support of all kinds from Israel’s apartheid regime and those funding it.

This includes reallocating our funds from brands we use every single day — that contribute to the ongoing existence of this apartheid state — to businesses and brands that either stand for a Free Palestine or have at least not acknowledged a supportive stance with Israel. (I emphasize this last point because only a handful of clean and non-clean brands have vocalized their support for a #FreePalestine, but we will get there one day!)

When people began compiling lists of BDS-friendly beauty and skincare brands last year, I noticed no one was highlighting clean beauty. I quickly realized this is a gap I need to fill. My journey in the beauty and clean beauty industries is vast and I know I am not the only one who prefers to embrace a more holistic approach to self-care.

Therefore, my fellow clean beauty enthusiasts, I presents to you my thus far list of clean beauty brands. I specify “thus far” because it is important to note the following:

These lists are neither exhaustive nor final. My research is ongoing as information continues to surface and brand ownership and/or stances change. If you notice a brand listed under the wrong category and/or have others you would like me to add, please do not hesitate to reach out with evidence and sources, and I will gladly incorporate. My goal is to ensure we have a thorough and real-time updated data base of clean beauty brands. (That’s an upside of Substack — I’ll be able to update this list as new information arises.)

• While my criteria for defining a brand’s BDS compliancy is quite rigorous (possibly borderline intense, haha), I do encourage you to conduct your own research. I am not seeking out brands that are outwardly vocal about Palestine, because as noted earlier, that is a rarity. Aside from Pound Cake Cosmetics and Mango People, none of the BDS-Safe Clean Beauty brands have said anything in support of Palestine. Rather, I marked them as safe simply because they have not demonstrated anything in support, solidarity, or adjacency to zionism. This includes their staff, photographers, and models. For example, Apple Doll employs a vocal Jewish model and influencer who has not once utilized her platform to speak up against the genocide. Rouje Beauty employs an Israeli product photographer who has proudly photographed zionist individuals. Gen See IS an Israeli founded and owned brand. Basma Beauty (which I have neither marked as safe or unsafe because I’m on the fence) consistently highlights how the Kardashians use their products. I understand the excitement of having your hard earned success reach mainstream popularity, but I can’t personally endorse a brand that has repeatedly hyped up problematic individuals who have often stood in solidarity with zionism.

Some clean beauty brands are strategic and have worked diligently to retain a political-free digital presence. The brand owners often do the same and some have private social media platforms, so it makes researching difficult. If their profiles are public, I make a point to look at who they (and their brand’s account) follow. For example, HIGHR Collective was once upon a time my beloved clean beauty lipstick brand. I swore by them! But one day, something caught my eye on the founder’s Instagram page and it sent me down a dark rabbit hole. She and her husband are pretty chummy with quite a few zionists; one of whom is a yoga and clean living guru in LA, dedicating her social media platform to stand with Israel. I personally expect better from the brands and people I will be pouring my money into because I know better can exist — which I noticed in Vieve Muse Beauty, whose owner and her brand both follow staunch pro-Palestine activists.

The clean beauty world is an extremely challenging industry to navigate, but I hope this helps my fellow clean beauty fam. We owe it to our Palestinian families and friends to put in this effort — fatigue or burnout, it is worth every ounce of energy in the end!

«BDS-COMPLIANT CLEAN BEAUTY»

• Haircare

  • Briogeo

  • Attitude Living (haircare, cosmetics, and household cleaning products)

  • Odele

  • Unite

  • BIOSILK

  • Paul Mitchell Hair (not to be confused with the pro-Israel politician)

• Fragrance

  • Rook Perfumes (Jordanian owned)

  • Imaginary Authors

  • Sana Jardin

  • ESAS New York

  • DedCool

  • by Rosie Jane

  • Commodity

  • Henry Rose

• Cosmetics

  • Kulfi Beauty

  • Noto Botanics

  • Toups & Co. Organics

  • Crunchi

  • Vieve Muse Beauty

  • Pound Cake Cosmetics

  • Inika Organic

  • Plume Science

  • Lithe Beauty

  • SOSHE Beauty

  • Rituel de Fille

  • Cheekbone Beauty

  • Axiology

  • LYS Beauty

  • Pixi by Petra

  • Mango People

  • Rejuva Minerals

  • Simi Haze

  • Iris & Romeo

• Body/Skincare

  • My Aromaz (Syrian owned)

  • Silk Road Souq (Syrian owned)

  • Yafa Queens (Palestinian owned)

  • Vertly

  • Lume

  • Epicutis

  • Solara Suncare

  • Toups and Co.

  • Pixi by Petra

  • Herbivore Botanicals

  • Ursa Major

  • Flora Mirabilis

  • DNA Skin Institute

«BDS-NONCOMPLIANT CLEAN BEAUTY»

• Haircare

  • Shea Moisture

  • Gisou

  • EVOVLH

  • LOLAVIE

  • Innersense

  • Native

• Fragrance

  • DS&Durga

  • Ellis Brooklyn

  • Heretic Parfum**

• Cosmetics

  • HIGHR Collective

  • Madame Gabriela Beauty

  • Alleyoop

  • ELF Cosmetics

  • MERIT Beauty

  • Cover FX

  • exa Beauty

  • Apple Doll

  • Tower 28 Beauty

  • Gen See Beauty (Israeli women owned and founded)

  • Jillian Dempsey

  • Kosas**

  • Haus Labs

  • RMS Beauty**

  • Nudestix

  • Saie Beauty

  • Rouje Beauty

  • REL Beauty

  • LUX Unfiltered

  • ILIA Beauty

  • rhode

  • Well People

  • Sonia Kashuk (a Target owned brand)

• Body/Skincare

  • Native

  • Pipette

  • Dr. Bonner’s

  • The Honest Company (both skin/bodycare and cosmetics)

  • Naturium

  • Oak Essentials

  • VERSED

  • Necessaire

  • Follain

  • The Outset

  • Eucerin/Aquaphor

** NOTE: These brands have been marked as BDS-noncompliant because although they have not necessarily expressed any anti-Palestinian or pro-Israeli sentiments, they have demonstrated racist and Islamophobic rhetoric over the years. Heretic Parfum partnered with RMS Beauty recently, which is what got them demoted.