Beauty Brands That Give Back

Shopping for beauty products is as much a luxury as it is a basic need. At the very least, we all need to follow the guidelines of personal hygiene our parents taught us; wash our hair, keep our skin clean and blemish free and moisturize and protect our skin from the elements. With the millions of products available in the marketplace, differentiating between all of lotions and potions can be harder than it needs to be. But when a product has a dual effect - meaning it'll make you "look good" while some of the money you dole out for it will also be allocated to "doing good," then that's a product to "feel good" about. These clean and natural beauty brands fall into that category and have been backing animal, humanitarian, and environmental initiatives for years.

Chantecaille Philanthropy Cheek Shade - Elephant (Smitten), $40

Chantecaille is a luxury beauty brand focused on the healing power of flowers and plants. While creating formulas based on pure ingredients and smart science, the brand has also been giving back to charities that protect wild species and spaces for more than 20 years. Chantecaille has curated beauty with impact collections that raise awareness for endangered sea turtles, coral reefs, gorillas, wolves, bees, elephants, giraffes, and more. One of their recent collections donates a portion of their proceeds to The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, which helps save and foster orphaned baby elephants that are left to survive on their own once their moms are killed for their ivory.

Meow Meow Tweet Rosemary Avocado Shampoo Bar, $12

Meow Meow Tweet quite possibly has the cutest name for a beauty brand ever. It is also a small-batch skincare brand that not only develops their goods as if they were modern culinary dishes, but the people behind MMT are very committed to giving back to a number of charities that align with their goals and values, in particular the Farm Sanctuary, which provides a safe place for traumatized farm animals and Orangutan Foundation International, which focuses on the sole mission of saving these endangered animals and their habitats.

100% Pure Nail and Cuticle Oil, $18

100% Pure is committed to producing the purest, healthiest products and educating their customers on why being 100% pure is so important. Along with that, the brand strives to represent compassion and empathy by giving back to their global community. One of their chief missions is to improve the life of animals so with every order made on 100percentpure.com, they donate one bowl of vegan dog food to a hungry canine.

Natura Breu Branco Hand Cream, $11

Natura is the largest beauty brand in Brazil and has been creating products that promote the harmonious relationship of people and nature since 1969. Using Brazilian biodiversity ingredients in all their formulations, Natura works directly with more than 30 local communities in the Amazon region to help develop sustainable business models that benefit the forest.

Davines Replenishing Butter, $38.50

​Davines haircare and body products have been mitigating and compensating its own CO2 emissions since 2006. Beauty + sustainability is at the core of everything they created. Originating in Parma, Italy, all Davines’ product packaging is 100% compensated, meaning the brand is carbon neutral. In addition, one percent of every website purchase is donated to 1% For The Planet, amongst many other environmental charities.

Derma-e Vitamin C Bright Eyes Hydro Gel Patches, $24

Derma-e started off selling one product- a jar of Vitamin E cream - to a small health food store in Southern California in 1984. Today, this clean, vegan and cruelty-free beauty brand now sells hundreds of skin and haircare products around the world. The brand is committed to giving back to their local and world communities through various humanitarian causes and philanthropic organizations such as Keep America Beautiful, which inspires and educates people to take action to improve and beautify their community every day.

The Right To Shower Hope Body Wash, $11.99

The Right To Shower believes access to cleanliness is a fundamental human right. Americans experiencing homelessness lack access to everyday necessities and services — including showers. So the folks behind TRTS have created this brand of cleansing products formulated with organic ingredients that are responsibly sourced, and 30% of all profits are donated to mobile shower initiatives helping people currently experiencing home displacement.

The Lipstick Lobby In The Clear Vitamin E Lip Balm, $19

The Lipstick Lobby is a social justice movement as much as it is a beauty brand. By empowering women through statement lip products, they fight for the issues most critical to women’s lives including incarceration, preventing gun violence, protecting one’s civil liberties, and providing affordable healthcare and sex education. One hundred percent of net profits are donated to charity.