We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.
8 Sustainable Perfumes For An Eco-Friendly Fragrance Wardrobe
Great-smelling perfumes don't need to stink up the planet.
The Ingredients List - Breaking down the what, where and why of natural and eco-friendly beauty.
While fragrance has always remained one of the more considered investments in our beauty routines, its role in our overall sustainability efforts can sometimes be overlooked. After all, how unsustainable can perfume really be?
In terms of packaging, perfume already had the upper hand (when was the last time you saw a perfume in a plastic bottle?) compared to its cosmetic and skincare counterparts. But what about the stuff that goes into it?
'There are no clear industry standards for ethical products, so it is important that you choose brands that have clear and transparent policies and certifications,' says Floral Street founder Michelle Feeney. 'Delve into the background of the companies they are buying from - who owns them and what is their approach to sustainability? Really understand the terminology they use and be sure they can back up what they say.'
Consider the 5 R's when doing your research: rethink, reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle. 'You have to consider the whole responsible life cycle and every element that goes into each perfume,' continues Feeney. 'From the sustainable raw materials and how they are processed and harvested, the recyclable packaging, responsible manufacturing methods and the whole supply chain.'
One common misconception about supposedly sustainable perfumes that Feeney highlights is that 'natural' ingredients are often associated with being eco-friendly. 'Naturals aren’t necessarily sustainable, and they are often more allergenic. A perfume should contain a combination of natural and synthetic ingredients,' she explains.
'Synthetics are lab created, do not include animal derived materials and no animals have been harmed in the process of creating them for a perfume. Not only are they cruelty-free alternatives but they can also be more eco-friendly. We shouldn’t be taking too much from nature, as ingredients can be over-harvested, or worse still become non-existent.'
To make your journey to owning a sustainable perfume wardrobe a little easier, we've rounded up some of the best eco-friendly fragrances available.
Shop Sustainable Perfumes
Clean Reserve Avant Garden Galbanum & Rain Eau de Parfum
Clean Reserve are committed to sustainability from the inside out. Their partnerships help support small farming communities that ethically harvest their ingredients (without imbalancing the natural eco-system) and their packaging is as eco-friendly as possible, from their 100% recycled box to their wooden-cap.
Floral Street Sunflower Pop Eau De Parfum
Floral Street was born out of Feeney's passion for creating a more sustainable beauty landscape after identifying a gap in the market for a truly eco-friendly, affordable and exciting range of perfumes.
'We reduce fragrance usage by having a high 20% perfume oil, our packaging is recyclable, you can reuse our beautiful glass bottles by refilling them in our Covent Garden and our biodegradable pulp fragrance carton has been recognised as an eco-hero.'
Their latest perfume, Sunflower Pop is a scent-meets-art collaboration with the Van Gogh Musuem. Bright citrusy notes of mandarin and bergamot fizz alongside sweet bellini, and as with all of their perfumes, it's housed in a masterpiece of a bottle that will transform your dressing table into the MoMa.
Le Labo Santal 33 Eau De Parfum
Not only does its celebrity and beauty-editor fan base cement Le Labo as one of the coolest contemporary perfume houses, but it also holds some pretty good sustainability credentials too. The brand has taken a comprehensive approach to making its packaging as eco-friendly as possible (recyclable or recycled all the way), and their ingredients do good too. Plus, you can take your empty bottle back to the store to be refilled and nab a discount for your moral shopping habits.
The Nue Co believes in an interconnected physical, social and environmental ecosystem, so preserving the wellbeing of our planet is central to their ethos. Forest Lungs, the brand's latest innovative fragrance release, features cedar wood oil created from sawdust waste material from a sustainable upcycling program in Morocco. What's more, the company has an in-house recycling programme which allows you to send back the 2% of its packaging (i.e. the pumps and springs) that aren't easily recyclable at home.
Pros
Cons
Upcycled perfumes are the newest trend disrupting the sustainable fragrance arena by taking one man's trash and turning them into treasure. Boy Smells Tantrum is one example of a perfume breaking ground in this area, distilling essential oils from byproducts of the furniture manufacturing industry and turning them into this spirited peppery green scent.
Hugely minimising the need for packaging is Lush's range of solid perfumes, which offer the long-lasting scent of a perfume in a balm format. With notes of neroli, ylang ylang and sandalwood, Breath Of God is the kind of fragrance that gets your day off to the right start.
Sana Jardin Berber Blonde Eau de Parfum
Sana Jardin, one of the first luxury eco-friendly perfume houses, not only puts sustainability at the forefront of its business, but also use their fragrances to drive positive social change. Their supply chain is meticulously thought through to empower women and benefit the environment at every stage; the flowers are harvested by indigenous women in Morocco, creating consistent employment, and they try to repurpose as much orange blossom by-product as possible.
Berber Blonde is a sparkling floral scent with notes of petit grain, bitter orange and bergamot that will immediately transport you to a hazy summer afternoon, even on the most miserable of winter days.
Laboratory Perfumes Tonka Eau de Toilette
If you're looking to support home-grown businesses, Laboratory's small-scale supply chain is totally transparent and located entirely in the UK. Their gender neutral Tonka EDT is an inxoticating blend of pink peppercorns and woody notes with a hint of mandarin and tonka bean, packaged in recyclable glass, card and paper.
Watch Next
The Future Of Hair Salons Is Going Net Zero
Radical Transparency Is Challenging Greenwashing
A Case For Why Plastic Isn’t Always The Enemy
Can Plastic Negative Beauty Save The Planet?
