Checking labels, researching ingredients and making sure what’s put on our body doesn’t harm us in any way isn’t just a trend. It’s a way of life. And beauty is a big part of the movement. But there’s more to being eco-friendly than safe, natural ingredients. Some of these things include evaluating how a brand’s packaging impacts the earth, their philosophy on recycling, using solar power and how and where they source their ingredients. A combination of these things, and more, goes into choosing this year’s Eco Beauty Award Finalists. To tally up their respective sustainability actions, and who ranks highest, CEW partners with Givaudan, the world’s leading flavour and fragrances company, and largest purchaser of raw materials (the ingredients that makes beauty products smell so good), using criteria developed by sustainability expert, The Natural Step. Brands are scored on a scale of one to five on how they have implemented measurable change through the lens of certain sustainability principles, and this score determines the finalists. The winner is chosen by the Eco Beauty Award Finalist Voting Committee.

Here, we spotlight two finalists, Au Naturale Cosmetics and Babo Botanicals. Stay tuned for spotlights on the other four finalists: Clean Reserve, Jurlique, Teadora and EO Products.

Au Naturale Cosmetics

Hailing from Green Bay, Wisconsin is Au Natural Cosmetics, a natural beauty company born out of its founder’s desire for a makeup brand that didn’t irritate her skin. So, Ashley Prange developed formulas that are vegan and gluten free, as well as cruelty free, non-toxic, paraben free and nano-free. And in 2015 Au Naturale was born. There is no shortage of sku’s in the collection, which makes products for face, eyes and lips. There also a collection of brushes.

Some of the qualities that elevated Au Naturale to the Finalist position include:

  • Au Naturale uses local farms to extract fresh ingredients, eliminating far distances to be travelled, minimizing impact on the environment.
  • Everything is manufactured in the brand’s Green Bay lab, by hand, in small batches. All packaging is recycled or upcycled, like its signature bags, which are make from old billboards.
  • The brand is advocating for transparency in the beauty industry on Capitol Hill.

Babo Botanicals

Kate Solomon, founder of Babo Botanicals, had a passion for sustainability from an early age. Her father, a beekeeper, instilled in her his skill and love for beekeeping, which, after graduating from Harvard, she took to rural Paraguay via the Peace Corps as means of financial and nutritional support for families. After a career in beauty at several multi-nationals, Kate founded Babo Botanicals to fulfill her dream of marrying her professional expertise with her passion for sustainable agriculture. Some of the qualities that landed Babo Botanicals in the Finalist position include:

  • All products use 95% to 100% natural ingredients; approximately 70% are certified organic ingredients.
  • Babo uses a local manufacturer and distributor to reduce carbon footprint. No bubble wrap, only 100% recycled paper packing material.
  • No synthetic fragrances are used in formulas. Products are created on a local organic farm in upstate New York.

The winners of the Eco Beauty Award will be announced May 13 at the CEW Beauty Awards luncheon at the Waldorf Astoria New York.