What is considered to be a lower impact beauty ingredient?

Good On You’s methodology takes into account how different ingredients have varying impacts on the environment, and categorises them accordingly.

Last updated on 21 Aug, 2024

Lower impact ingredients are defined in comparison to business as usual (BAU) ingredients. For instance, if an ingredient comes from an upcycled source it could have a significantly lower environmental impact than a BAU ingredient from a virgin source.

Good On You’s methodology assigns lower impact ingredients into three groups:

Group 1: Upcycled ingredients

Considered to be the least harmful for the environment.

Applicable standards:

Upcycled Certified by the Upcycled Food Association

Group 2: Organic and FairWild ingredientsConsidered to have lesser impacts than BAU ingredients.

Applicable standards:

COSMOS Organic
NATRUE Organic
USDA Organic
UEBT
FairWild

Group 3: Fairtrade ingredientsConsidered to have lesser impacts than BAU ingredients

Applicable standards:

Fair for Life
Fair Trade
Fair Trade International

You will be scored not only on the presence of lower impact ingredients in your products, but also on the proportion you use.

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How are standards and assessments like FTI and CDP incorporated into scores?