Birkenstock Launches Natural Skincare Line In Sustainable Packaging

Iconic footwear company, Birkenstock, is releasing an exciting new line of natural skincare products. That's right: They've created a line of beauty products with sustainable packing and natural ingredients. Even better? They're also cruelty-free. 

Their line blends together natural ingredients like arctic moss, aloe vera, argan oil, avocado, ginkgo, green coffee, ginger, jojoba, mint, and elderberry.

While Birkenstock has been using cork for decades in their signature shoes, it’s also the secret ingredient in their skincare line. As the main component, cork oak extract proves to be a resilient element. Cork oak can be harvested from a tree’s outer layer of bark every nine years for 150 years. Mediterranean cork oak forests also create complex ecosystems for animals and are vital in regulating CO2.

Besides the environmental advantages for producing cushy shoes, scientists in the cosmetics industry have found that cork oak can also be a nice perk when used as a main active ingredient in skincare, since the natural extracts carry anti-aging properties. For example, scientific studies claim that suberin has skin lifting effects.

While Birkenstock boasts about which ingredients go into their skincare line, they’re also proud of what it doesn’t have. Their beauty products are free of hotly debated ingredients like paraffins, silicon, parabens, and polyethylene glycols. They also don’t have synthetic fragrances or pigments, since those may trigger allergies.

Animal lovers can also rejoice in knowing animals were not used in developing or testing Birkenstock’s line of skincare, meaning that the entire line is cruelty-free. The company also skipped animal-based products when deciding what to add in for ingredients in most products, meaning some, though not all, are vegan.

Another nice perk for eco-conscious consumers is that this line aims to keep secondary packaging as minimal as possible and uses recycled bottles and tubes. To take an extra step towards sustainability, they also designed “intelligent refill system” to avoid unnecessary packaging. The system offers refills which can be bought and used in the original container once the product is used up.

As a major player on a global footwear stage, Birkenstock’s shift towards sustainable skincare is kind of a big deal. The company has nearly 4,000 employees and sells to over 100 countries around the globe. By establishing its own natural cosmetics division within the company, Birkenstock’s commitment to this new line makes eco-conscious skincare accessible to a wide range of consumers.