15 Best Zero-Waste Cosmetic Brands That Should Be on Your Radar

Your beauty routine doesn’t need to involve waste — and thankfully, there are endless brands on the market making zero-waste cosmetics these days. Using packaging materials like aluminum, cardboard, glass, and bamboo, as well as refill systems, these are some of the best zero-waste cosmetic brands on the market. Plus, they’re all cruelty-free!

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ĀTHR Beauty is a cruelty-free, vegan, sustainable, ethically-produced, and clean beauty brand, offering a wide range of products for the eyes, lips, and face. The company launched its first zero-waste eyeshadow palette in 2018, and now, offers a number of zero-waste products, from mascaras with biodegradable bristles to various formulas with upcycled ingredients. The company also uses recycled aluminum, FSC-certified paper, and soy ink.

Attitude, which makes a wide range of home and body products, also has an impressive makeup line. The company is cruelty-free, vegan, and EWG-Verified, and its makeup is made with at least 94.5 percent natural-origin ingredients. Many of Attitude's cosmetics are completely package-free and encased in FSC-certified compostable cardboard tubes and containers, including lip glosses, blush sticks, concealer sticks, and eyeshadows.

Axiology is a completely plastic-free, cruelty-free, and vegan makeup company, with all products handmade in the U.S. The company is well-known for its multiuse Balmies, which are essentially crayons that can be used on your lips, cheeks, eyelids, or wherever you'd like. Axiology also makes Shape Sticks, packaged in cardboard tubes, which can be used to contour, bronze, and more.

Certified B Corp Elate Beauty is a fully vegan and cruelty-free cosmetic company, with a focus on sustainable packaging and ethical ingredients. Instead of using plastic, Elate packages its wide range of makeup products in materials like aluminum, bamboo, and a material called bagasse, which is leftover sugarcane stalk pulp. More than 75 percent of Elate's packaging can either be recycled, planted, or reused; plus, customers can mail any Elate packaging back to the company for free recycling.

Ere Perez is an Australia-based, cruelty-free beauty and skincare brand, specializing in products made with superfoods and botanicals. In a 2023 interview, founder Ere Perez told us that her favorite product is the brand’s Coco Crayons, which are "an incredible multitasking product that’s not only completely plastic-free but also biodegradable." Other plastic-free products include eye pencils, blushes, and bronzers, some of which are refillable.

ILIA, a 1% for the Planet company, makes skincare-powered makeup of all kinds. The company is cruelty-free, and all but six of its products are vegan. ILIA uses various sustainable packaging materials including recycled aluminum, paper, and glass, and in partnership with Pact, ILIA offers a free beauty packaging recycling program to customers.

Izzy Zero Waste Beauty makes a small selection of zero-waste beauty products, including highlighter, mascara, and lip gloss. Products are all packaged in reusable, recyclable, and certified CarbonNeutral stainless steel tubes, with zero outer packaging waste. Customers can sign up for subscriptions, so they'll automatically be sent new products in exchange for their empty packaging, which Izzy will sanitize and reuse.

Izzy is also cruelty-free, vegan, and free of unwanted ingredients like parabens and phthalates.

Kjaer Weis is an organic, luxury, and cruelty-free cosmetic company, known for its refillable makeup. Iconic Edition refillable packaging is made from a metal alloy called zamac, and is designed to last forever and be refilled infinitely; other product packaging materials Kjaer Weis uses include recyclable tin and compostable featherweight paper. Many of the products contain beeswax, but some products are vegan.

Cruelty-free and vegan company MOB Beauty makes makeup of all kinds and offers compacts and palettes that are infinitely customizable and refillable. MOB also uses at least 50 percent post-consumer recycled materials in its packaging, with a goal of using 100 PCR materials; other packaging materials include sugarcane, cardboard, bamboo, flax, and starches of corn and wheat.

Latinx-owned Pyra Beauty makes a small range of fully vegan and cruelty-free beauty products with clean formulas. Products include setting powder, illuminator, and foundation — in 40 shades. Pyra Beauty's products are packaged in recyclable, plastic-free packaging materials like cardboard and glass.

River Organics is an organic, independent, and cruelty-free beauty brand based in Wilmington, N.C. The company packages its products in cardboard tubes and jars — including its mascara, which you dip into and apply using the company's lash brush, which is made of bare wood, metal, and nylon bristles. River Organics also sells "imperfect" versions of its products at a discount, which reduces waste.

Women-owned and small-batch beauty brand Root Pretty can be shopped online, or at its shop in Iowa. The company makes an effort to use as little packaging as possible, and packaging materials used include recyclable metal tins, glass tubes, and recyclable plastic. Root Pretty also offers some makeup refills in compostable pouches, and the company invites customers to mail back or drop off all empty Root Pretty packaging for recycling.

Every product Trestique makes is designed to be purchased just once and then refilled forever. All packaging is made of around 87 percent recycled materials, and some products are certified carbon neutral by CarbonFund; you can also recycle Trestique packaging via its partnership with Pact. Trestique products are designed to be breathable, clean, cruelty-free, and vegan.

French beauty company Zao is cruelty-free, vegan, and organic, and offers a wide variety of makeup, even including nail polish. Many of Zao's products are refillable to help reduce waste, and they are packaged in materials including recyclable plastic, aluminum, tin, and cardboard. Zao also uses some unique plant-based ingredients in its products, including bamboo powder and vegetal silica.

Zerra & Co. a 1% for the Planet company, designs all of its makeup packaging to be easily reused, recycled, or composted at home. Packaging materials used include cardboard, glass, bamboo, metal, and compostable pouches. All products can be refilled to help reduce packaging waste — most interestingly, you can order new mascara vials that do not come with a brush, allowing you to clean and reuse the brush from your last bottle.