A movement to reduce ingredients that could eat away at coral reefs began a few years ago, with many sunscreen brands, in particular, introducing formulas that caused no harm. The growing concern of plastic waste entering the world’s waterways has further inspired many brands to minimize waste and focus on the end life of their products.
 
Ocean Waste Plastic, is defined by Juice Beauty (see below) as plastic waste found floating in the ocean by local fishermen in Jakarta, Indonesia. This waste is collected, sorted and recycled so it can be reused to make new and sustainable packaging, thus avoiding the use of virgin plastic.
 
To meet these various goals—whether through product or packaging—a new wave of clean beauty brands has identified their ethos as “Blue Beauty.”
 
Here are several brands (and one supplier) that identify as Blue Beauty that have caught our eye. Read the descriptions below and see the images in the slideshow above:
 
1. Blue Heron Botanicals
With sustainable, premium lip and skin care products presented in cheerful, zero-waste packaging made in the USA, Blue Heron’s squeeze lip balm tubes provide an alternative to typical lip balm tubes made from petroleum plastics. Blue Heron Botanicals’ products are organic and fair trade certified, nontoxic and chemical-free. Additionally, the brand donates a portion of its proceeds to saving baby sea turtles.
 
Blue Heron’s founder Annie Jackson says the term “Blue Beauty” is inclusive of all that is loved by green beauty enthusiasts—high quality minimally processed ingredients that are effective, naturally derived, selected with attention to production, cruelty free, and ethically sourced. “Blue Beauty goes a step further to include innovative sustainable packaging solutions and philanthropy. There is an added concern for our oceans and targeted focus on preservation to combat the impact of plastics pollution,” she says.
 
2. Planet KIND
Gillette says its new shaving and skin care line ‘is kind to skin and the planet.’ The brand has partnered with Plastic Bank, to ensure that every Planet KIND product purchased will help prevent 10 plastic bottles from entering the ocean. Included are a razor and blades, moisturizer, face wash and shave cream. Planet KIND packaging is recyclable and made with 85% recycled paper, 85% recycled plastic or “infinitely recyclable aluminum.”
 
 The razor handle is made to last with 60% recycled plastic (made with rPET, like water bottle plastic), which can be used for years. The shave cream jar is made with “infinitely recyclable aluminum.” Moisturizer, face wash and shave cream are made without parabens, SLS sulfate, alcohol or dyes. The moisturizer and face wash bottles are made with 85% recycled plastic.
 
“Planet KIND makes it easier to incorporate eco-friendly choices into your shaving and skin care routine,” said John Claughton, VP of North America Grooming at P&G. “We know consumers are looking for sustainable products that are kind to skin, and don’t want to compromise on performance. Our Planet KIND products are designed with this in mind and are backed by a brand people already know and trust.”
 
Plastic Bank is “a social enterprise that helps stop ocean plastic while improving the lives of collectors in vulnerable coastal communities.” Starting February 1, every purchase of a Planet KIND product will help prevent 10 plastic bottles from entering the ocean. In the first year of this partnership, Planet KIND’s goal is to prevent 10 million plastic bottles from entering the ocean.
 
3. Mara Beauty
Mara Beauty was born of the sea (Mar for sea—and also a syllable of the founder’s last name). The celebrity-loved brand, which uses a proprietary algae-plankton, is all about simple skin care that doesn’t cause any negative effects to the ocean or planet. Bottles reflect a turquoise sea. Each carton is literally an original work of art.One of the most popular items in the collection is Algae Face Oil.
 
4. Code Mint
After successful collaborations with Charlotte Tilbury, Urban Decay, Givenchy and Olay, Grace Chow, “one of the original influencers in China,” launched her own brand. Code Mint is described as a Blue Beauty brand with products that are clean and cruelty-free. The collection includes lipsticks, an eyeshadow palette, 2 blush colors and 2 highlighters ranging from $15-$20.
 
Code Mint promotes a 666 philosophy that emphasizes the elimination of 66 toxic and hazardous ingredients and the addition of 6 nutrients that have anti-aging and anti-inflammatory properties. The mission at Code Mint is to constantly push the standard of clean beauty by removing commonly used hazardous ingredients in color cosmetics. One of the 66 absent ingredients is oxybenzone, which has proven to be harmful to coral reefs.
 
5. One Ocean Beauty
One Ocean Beauty, recently acquired by Present Life, a new global beauty and wellness company founded by former Coty CEO Camillo Pane, will enable One Ocean Beauty “to expand its mission globally through clean, clinically proven and environmentally responsible skincare + wellness.”

Marcella Cacci, founder & CEO of One Ocean Beauty, says, “We are so proud to join the Present Life team. Our brand ethos, product positioning and commitment to the oceans are well aligned with the Present Life platform. The acquisition will provide the resources and capital to expand the brand through further development of our infrastructure and global presence.”
Their mission is clear. The brand states that the world’s oceans are its inspiration “and conservation of this precious resource is in our DNA.”
 
They use “cutting-edge blue biotechnology” to harvest marine microorganisms used in the formulations, and contribute to the preservation and restoration of the oceans through a partnership with Oceana. (Oceana is the largest global, science-based, organization working with governments to change policies and protect the oceans.) The brand states, “Each One Ocean Beauty product purchased helps us to take care of our most vital resource, the oceans.” Packaging is recyclable.
 
6. Juice Beauty
Juice Beauty’s Stem Cellular Overnight Retinol Serum (the latest in the brand’s Stem Cellular Collection), in “100% sustainable packaging,” is their first product that uses both ocean- and land-waste plastic. And according to the brand, “although 32% of our full-size products are in sustainable glass, we will be moving every full-size bestselling plastic bottle, to Recycled Plastic Collected from land and/or recycled Ocean Waste Plastic.”
 
Behnke states: “Juice Beauty’s New Stem Cellular Overnight Retinol Serum is truly high-tech groundbreaking. Not only is this formula extremely efficacious but hydrates the skin while minimizing signs of aging and the fact that the container is 100% recycled plastic from ocean waste – well that is a triple win.”
 
See more about Juice Beauty in the webinar on Sustainable Packaging at BeautyPackaging.com.
 
7. Graydon Skincare
Toronto-based Graydon’s Skincare’s new Feel Good Collection ($250), features five of their most eco-friendly, sustainably-packaged high-performance, plant-based, skin care products, including a best-selling serum and a biodegradable konjac bamboo sponge. Graydon says it is the first personal care brand to partner with Plastic Oceans—and the collection supports their pledge to clean up 1000km of Canadian shoreline. With each purchase of the collection, they’re donating $5 to Plastic Oceans, which allows 200 meters of “plastic riddled” shoreline to be cleaned up.
 
Graydon Skincare is also investing in sustainable packaging including glass, bio plastics and refillable options by the end of 2021.
 
8. Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Moisture Essence
Let waves of ‘weightless hydration’ wash over your skin with the new Pro-Collagen Marine Moisture Essence ($90), from global British skin care brand Elemis. Formulated with “next generation” ingredients including  Flash Filler Hyaluronic Acid—and Padina Pavonica, a brown algae found on the Mediterranean coast, the treatment is said to be clinically proven to reduce the look of fine lines and wrinkles for “a radiant and renewed appearance.”
 
9. MASAMI
MASAMI is a clean, four-product hair care line inspired by and created using natural oceanic ingredients including its hero ingredient, Mekabu—a seaweed plant that grows in the oceans of Japan and is ultra-hydrating. As MASAMI is passionate about clean beauty, the brand recently launched a ceramic, refillable bottle campaign to cut back on plastic and to help rebalance the ocean ecosystem.
 
Lynn Power, CEO of MASAMI, is also upgrading the brand’s packaging with the ocean in mind. She says, “MASAMI is a pro-ocean brand so we don’t love that our formulation is in plastic bottles. However, being a brand that’s in the shower makes it challenging in terms of materials—glass is obviously an issue and other eco-friendly materials can degrade or become moldy. It was important for our brand values to find a solution. After almost two years of exploration, we landed on a large-size refillable ceramic bottle that is beautiful and sustainable. We estimate that it will replace at least over 1000 grams of plastic. We are continuing to look for other innovative solutions to continue to evolve our packaging over time.”
 
10. Pollard Boxes
UK-based Pollard Boxes recently produced a range of luxury boxes for mairro, an eco-conscious skin care company, based in Guernsey. To reflect the brand’s ethos, products are inspired by the island’s sea and shoreline—and the company is dedicated to preserving the marine environment.
 
The skin care range relies on a blend of five food-grade seaweeds, sourced from Guernsey’s pristine waters. The packs for maiiro’s organic soap and lip salve are made using Shiro Alga Carta from fenner paper—a range of environmentally friendly paper, which is made from harvested algae and seaweed.
 
11. Shiseido Takes the Plunge
As part of Shiseido’s Blue Project, the Japanese powerhouse has joined the surge to protect the oceans by partnering with the We Are One Ocean campaign, which calls for the protection of 30% of the ocean by 2030.
 
According to a press release, “We Are One Ocean is building support for the 30×30 biodiversity targets designed to protect nature and life on Earth, with a specific call to fully and highly protect 30% of the global ocean. Those who sign the We Are One Ocean petition will be part of a growing international community urging world leaders to adopt 30×30 at an upcoming United Nations Convention where these targets will be decided.”