Looking for the best natural and eco-friendly lip balm to nourish your dry lips sustainably? Read on for my top UK recommendations – from vegan-friendly brands to plastic-free and zero-waste lip balm brands.
I’m sure we all know someone who has five lip balms on the go at all times – with one in every bag or coat pocket. Personally? I just tend to turn to lip balm in winter when the combination of cold weather and central heating dries out my lips.
Whatever your lip balm preferences, in the UK alone, we collectively spend around £60,000 a year on lip balms and salves alone.
The problem is that plastic lip balm tubes are quite complicated to recycle. Unless they are recycled in specialist TerraCycle facilities (where they may or may not get recycled), the vast majority of these plastic tubes will end up in landfill.
What’s the Problem With Petroleum Jelly?
Waste aside, many lip balms have quite a problematic ingredient. That being petroleum jelly.
What is the problem with petroleum jelly, exactly? Well, petroleum jelly is, as the name suggests, a product of the oil industry. It’s a byproduct of petroleum, which is a form of crude oil.
This means petroleum jelly isn’t sustainable or renewable. Plus, its use encourages further extraction of fossil fuels that contribute to our climate crisis.
It certainly sounds horrific to use petroleum jelly on our lips – or anywhere else on our bodies, for that matter. However, brands use it because it’s a cheap ingredient compared to other natural ingredients.
Petroleum jelly is also a popular choice for lip products because it repels water. This means it’s not easily washed off your lips, so it cheaply and easily creates a long-lasting barrier to the elements.
The Best Eco-Friendly Lip Balm Brands To Sustainably Nourish Dry Lips
Thankfully, there are a few eco-friendly brands in the UK that steer clear of petroleum jelly. Instead, they use sustainable and natural ingredients that are just as effective, if not more effective, than their fossil-fuel-based equivalents.
Don’t know where to start? Here are my top eco-friendly lip balm recommendations, so you can pucker up sustainably!
We Love The Planet
We Love the Planet’s lip balms (£4.15 at Big Green Smile) comes in a compostable cardboard tube. Pop these in your compost bin or soil when you are done, and they will break down, leaving no trace behind.
We Love the Planet’s range of vegetarian-friendly (but not vegan-friendly) balms are made using the highest-quality, natural, and organic oils and butters. This includes beeswax, coconut oil, and vitamins E and C to help nourish, hydrate, soften, and protect your lips.
Whilst the balms are free from synthetic substances, such as SLS, this lip balm does contain palm oil. We Love The Planet says that this is sustainably sourced. However, there are doubts that palm oil can ever be sustainably sourced.
On the other side of the coin, palm oil alternatives could be worse for the environment. It’s certainly an enigma wrapped up in a conundrum.
Palm oil aside, this soft stick has an easily spreadable consistency. This means it glides onto your lips with ease, without any drag, for easy moisturisation.
Fair Squared
Fair Squared’s lip balm (£8.95 at Ethical Superstore) is handmade with Fairtrade ingredients. However, that’s not the only reason that you’ll fall in love with this eco-friendly lip balm. It’s got a whole heap of other positive attributes.
As well as being suitable for both vegans and vegetarians, the balm is free from animal testing. It’s also free from petroleum, palm oil, perfume, parabens, phthalates, triclosan, and SLS. In short, Fair Squared has left out all of the bad stuff and kept the good stuff in!
The richly moisturising shea butter protects and nourishes dry, chapped lips, whilst being kind to the most sensitive of skin. Simply swipe on to leave your lips soft and supple with a subtle sheen.
This eco-friendly lip balm is also plastic-free. It comes in a recyclable metal tin. Alternatively, you can reuse the tin for making your own balms.
What’s more, Fair Squared has been part of the Fair Trade movement for many years. The brand believes that all people involved in the supply chain – be it the farmers, producers, suppliers, or manufacturers – should benefit from their Fair Trade philosophies.
Fair Squared also distributes free condoms to assist in preventative work in the fight against AIDS.
UpCircle Lip Balm
UpCircle lip balm (£9.99) is another solid, sustainable choice. This eco-friendly brand makes certified vegan-friendly and cruelty-free skincare products that work.
It also focuses on using upcycled materials, like coffee grounds and fruit kernels, in their natural formulas to help reduce waste in the food industry.
In the case of its lip balm, it uses upcycled hemp seed oil. This is made by using leftover hemp seeds from the food industry that don’t quite meet food-grade standards (but are perfectly fine for use in lip balm. These are then cold-pressed to create a potent, upcycled oil rich in linoleic acid, which is great for skin barrier support.
It comes packaged in a glass jar with a metal lid – no sneaky plastic here. I’ve been using UpCircle for years, and haven’t found a product I don’t like. You can also find them in my guide to plastic-free moisturiser.
The Beauty Kitchen
The Beauty Kitchen’s eco-friendly Natruline lip balm (£2.80 at Ethical Superstore) offers a petroleum-free alternative to Vaseline. Containing only natural ingredients, this vegan-friendly palm oil-free blend is scientifically proven to moisturise and protect lips for up to 8 hours.
The three simple yet effective natural and cruelty-free ingredients – castor seed oil, castor oil, and carnauba wax – create a natural moisture barrier.
The Beauty Kitchen says this allows the skin to breathe much better than petroleum jelly, whilst keeping your lips soft, beautiful and healthy, whatever the weather.
Because of the super-simple ingredients, this fragrance-free salve is suitable for even the driest and most sensitive of lips.
FRUU
On the lookout for a sustainable lip balm that fights food waste? Look no further than FRUU (available at Ethical Superstore for £5.49).
This lovely vegan-friendly and PETA-certified balm is sustainably made from processed fruit waste. Packed full of bergamot, mango, and avocado, as well as moisturising oils, it’s a nourishing and tasty treat for your lips. Plus, it comes in an infinitely recyclable aluminium tube.
FRUU also donates a portion of its profits to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to help preserve natural diversity.
I’ve been using this balm through the winter, and love it. However, it does have a grainy consistency, which could be a deal-breaker for some.
FRUU says this happens because the natural ingredients it uses tend to crystallise and make the balms feel a bit grainy. However, FRUU says they are still safe to use and will continue to keep your lips hydrated, soft, and smooth. I think it feels like a little exfoliating treat for your lips!
More Eco-Friendly Beauty Resources
Need more eco-beauty recommendations?
Sign Up For The Moral Fibres Substack
Get all the latest articles from Moral Fibres straight to your inbox, once a month, free of charge through Substack. You can also upgrade to be a paid Substack subscriber, where you’ll receive an additional two exclusive articles a month. Sign up now:
