The Cost of Ethical Beauty

After all these posts about ethical beauty products, I'm sure you're convinced that they're better for your skin, your health, our planet and the animals they're not tested on. But what about your wallet?

You may be thinking, "It costs way too much to buy these products, though, even if I wanted to." Fair point. But let's break it down, because ethical doesn't have to mean expensive.

All of the products I've been talking about this month use higher-quality ingredients than traditional, commercial products. Yes, that makes them more expensive per unit, but it also means that you are getting more bang for your buck. To start with, ethical products list all their ingredients. A quick check of bath bombs available online at Target, for example, tells me that you can get one for about $4-$5. But even though I can find phthalate-free and paraben-free and vegan-friendly options, I can't actually see what is in it! Our bath and shower bombs from Rinse are $5-$6 and list every ingredient right on the label.

Better ingredients also mean that the products tend to last longer. My Magic Mud charcoal toothpaste, which we've just gotten in, is $12 for a 4 oz tube. And, OK, that is expensive for toothpaste. However, I know from personal experience that their 4 oz tube will last for about 6 months. That's because without all the air and water and unnecessary "filler" ingredients, the paste is denser and you don't need as much of it for each brushing. A 4 oz tube of Crest may only be $4.00, but how long does it last? In my experience, about 3-4 months.

One tube of My Magic Mud is still $4 more expensive than two tubes of Crest, but that extra $4 over 6 months works out to about 17¢ per week. Is a product that's better for you and the environment worth an extra 17¢ per week? Only you can decide that, but once you break it down like this, the cost difference is truly minimal.

What we're trying to do by carrying more ethical beauty options is simply to raise your awareness and their availability. One of the hurdles to making ethical choices when you decide to do so often is the convenience of finding them. We're making them easier to find and easier to use. Stop by and see how!

Read the whole series:

Part 1: What is Clean Beauty?
Part 2: The Ethics of Makeup 
Part 3: Let's Talk About Sweat, Baby