Evolve: clean and green skin care

Evolve’s cosmetics are ethically made. The products are handmade by a team of artisans in small batches. All of this takes place at Evolve’s Eco Studio in Hertfordshire, England. By producing in small batches, the products receive the passion of their artisans and the freshness of the antioxidants can be guaranteed. At COSH, we strongly believe in the added value of artisanal products! By making all products themselves, Evolve claims to be able to check all their more than 150 ingredients for ethical and sustainable origin.

Evolve is an officially certified B Corp; an international certification for profitable companies that have a large, positive impact on people and the environment. This demonstrates the brand’s positive impact on all stakeholders – employees, communities, customers and the planet.

Finally, the Eco Studio values diversity and inclusiveness. The team consists of people from different countries, with different backgrounds, cultures, ages and beliefs.

Some of Evolve’s product range is COSMOS certified. COSMOS is a certification for natural cosmetics that prohibits harmful processes during the production process and in the product itself. Unfortunately, this does not apply to all products, although the brand says it is working on certification for the rest of its range. All products are at least 98% natural. The brand lists the percentage of natural and organic ingredients for each product.

Regarding the use of microplastics in their skincare products, Evolve is very clear: “We have never and will never use plastic microbeads in our products. Instead, we use natural exfoliants, such as sugar granules and upcycled blueberry particles.” In this way, the brand protects our oceans.

Although no palm oil is added to the brand’s cosmetics as an ingredient, some of the ingredients do come from palm oil. The biggest problem with using palm oil in cosmetics is that large tracts of rainforest are disappearing to make way for oil palms. However, Evolve’s suppliers have partially switched to RSPO Palm Oil, which means the product comes from sustainable forestry. Unfortunately, this sustainable forestry cannot be guaranteed for Evolve until all suppliers are RSPO Next certified.

Evolve feels responsible for the planet. The brand offsets their carbon footprint. They have committed to offset 110% of their measured carbon emissions. They do this by supporting a project in the Amazon forest to prevent deforestation and carbon production.

To keep it local, Evolve sources its natural and organic ingredients as close to home as possible, from fair trade and sustainable sources. 69% of its packaging comes from the EU or the UK. The brand does not specify where the other 31% comes from. Because of this, the length of the supply chain may vary from product to product.

All ingredients are processed locally into products in the UK. In addition, Evolve chooses to purchase their exotic ingredients in powder form, so no excess water is transported and only the core ingredients are shipped. They also purify all of their own water so they do not have to transport it unnecessarily.

All of Evolve’s products are cruelty-free and vegan. This means that animals are not used at any stage of production. In 2021, the brand achieved the Leaping Bunny certification, which means the ingredients are not tested on animals.

Evolve is very transparent about its sustainability story and where production takes place. As for the ingredient supply chain; they want to make it fully transparent to consumers by 2023.

Vegan, eco-friendly and cruelty-free products, lovingly handmade on a small scale in rural England. That’s what the Evolve Beauty brand stands for. Inspired by her own journey to healthy living and by her passion for ethical and eco-friendly business practices, Laura Rudoe launched her own brand of effective personal care products in 2009. Her goal was to make it easy for people to live a little healthier and greener. Of course, we at COSH! can appreciate this!

Evolve offers both skin and body care, saying it strives to ensure that “you experience the joyful daily moments of using our products with their uplifting scents, delicious textures and effective results.” All products are vegan and animal-free. So, if you’re looking for a moisturizing day cream, a refreshing mask or a rich body lotion made in an eco-friendly way, be sure to read on!

Packaging

Evolve tries to make their packaging reflect their business ethos which focuses on being healthy and green. Therefore, the brand uses recycled or recyclable packaging. The glass bottles they use are made of fully recyclable glass. A fun, green initiative by Evolve is their cardboard grass packaging. This is a fully compostable form of packaging that produces 75% less CO2 emissions compared to traditional wood pulp packaging, and saves 99.9% water consumption. In addition, the packaging is 100% recyclable. For the pumps and sprays, they use plastic that is at least 75% recycled PET plastic. For zero-waste fanatics: Evolve also offers zero plastic refills for all 100 ml products!

Slow business model

Evolve welcomes the campaign called Slowvember, which seeks to counter the hasty and unconscious purchases during Black Friday. The brand itself is holding a month-long sale so customers don’t feel rushed to buy. With this, they also want to encourage you to take the time to think about what you are buying. Evolve also offers discounts for skincare bundles. At COSH! we doubt that these kind of discount tactics might cause you to buy things you don’t need.

The ‘Best Natural Organic Brand 2022’ award winner Evolve believes it’s time to Evolve beauty. Do you agree and need skincare that is good for the environment and you at the same time? Then be sure to take a look at the beautiful range!