The Ocean Score

Every product we sell, scored out of 100 for what it means for the ocean.

Walk into any high street beauty shop and you will find shelves of plastic, and products with plastic in the formula too. We built the Ocean Score so you can see exactly how each of our products measures up, and why, before you buy.

Why a score?

"Eco" and "sustainable" on a label can mean almost anything. We'd rather show our working. Each score breaks down into the same six parts, so you can see where a product does well and where it falls short.

Why the ocean?

Plastic reaches the ocean from the bottle and from what's inside it. So the score looks at both, and follows a product from how it's made to what happens when you've finished with it.

Why tell you?

Because an informed customer makes better choices than any label can make for them. Every score, and every point in it, is published on the product page.

The breakdown

How the 100 points are shared out

Packaging and ingredients carry the most weight, 35 points each, because they are where most of the plastic is. The other 30 points cover how a product is made, what happens to it afterwards, and what the maker gives back.

35 35 5 10 10 5

1. Packaging

35 points

How much plastic is in the pack, and whether you can recycle or compost it at home. Up to 30 points:

  • No plastic at all, and home compostable30
  • No plastic at all, and recyclable at home28
  • At least 99% plastic-free by weight, with the small plastic part removable and recyclable25
  • Mostly plastic-free, and the plastic is recyclable15
  • None of the above0

Plus up to 5 points for the water it takes to make the packaging: glass with an aluminium lid 5, cardboard 4, aluminium 3, any pouch 0.

2. Ingredients

35 points

What goes down the plughole. We check every ingredient for microplastics, for ingredients of concern to marine life, and for whether it breaks down naturally. We also look each one up on the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep database, where 1 is the lowest concern.

  • All natural and biodegradable, no ingredients of concern, no microplastics, EWG rating 135
  • At least 99% natural and biodegradable, under 1% of concern, no microplastics, EWG rating 232
  • At least 95% naturally derived and biodegradable, under 5% of concern, no microplastics, EWG rating 3 to 425
  • Anything else, including any microplastics0

3. Certifications

5 points

One point for each of these, up to a maximum of 5:

  • Vegan1
  • Organic1
  • Cruelty free1
  • Deforestation-free1
  • Wonky or upcycled ingredients1
  • B Corp business1
  • FSC-certified packaging1
  • Another independent audit, such as Ethy or Ethical Consumer1

These matter, but they say less about the ocean than packaging and ingredients do, so they carry fewer points.

4. How it's made

10 points

Carbon, up to 5 points, and traceability, up to 5 points.

  • Carbon: made with renewable energy1
  • Carbon: some local ingredients1
  • Carbon: all local ingredients2
  • Carbon: carbon offset1
  • Carbon: minimal packaging1
  • Carbon: refillable packaging1
  • Traceability: made in the UK3
  • Traceability: some ethically or fairly traded ingredients1
  • Traceability: some single-source ingredients you can trace1

5. When you've finished

10 points

What happens to the empty pack. Up to 8 points:

  • Endlessly recyclable or home compostable, such as glass or aluminium8
  • As above, but with a tiny plastic part (under 1%)7
  • Recyclable a limited number of times, such as cardboard6
  • Not recyclable, or contains plastic0

Plus up to 2 points for clear guidance on how to dispose of it properly.

6. Giving back

5 points
  • Supporting ocean conservation, through direct donations or partnershipsup to 3
  • Community work, such as education and awareness projectsup to 2

Reading a score

There's no pass mark, and a high number doesn't mean perfect. As a guide, most of the 43 products we have scored so far land between 70 and 85. The highest so far is 92. Nothing has scored 100. A score of 100 would mean totally biodegradable, natural packaging, just naturally occurring local ingredients, and certifications and impact that go beyond the product itself.

The breakdown is often more useful than the total. Two products can both score 80 for very different reasons: one might lose points on its packaging, the other on its ingredients. On every product page you'll see all six parts, so you can decide what matters most to you.

43 products scored so far
70 to 85 where most of them land
92 the highest score yet

What the score doesn't tell you

We'd rather be straight with you about its limits.

It's our own assessment.

We score products ourselves using this method. It isn't an independent certification, which is why we publish every rule and every point.

It's about the ocean, not your skin.

A high score tells you about plastic, ingredients and impact. It doesn't tell you whether a product will suit you.

It's only as good as the information behind it.

We use ingredient lists, packaging details and what makers tell us. Where we can't confirm something, we don't award the point.

It can change.

If a formula or pack changes, we score it again and update the product page.

Think we've scored something wrong?

Tell us. If you know something about a product that we don't, we want to hear it, and if it changes the score, we'll change it.

Get in touch
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