With Clean at Sephora, we’re making it easier for you to navigate the vast and growing beauty sphere so that you can make more informed decisions about the products you buy. Our clean initiative will continue to grow as we scour to add exciting brands and identify even more ingredients you might like to avoid.

The next wave of Clean at Sephora Clean + Planet Positive features ambitious Clean brands with a strong commitment to change the beauty landscape and the earth for the better. These brands must be Clean at Sephora-approved and provide proof of efforts towards sustainable sourcing, responsible packaging and donating to environmental causes.

When you spot the Clean at Sephora green seal, the brand has assured us that the brand and/or product are/is formulated without the ingredients you might like to avoid. However, there may be trace amounts of ingredients present in the product.

Please note that the campaign is not a guarantee or endorsement of the safety of any given product.

Brands and/or products tagged with the Clean at Sephora seal must assure us that they have complied with certain criteria, which are focused on transparency in formulation and sourcing, as well as the avoidance of certain ingredients. Our Clean at Sephora’s ‘formulated without’ or ‘excluded ingredient’ list currently includes many high-profile ingredients such as phthalates, parabens, and sulfates, to name a few.

Brands with this seal are Clean at Sephora, while also adhering to Sephora’s four sustainability pillars:

Climate commitments
Must meet at least one of the following: carbon-neutral operations, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, or have operations powered by 100% renewable energy.

Sustainable sourcing
Products must be cruelty-free, using only sustainably harvested palm oil and mica, with no microplastics.

Responsible packaging
Must reduce, recycle, and design with recyclability in mind. That means: no single-use items or unnecessary materials.

Environmental giving
Must donate at least 1% of profit to a high-impact, long-term giving programme that is multiyear and ongoing, or be a Certified B-corporation.

All products in the Clean + Planet Positive program must meet the following criteria:

1. Responsible Packaging

REDUCE
• 100% OF PRODUCTS launched before 2021:
• Create internal reduction targets and preferably publicly report on them for primary and secondary product packaging
• 100% OF NEW PRODUCTS launched in and after 2021 (does not include sampling):
• Must reduce and eliminate all unnecessary material, for example; no secondary packaging whenever possible, optimize weight and shape of product and packaging (focusing on lighter materials, and shapes that maximize space for shipping)
• If secondary packaging is used, outer product packaging must meet a 5:1 ratio of primary to secondary packaging, eliminating headspace or concealed empty space in packaging, and double-walled supports can only be used if tests indicate they are necessary (long-term plan to eliminate them)
• Do not use single-use items in all salable products, marketing and PR product outreach (for e.g. single use masks, wipes and any materials that cannot be recycled, composted or re-used)
• Do not use tertiary packaging in any products (not including double-walled supports, stickers, wafer seals, cap seals or box seals)


RECYCLE
• DESIGN FOR RECYLABILITY (IN 2021, MINIMUM 50% and increasing to 75% in 2023, and 90% in 2025). Percentages are by weight:
• All primary and secondary packaging (made from uncoated fiber-based paperboard, plastic made from PET, PP, LDPE or HDPE, easily separatable materials/no mixed materials, glass, and aluminum), including limited editions sets and items.
• 100% of the assortment starting in 2021:
• Uses clear instructions on how to properly dispose of packaging/product (e.g. How2Recycle). At minimum on US p-pages, long-term commitment to being on primary or secondary packaging.


REIMAGINE
• IN 2021, AT LEAST 50% of core brands assortment (increasing to 75% by 2023 and 100% by 2025) AND ALL NEW PRODUCT LAUNCHES starting in 2021 must also meet AT LEAST THREE of the following (percentages are by weight, excludes sampling and promotional sets/sizes):
• Incorporates 30% or more Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) or upcycled materials
• Incorporate biomaterials (biodegradable, bio-based or compostable). Does not include forest based paperboard
• Primary packaging is made from at least 75% materials that can be infinitely recycled (aluminum, glass, etc.)
• Does not include any materials that cannot be recycled or have no end market (e.g. colored or black plastic, small components under 2 inches, magnets, pumps, doe foots, brow/mascara wands, or other items with mixed materials). This is excluding caps and pipettes.
• Incorporates refillable components (whereby refill pods in reusable componentry or in-store refill systems)
• 100% of paperboard is FSC-certified (Forest Stewardship Council) or 3rd party verified sustainably managed forests or other sustainably sourced biomaterial
• 100% of inks used are vegetable, water or UV based (non-petroleum derived and no VOCs)
• Do not use any secondary packaging.

2. Climate Commitments
Must meet AT LEAST ONE of the criteria:

RENEWABLE ENERGY
• Corporate office and owned or leased operations are powered by 100% renewable energy

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION GOALS
• Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets and action plan to meet these goals

CARBON NEUTRALITY
• Carbon-neutral operations

3. Sustainable Sourcing

Must meet ALL of the criteria:
PALM OIL
• 100% of palm oil and palm kernel oil certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) segregated mandatory
• At least 75% of derivatives of palm oil and palm kernel oil certified RSPO mass balance mandatory
• MICA
• Encourage and ensure whenever possible sourcing MICA responsibility, avoiding child and forced labor
• Source MICA through fully vetted suppliers only
• Encourage brands and their suppliers to become members of the Responsible MICA Initiative (if not already members)

MICROPLASTICS
By 2022, COMPLETLEY PROHIBIT MICROPLASTICS (Insoluble Plastic Microbeads and Microplastics less than or equal to 5 mm in diameter in rinse-off and leave-on products with the following INCI Names):
• Polyethylene
• Polypropylene
• Polymethyl Methacrylate
• Polytetrafluoroethylene Acetoxypropyl Betaine
• Polyurethane Crosspolymer-1
• Polyurethane Crosspolymer-2
• Polyamide-5
• Nylon-6, Nylon 6/12
• Nylon-12, Nylon-12 Fluorescent Brightener 230 Salt, Nylon 6/12
• Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer
• Polyethylene Terephthalate
• Polyethylene Isoterephthalate
• Polybutylene Terephthalate
• Acrylates Copolymer, Acrylates Crosspolymer
• Ethylene/Acrylic Acid Copolymer
• Polystyrene
• Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer
• Polymethylsilsesquioxane
• Polylactic Acid
CRUELTY -FREE
By 2022, suppliers must verify that all products are cruelty free.

4. Environmental Giving
Must meet AT LEAST ONE of the criteria:
ENVIRONMENTAL NONPROFIT CAUSE
• Committed to giving at least AT LEAST 1% OF PROFIT (or 100K per year minimum) to a credible long-term giving program that is multi-year and ongoing
• Is a Certified B-Corp (or in the process of becoming one)

Biossance, Caudalie, Farmacy and Briogeo.

Brands that want to qualify for the Clean at Sephora seal have to conduct a thorough audit of each and every one of their formulas and assure us that none of the ingredients on our ‘formulated without’ list are being used. It is important to note that there may be trace amounts of the ingredient present in the product. Additionally, they have to agree that none of their future formulas will contain any of these ingredients and have to demonstrate transparency in the form of a public-facing standard and point of view around formulation.

Brands that want to qualify for the Clean + Planet Positive seal must be Clean at Sephora-approved how and provide proof of efforts towards sustainable sourcing, responsible packaging and donating to environmental causes. They have to agree that their future formulas will continue to meet Sephora’s requirements and have to demonstrate transparency in the form of a public-facing standard and point of view around formulation and sustainability.

We're committed to doing better as a company to protect the health and beauty of our planet. To learn more about the actions we're taking, visit our sustainability page here: https://www.sephorastands.com/sustainability/ 

Our skins are different with different needs, so what causes irritation and sensitivity to one person may cause no problem to another. As a starting point, use the ‘Clean at Sephora’ seal and then read ingredient labels to evaluate products against your own personal standard of clean.

Please note that the campaign is not a guarantee or endorsement of the safety of any given product.

It all comes down to your personal preference. What causes irritation and sensitivity to one person may cause no problem to another. At the end of the day, our skins are different with different needs. You just need to do what you feel is best for yourself. As a starting point, use the ‘Clean at Sephora’ seal and then read ingredient labels to evaluate products against your own personal standard of clean.

Please note that the campaign is not a guarantee or endorsement of the safety of any given product.

Clean at Sephora products are defined as products formulated without a list of ingredients you might like to avoid. The definition is unrelated to the product’s efficacy and performance. There is no data to infer that Clean at Sephora products are as effective, more effective or less effective than other products.

Please note that the campaign is not a guarantee or endorsement of the safety of any given product.

Clean at Sephora products are defined as products formulated without a list of ingredients you might like to avoid. The definition is unrelated to the product being natural, vegan, cruelty-free, organic, sustainable or eco-friendly.
If you are looking for Clean at Sephora brands that are doing their part for the environment, look out for brands/products with the Clean + Planet Positive seal.

Clean + Planet Positive brands must be Clean at Sephora-approved, and Clean at Sephora products are defined as products formulated without a list of ingredients you might like to avoid. The definition is unrelated to the product being natural, vegan, cruelty-free or organic.

Synthetic fragrances are allowed, provided that brands have certified that they have complied with our Clean at Sephora fragrance criteria. In skincare, makeup and hair products only, synthetic fragrances are allowable at concentrations below 1% of total formula.

Come August 2022, the Clean at Sephora seal is only applicable to brands with products that comply fully with ‘Clean at Sephora’ definition and 'formulated without' ingredient guidelines. For brands with assortments that are partially clean, the Clean at Sephora seal will be removed. This is to provide a clearer and better shopping experience for our customers.