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Glossier

Is Glossier an ethical brand?

Glossier, a make up and skincare brand appears on The Good Shopping Guide’s Ethical Make Up Ratings Table. The brand receives a low Good Shopping Guide ethical score in our Ethical Make Up Ratings Table and therefore does not pass our Make Up sector benchmark.

Glossier was founded in 2014 by American businesswoman, Emily Weiss, who had been blogging on the site Into The Gloss since 2010. Glossier became famous for its appeal to millennials and for its ‘simple’ and minimalistic product packaging design.

More information about Glossier

Entrepreneur Emily Weiss is from the United States. She is the creator and former CEO of the blog Into the Gloss as well as the cosmetics company Glossier. In September 2010, Weiss launched Into the Gloss, a site that mostly features interviews with women. Weiss began approaching venture financiers in 2014 with ideas for growth, such as a prospective e-commerce site that would be curated by Into the Gloss. With the assistance of venture capitalist Kirsten Green, the head of San Francisco-based Forerunner Ventures, Weiss was eventually able to get $2 million in seed funding. Weiss hired a small team and launched Glossier.com with the help of this initial financing. On July 17, 2019, Glossier launched GlossiWEAR.

In which categories does Glossier perform well?

Glossier achieved a top rating for its Animal Welfare Policy (can be found in the FAQ section of the brand’s website). Glossier has attained Cruelty Free International’s Leaping Bunny accreditation. This achievement validates Glossier’s commitment to animal rights and prevents caged animals from being experimented on for the cosmetic industry.

In which categories does Glossier perform poorly?

Unfortunately, Glossier receives a bottom rating in the Environmental Report criterion, as it does not publish any information on its sustainability targets or environmental commitments. This is very disappointing, especially for a large well-known company, so we encourage Glossier to do better in the future.

How can Glossier improve its score?

To achieve our Ethical Accreditation, Glossier should also look to gain an Organic-certification, such as from The Soil Association. Organic ingredients are grown with herbicide, fungicide, insecticide, or other harmful agrochemicals that can cause great environmental damage. We encourage Glossier to keep striving for ethical excellence, and to fully protect the Environment, Animals and People.

Ethical performance in category

0

GSG score

68
75

GSG category benchmark

100

Ethical Rating

Environment

  • Environmental Report

    Poor

  • Genetic Modification

    Good

  • Organic

    Poor

  • Nuclear Power

    Good

  • Fossil Fuels

    Good

Animal

  • Animal Welfare

    Good

  • Vegetarian/Vegan Verified

    Acceptable

People

  • Armaments

    Good

  • Irresponsible Marketing

    Good

  • Political Donations

    Good

Other

  • Ethical Accreditation

    Poor

  • Public Record Criticisms

    Acceptable

= GSG Top Rating = GSG Middle Rating = GSG Bottom Rating