BareMinerals

How ethical is BareMinerals? 

BareMinerals is a make up brand researched by The Good Shopping Guide. BareMinerals is a make up company owned by Advent International Corporation and receives a sub-benchmark Good Shopping Guide score in our Ethical Make Up Ratings Table. Although BareMinerals has not yet met our ethical benchmark, we hope to see the brand make progress in the future.

We would have extra confidence in this brand if it submitted itself to apply for Ethical Accreditation, whereby we would make further detailed assessments and recommendations for ethical improvement. 

More information about BareMinerals and parent company, Advent International Corporation

Global private equity firm Advent International specialises in taking over businesses in Western and Central Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia. The company focuses on global buyouts, expansion, and strategic restructuring in five key industries. Through its buyout programmes, Advent has completed more than 375 transactions in 42 different countries since its founding in 1984, having invested $56 billion in private equity money.

The Good Shopping Guide researches huge firms like Advent, because of its varied portfolio, and the many ethical issues that this parent company therefore must navigate.

In 2021, it was announced that this huge private equity firm was set to buy BareMinerals, as well as other well-known make up brands, including Buxom and Laura Mercier. You can read more about this acquisition here.

In what areas does BareMinerals perform poorly? 

Though BareMinerals might be recognised as the originator of the ‘clean beauty’ trend, there is still much room for improvement in regards to the brand’s ethical conduct. The brand was marked down under our criteria for its involvement in the Nuclear industries. Rubix, a distributor of industrial maintenance throughout Europe, is owned by Advent, BareMinerals’ parent company. The business sells maintenance products made for nuclear and military applications. Cobham, an aerospace and aviation business that offers control and communication solutions for military aircraft, is also owned by Advent. 

Is BareMinerals Cruelty-Free?

BareMinerals is not certified as Cruelty-Free, though the brand’s website assures customers that these products are not tested on animals. Whether or not consumers want to trust this assertion is up to the individual’s discretion. Consumers concerned about Animal Welfare should also know that BareMinerals uses horse and pony hair in its brushes and carmine (derived from crushed beetles) in some products.

In what areas does BareMinerals perform well? 

BareMinerals performs well for its Environmental Report; on the BareMinerals website, there is good evidence of progress tracking and its goals.  As of October 2020, BareMinerals have prevented 52,000 pounds of plastic and material waste from being dumped in landfills in the United States. This evidences a level of commitment to protecting the Environment.

How can BareMinerals brand improve its ethical rating?

The Good Shopping Guide score results from multiple ethical criteria in relation to BareMinerals. To reach our minimum ethical benchmark and qualify for Ethical Accreditation, BareMinerals has some issues to resolve, including Advent’s involvement in the military and nuclear industries.