Inkey

How ethical is INKEY?

INKEY is a skincare brand which has achieved The GOOD Shopping Guide’s ethical benchmark on our Ethical Skincare Ratings Table. With a score of 71 out of 100, INKEY demonstrates a commitment to ethical business practices across several criteria, though its score sits close to the benchmark threshold and several areas present opportunities for improvement.

INKEY has not yet received The GOOD Shopping Guide’s Ethical Accreditation, an editorial endorsement awarded to brands which achieve a high ethical score across our multi-criteria assessment. Receiving this endorsement would strengthen the brand’s standing as a recognised ethical choice for consumers in the skincare sector.

What does INKEY do?

INKEY (The INKEY List) was founded in the UK in 2018 by Colette Laxton and Mark Curry, and is operated by Brand Evangelists for Beauty Ltd. The brand produces a range of skincare and haircare products including cleansers, serums, moisturisers, treatments, and SPF formulations, built around accessible ingredient-led formulations designed to demystify skincare. INKEY products are Leaping Bunny approved under the Cruelty Free International programme and are available through Boots, Superdrug, ASOS, and Sephora in the United States.

Why does INKEY perform well ethically?

INKEY achieves good ratings across several criteria assessed by The GOOD Shopping Guide. The brand receives good ratings for genetic modification, animal welfare, and vegetarian and vegan verification, consistent with its Leaping Bunny approval and cruelty-free product range. INKEY receives good ratings for armaments, irresponsible marketing, and political donations, and has no documented public record criticisms. These ratings reflect solid ethical conduct across people and animal criteria.

What could improve INKEY’s ethical positioning?

INKEY’s below-threshold ratings across several environmental criteria represent the primary areas for improvement. The brand receives a poor rating for its environmental report. For a brand built on a transparency ethos — placing ingredient knowledge at the centre of its consumer proposition — the absence of a published environmental report is a notable gap. Publishing a comprehensive environmental report would extend the brand’s transparency credentials beyond ingredients to its broader sustainability performance.

INKEY also receives a poor rating for organic ingredients. While the brand’s formulations are built around actives and evidence-based ingredients rather than certified organic components, exploring organic certification for relevant product lines would strengthen this aspect of the brand’s ethical profile.

The brand’s ratings for fossil fuels and packaging are both acceptable rather than good, indicating further room for improvement in energy commitments and packaging sustainability.

Obtaining The GOOD Shopping Guide’s Ethical Accreditation would provide editorial recognition of INKEY’s ethical standards and make it easier for consumers to identify the brand as an editorially endorsed choice in the skincare sector.

Consumers seeking skincare brands with stronger overall ethical credentials are encouraged to consult our Ethical Skincare Ratings Table to compare alternatives. Our how we rate page explains the criteria used to assess all brands in this sector.