10 Zero Waste Lip Balm Brands You Need to Know About

Why Make The Switch To Zero Waste Lip Balm

How many lip balms have you lost over the course of your life? They fall out of your pocket, fall to the bottom of your bag, open, and absorb all the crumbs. They melt, they break, someone used it and now that’s it for you, but they’re so cheap that it really doesn’t matter; you’ll just go out and buy another one.

Buuuuut, plastic.

Most chapsticks and lip balms are packaged in plastic containers with a bunch of plastic components made of different plastics, unfortunately making them unrecyclable. Then there are the other balms that come in tubes + applicators, and there you have another component of plastic that can’t be recycled.

Zero waste lip balms come in all shapes, sizes, compostable, recyclable, and reusable containers! And usually with fewer ingredients than found in commercial, plastic laden balms.

Photo by Brittney Weng on Unsplash

Use Your Dollar To Support Brands Doing the Right Thing

Your skin really doesn’t need that many ingredients to be happy — and neither do your lips.

When it comes to the companies making these zero waste lip balms, they care about the planet which shows through their sustainability efforts. A lot of the time you’re getting ingredients that were locally grown, free from pesticides and fertilizers, that have supported other small businesses who are practicing sustainable farming and even beekeeping methods.

The zero waste brands highlighted below, and many others that didn’t make this list, are achieving intense hydration, safe for sensitive skin and babies, and multifunctional uses for anywhere on your body with a fraction of the ingredients used in commercial/industrial products. All without any plastic!

Below are some of our favorite zero waste lip balms and why we love them.

Zero Waste Lip Balms We Love

1. Fat and the Moon All Natural Cheek & Lip Stain ($20)

Only 4 powerhouse ingredients make up this tinted multi-functional balm, but that’s all you need to keep your kissers hydrated. Sunflower oil and beeswax provide hydration and shine while Alkanet Root provides a buildable blackberry-red tint. This is not a vegan option as it does contain beeswax but it is packaged in a small aluminum tin making it upcycelable, recyclable, and not likely to break open in the bottom of your bag.

2. Sustain Yourself Lip & Cheek Stain ($12)

This multipurpose lip stain from Sustain Yourself is perfect for those looking for some extra color and can be used on lips, cheeks, eyes, wherever you want it! Coconut Oil and jojoba oil provide the perfect combo of moisturization. Beeswax adds an extra kick and is sourced from a local farm that practices sustainable beekeeping. These balms come in a push tube container that are 100% biodegradable and compostable.

3. Blue Heron Botanicals ($8)

This Lip Therapy from Blue Heron Botanicals is made in California on an off-the-grid farm powered entirely by solar power. To use as little water and power as possible, all of the herbal infused oils are also powered by solar infusion and many ingredients are grown in their own garden. They also have vegan and tinted options for any of your lip balm needs! This woman-owned company is 100% plastic free and uses compostable packaging wherever possible like in the lip therapy paper tubes.

4. River Organics Tinted Lip Balm ($12.99)

These buildable vegan tinted balms from River Organics provide extreme hydration and — you guessed it — are multipurpose! These balms use the superpowers of Cacao and Mango butter to provide nourishment to chapped lips (or skin). River Organics uses conflict-free lab made Mica and each balm is packaged in jumbo push tubes made of cardboard that are compostable, including for their Mulberry Lip Stain! The company matches donations to offset carbon emissions.

5. Live Like You Green It Peppermint Vegan Balm ($12)

Live Like You Green It is a solo-female, Black owned shop dedicated to creating inclusive, vegan and sustainable skincare that benefits all skin types. Not only does it come in a compostable paper push tube, it’s vegan, organic, AND larger than store bought chapsticks!

Every batch is handcrafted, plastic-free, and provides creamy, rich hydration.

6. Trestique Matte Lip Crayon & Balm ($26)

Trestique is a woman-owned refillable, zero waste makeup brand. They’re on a mission to create high-quality sustainable products that fit easily into your life! This lip crayon and balm are the perfect duo — the crayon delivers a rich color and the balm provides the hydration. The balm can be applied before or after the crayon! When you’re ready for a refill, pull the cartridge out, recycle it, and add the new one. Easy!

P.S. If you prefer a shine over a matte, they have you covered.

7. Buju Skin Under Eye & Lip Balm ($17)

This balm does double duty as an under eye cream but that doesn’t make it any less effective! The main ingredient, Matcha, is moisturizing and acts as a protectant while Vitamin E helps relieve dry chapped lips and prevent even more dry lips. You’ll also find Argan Oil, Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, and Olive Oil in this cream you wish you would have had a long time ago. Housed in a paper push tube it’s completely compostable at the end of its life.

8. PAPR Cosmetics Everything Stick ($36)

Another multi-functional hydration stick coming at you from PAPR Cosmetics. Created with 7 potent, antioxidant rich super oils, healthy lips and skin are just a swipe away! The main superstars in this formula are Cacao Butter, Shea Butter, Jojoba Oil, and Vitamin E — all which deliver rich hydration and moisturization and keep it from coming back. This formula comes in a paper squeeze tube that is compostable or recyclable and for every tree PAPR uses, they plant a new one.

9. No Tox Life Lip Butter ($9)

The creators at No Tox Life are at it again with this ultra hydration lip butter. Wildcrafted Candelilla Wax and Cocoa Butter are the first two ingredients which sink into your lips making this butter longer lasting than a balm and provide a smoother application and finish than a chapstick. It comes in a paper push tube that is not only compostable but about 2X the size of store bought chapstick. Talk about long lasting hydration!

10. Izzy Zero Waste Glossy Lip Butter ($36)

Izzy was the first to bring us a completely zero waste mascara in a tube and they’re back again with this zero waste glossy lip balm! How is it zero waste you might wonder? At the end of its life you send back your Izzy tube where it will be deconstructed, sterilized, refilled, and reused again and again and again and …. Well, you get the idea. Using organic sunflower oil, castor oil, mango butter and more, it provides nourishing hydration AND a clear glossy shine that will complete any look.

Throughout all the seasons switching to a zero waste lip balm is an easy way to add some sustainability to your routine — they also make excellent presents to give to your friends! They cost a bit more than drugstore chapsticks but once you make the switch you won’t ever want to go back.