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Glow Recipe

Clinically effective skincare, fruit-forward formulas

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Glow Recipe
Glow Recipe's Sustainability Rating:

Fair

Glow Recipe is rated Fair because it has started to improve its products and waste footprint, but still has room to improve. It's a rapidly growing brand, and we hope its reporting catches up with its size.

Glow Recipe has committed to avoiding many ingredients that pose a threat to the climate, including parabens, phthalates, PFAS, microplastics, harmful suncare ingredients, and other petrochemical-based ingredients. It utilizes packaging minimization strategies and alternative models to reduce its waste and emissions footprint, such as promoting refills for a few products, and offering a takeback partnership with Pact Collective. Glow Recipe publicly shares its emissions measurements and has science-aligned emissions reduction targets.

However, while it avoids select ingredients, it still uses some that pose a significant threat to the climate, including microplastics, other harmful sun care ingredients, other petrochemical-based ingredients, and uncertified palm oil or palm oil-derived ingredients. Glow Recipe still relies on plastic packaging of a virgin or undisclosed source, which contributes to waste production and excess energy use. It doesn't provide any transparency on its energy strategy or use of renewable energy.


  • Ingredients

    Glow Recipe has made ingredient commitments to lower its environmental impact, including by avoiding parabens, phthalates, PFAS, microplastics, harmful suncare ingredients, and select other petrochemical-based ingredients. While it has made these commitments, it still uses some ingredients that pose a significant threat to the climate, including microplastics, reef-harming suncare ingredients, other petrochemical-based ingredients, and uncertified palm oil or palm oil-derived ingredients. It can be very difficult to eliminate these entirely, especially for small brands with limited resources. Glow Recipe carries products that have certifications from Leaping Bunny, and all of its products are vegan.


  • Containers & Packaging

    Glow Recipe has made efforts to minimize the amount of material used in its product containers, including by specific efforts to avoid excessive materials. It has made efforts to reduce virgin plastic in its product containers, but it's unclear what percentage of its overall plastic is recycled. It uses eco-friendly materials in its product containers and shipping materials, including ones that are recyclable, recycled, or FSC-certified.


  • Energy & Water Use

    Glow Recipe doesn't share information on its energy strategy. Glow Recipe doesn't provide information on any water conservation strategies. Glow Recipe has a global production span, which is standard for the industry.


  • Refill & Reuse

    Glow Recipe utilizes alternative models to avert waste, including promoting reuse and offering refills for a few products, and offering a takeback partnership. Its takeback partnership with Pact Collective allows customers to send in old product containers to be recycled. Glow Recipe appears to offer a bulk size for only one product.


  • Slow Cleaning

    Glow Recipe doesn't frequently release seasonal or new products, which helps prevent production of excess inventory. It takes measures to avoid overproduction or overconsumption, including by working to repurpose excess inventory and limit production batches to reduce waste.


  • Marketing

    Commons is still evaluating this brand's marketing emails.


  • Transparency & Reporting

    Glow Recipe has a prominent sustainability page with high-level details on its climate strategy. It publishes annual reports, with limited, high-level information on initiatives and impact. Its last annual report was published in 2022. Glow Recipe shares a complete list of ingredients used in its products, on a per product basis.


  • Emissions Tracking

    Glow Recipe internally measures and publicly reports its company-level emissions in partnership with, or with auditing from, a third party. It includes a high-level breakdown by scope. The last reporting period was 2023. In its most recent update, its estimated emissions footprint was 26,645 tons CO2e.


  • Targets & Offsets

    Glow Recipe has science-aligned emissions reduction targets for the medium-term (5-10 years). Its targets were set in 2023, but progress in 2024 hasn't been shared. Glow Recipe is certified climate neutral by Change Climate Project, and offsets emissions from its full value chain.


  • Supply Chain & Labor

    Glow Recipe doesn't publish information about its supply chain partners. It doesn't publicly share a supplier code of conduct. Glow Recipe doesn't have a stated policy of regularly auditing its supply chain partners. This may increase human and environmental risks. Commons couldn't find further information about this brand's supply chain and labor practices.


  • Advocacy

    Commons wasn't able to find evidence of any trade association memberships or any relevant policy for this brand. Glow Recipe isn't a member of any key advocacy organizations that are blocking climate policy. It isn't a member of advocacy organizations advancing climate policy. It doesn't employ any state lobbyists. Glow Recipe didn't donate more than $100k to climate-obstructive candidates or PACs from 2018-2024.

Our ratings are based on a scale from 1 (harmful) to 5 (best). How we rate →

View sources

https://www.glowrecipe.com/pages/formulations

https://www.glowrecipe.com/pages/glowing-for-the-planet

https://explore.changeclimate.org/brand/glow-recipe

https://www.glowrecipe.com/pages/glowing-for-the-planet#glowForm

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0543/8301/files/2022_Glow_Recipe_Sustainability_Report.pdf?v=1651261272

https://blog.glowrecipe.com/2022-sustainability-report/

https://fminus.org/lobbyists/

https://www.fec.gov/data/browse-data/

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About Glow Recipe
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Where to shop

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Category

Personal Care Products


Tags

Skincare


Certifications

Climate Neutral


Sustainability information was last updated in June 2025.

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