Ethical Soap

Which is the most ethical type and brand of soap to buy?

Should you buy a bar of soap, liquid soap or hand sanitiser?

This guide covers soaps in both bar and liquid form, including handwashes and hand sanitisers. As the score table above shows, there are many companies offering alternatives which are organic, made without the use of animal ingredients, or palm oil free.

There are hundreds of other small companies making soap which we could not cover here. Look out for your local supplier.

The score table also shows the huge difference between low scoring big high street brands, and the much higher scoring small, independent and often vegan and/or organic brands.

Which brands of soap dominate the market?

The UK’s soap, bath and shower gel market is dominated by just three major brands – Carex, Dove, and Radox. 

Radox and Dove are owned by multinational Unilever whilst Carex is owned by PZ Cussons, which also owns other top selling brands.

With so many high scoring small and independent soap brands, and medium scoring more mainstream brands, there's definitely plenty of choice when it comes to finding ethical soap.

What about The Body Shop?

It was announced in February 2024 that The Body Shop's private equity owners, Aurelius, had called in the administrators which was likely to result in shop closures and job losses. We have therefore removed The Body Shop from this guide until we can be sure that the brand will continue to exist and in what format and if Aurelius will continue to be the owners of a restructured Body Shop.

Soap bars or liquids?

People generally tend to buy more liquid soap products for hand washing than solid soap bars, often driven by a fear of other people’s bacteria lurking on bar soap. Companies have encouraged the notion that using liquid soap was more hygienic with clever marketing as there is a higher profit margin from the more expensive product.

In terms of COVID-19, both liquid soap and bar soap have been shown to be equally as efficient in washing our hands. Although bacteria may stay on a bar of soap between washing, studies have consistently shown that this does not contaminate the next user. But most studies on bar soap are based on bacteria not viruses.

The NHS, World Health Organisation, and Centres for Disease Control do not stipulate whether to use a bar or liquid soap. A precaution with bar soap is to keep it dry and not let it lie in a puddle of germ-loving sludge. 

The environmental impact of solid bars vs. liquid soap

From an environmental point of view, the bar of soap is the overall winner. It also tends to have a smaller list of simple ingredients.

The environmental impact of liquid soap is thought to be higher due to the fact it:

• Is heavier: Containing lots of water, liquid soaps are likely to be heavier than bar soap, resulting in a higher carbon footprint for transportation.
• Involves more packaging: Packaging for body washes and liquid soaps tend to be plastic bottles, that if not recycled can end up landfilled, littered, or incinerated.. Even if the bottle is made from recycled plastic, a thin paper wrapper or no wrapper for soap bars is better.
• Contains petroleum: Many shower gels and body washes are made of petroleum-derived synthetic detergents and need emulsifying agents and stabilisers to maintain their consistency.
• Damages aquatic life: What you use on your body ends up in the water system. Liquid detergents may contain harmful substances that can bioaccumulate in living organisms.

The score table indicates whether a brand is just a liquid or just a bar or both.

Brands that only make soap bars

These companies do not sell liquid hand wash, only bars of soap: Cuticura, Eco Warrior, Friendly Soap, Lucy Bee, Lush, and Tom's of Maine. They all get an extra Product Sustainability point or half point:

• Friendly Soap, Eco Warrior, Lush and Tom's of Maine get a whole point for having plastic-free packaging or no packaging 
• Lucy Bee and Cuticura are not plastic free so only get an extra half point.

Soap brands which make bars and liquid soap

The following brands make bar soaps that are in either plastic-free packaging or no packaging, but they also make liquid hand wash: ALTER/NATIVE by Suma, Austin Austin, Caurnie, Faith in Nature, Honesty, Little Soap Company, Odylique, Pure Nuff Stuff, Sonett, and Weleda. 

Refillable handwash

If you would prefer a liquid hand soap, then go for these ethical companies that offer refills: ALTER/ NATIVE and Ecoleaf by Suma, Bio-D, Conscious Skincare, Faith in Nature, Salt of the Earth, and Sonett.

All of these are packaged in recycled plastic bottles apart from Conscious Skincare which comes in a glass bottle and Sonett plastic bottles which are not recycled.

They all offer 5 litre bulk refills apart from Conscious Skincare which is a 500ml refill, Salt of the Earth which is a litre refill and Sonett which is a litre or 10 litre.

Vegan soaps

A common ingredient in bars of soap is sodium tallowate, made from rendered animal fat. Stearic acid and glycerin in soap may also be animal derived, whilst honey, lanolin and milk can be added. We have a short article looking at animal products in cosmetics and toiletries where you can find out more.

Brands which are suitable for vegans have been marked on the score table with [Vg].

Soap from fully vegan companies

If you are vegan you may also wish to buy soap from a totally vegan company: Bio-D, Caurnie, Conscious Skincare, Eco Warrior, Faith in Nature, Friendly Soap, Honesty, Little Soap Company, and Lucy Bee. 

Cruelty free soaps

Although the testing of cosmetics on animals has been banned in the EU, this is not the case everywhere else in the world. But the REACH legislation has complicated the issue. See our feature on animal testing in cosmetics for more information about animal testing.

Ethical Consumer rates all companies selling cosmetics on their animal testing policy. Companies will score a best rating if they have a policy not to test on animals, have a fixed cut-off date (a date after which none of their products or ingredients will have been tested on animals), and are not selling to markets where animal testing of products is required by law. 

Leaping Bunny certified companies

The following companies were certified by the Leaping Bunny standard, the leading certification scheme for cruelty-free companies: Avalon Organics, Bio-D, Conscious Skincare, Faith in Nature, Friendly Soap, Honesty, Jason, Little Soap, Lucy Bee, Natura (Body Shop) and Neal’s Yard.

However, the Leaping Bunny logo on a product does not always mean it's vegan - it can still include animal products e.g. lanolin; but it won't have ingredients which have been tested on animals. The table in our guide to cruelty free and animal testing certification schemes has more information on this important difference.

So if you see the wording 'cruelty free', look to see if this just means no animal testing, or if it also means no animal products.

Toxic chemicals in soap

We have rated all the brands for their toxic chemicals policies on four key chemicals. Those companies which received a best rating had a policy which has banned the use of parabens, phthalates, formaldehyde and triclosan. We talk more about these chemicals in our feature 'Toxic Beauty'.

• Parabens are often an ingredient of liquid soaps and are used as a preservative. You might see methylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben on an ingredients list. 
• Triclosan may be used in liquid soaps whilst you might see triclocarban as an ingredient in soap bars. 
• Phthalates may be used in synthetic fragrances.
• Formaldehyde and 'formaldehyde' releasing chemicals are preservatives.

However, as you can see from the table below, the majority of the brands are owned by companies that have either committed to not using any of the three toxics or have at least committed to banning one or two of them (a middle rating).

Palm oil and soap

Palm oil and palm oil derivatives have become an important component in many soap products. In particular, it is used because it is a fat that is hard at room temperature. 

But the mass production of palm oil has relied on the destruction of rainforests, which leads to climate damaging emissions, as well as loss of biodiversity, particularly for orangutans, and human rights issues.

Substitutes include cocoa butter and coconut oil.

Our Palm Oil category on the score table shows which companies receive our best, middle and worst ratings for their palm oil policies and practices. 

Palm-oil free brands: Caurnie Soap, Conscious Skincare,  Lucy Bee, Pure Nuff Stuff.

Companies that source their palm oil more sustainably and get a best Ethical Consumer rating for their palm oil sourcing include: Bio-D, Eco Warrior, Friendly Soap, Lavera, Little Soap Company, and Odylique.

See more about palm oil free soap, and palm oil in the cosmetics industry.

Organic soap brands

Brands which are organic have been marked on the ethical scoretable with [O].

The following brands made organic products only:

• Bentley Organics
• Conscious Skincare
• Lavera
• Lucy Bee
• Odylique

The following brands also had some organic products: Austin Austin, Avalon Organics, Green People, Little Soap Company, Neal’s Yard, and Urtekram.

See our feature for more about organic certifications and natural beauty.

The abbreviations in the scoretable guide are: FT = fair trade; O = organic; V = vegan; S = sustainability mark e.g. plastic free.