My Top UK Eco-Friendly Shower Gel Recommendations
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Green your showering regime with my guide to the best natural and eco-friendly shower gel. From plastic-free shower gel to refill shower gel and more – here’s how you can get squeaky clean the green way.
While I’m a fan of using super sustainable bars of soap in the shower, I know that some people don’t like soap bars. Even though it has been proven that communal soap bars cannot transmit germs, I know more than a few people who won’t entertain the idea of using a bar of soap in the shower.
If lathering up with a bar of soap in the shower isn’t your thing, then don’t worry, I’m not here to preach or pour shame on you. Instead, let me show you some other sustainable shower gel options. This includes those in plastic-free packaging, as well as clever refill options so that you can still zero-waste your bathroom routine.
The Best Natural & Eco-Friendly Shower Gel
Ready to scrub up sustainably? Here are my top natural and eco-friendly shower gel recommendations. These options clean just as effectively as conventional shower gels – without any unnecessary plastic waste or harsh ingredients.
Alter/Native By Suma
- Packaged in recycled and recyclable plastic bottles, with bulk refill options available.
Alter/Native by Suma (from £6.49 at Ethical Superstore) is a great choice for shower gel, as it’s easier on the budget compared to other eco-friendly brands, without having to compromise on sustainability credentials.
It comes in lots of lovely scents (lavender and geranium, patchouli and sandalwood, rose and geranium, coconut and argan oil, grapefruit and aloe, tea tree and aloe), alongside unscented versions for sensitive skins. My favourite is grapefruit and aloe, it’s so refreshing!
There are bulk refillable options to refill your bottles at home, where you can choose between 5L and massive 20L cartons. Although that being said, the 20L cartons are probably too large for most people’s needs!
All formulations are also vegan friendly and cruelty-free, made using 100% natural ingredients, scented with pure essential oils and free from palm oil and nasties such as parabens. They’re also made in the UK.
Another reason to love Suma is that, as a workers’ co-op, there are no bosses or shareholders. Instead, the business is owned and run by 200 employees who work there, who all have an equal say in what they do and all get paid the same wage.
Beauty Kitchen
- Packaged in recyclable aluminium bottles, which are refillable and returnable.
Beauty Kitchen’s organic, vegan and plastic-free body (from £9.99 for 300 ml at Ethical Superstore) ticks a lot of sustainability boxes.
This B-Corp-certified beauty product brand – meaning that it balances profit with looking after people and the planet – makes its shower gel with all-natural and sustainably sourced ingredients. This includes ingredients such as organic coconut and organic sunflower oils.
Beauty Kitchen’s shower gel is available in a range of scents – from minty fresh to zingy citrus, to a relaxing botanical blend. There’s nothing artificial here either – essential oils provide the delicious aroma. And for sensitive skin, there’s a fragrance-free option too.
Packaged in aluminium bottles, you can reuse this durable packaging yourself at your local refill shop. Beauty Kitchen has thought carefully about the reuse potential of their bottles, so the labels adhere with ultra-low tack adhesive so they can be easily removed.
Alternatively, you can send your bottle back to Beauty Kitchen by post, for free, and they will wash and reuse the bottles in their next batch.
This is a great choice if you’re aiming to remove plastic from your bathroom entirely and like the idea of packaging that’s designed to be reused again and again.
Faith In Nature
- Packaged in recycled and recyclable plastic bottles, with bulk refill options available. Refillable aluminium bottles are also available.
Faith In Nature offers eco-friendly shower gel (from £6.49) that you can refill in zero-waste shops across the country. You can choose between a recycled plastic bottle and a plastic-free aluminium bottle.
This is an especially good option if you’re new to refillable products and want something affordable, familiar, and easy to find online.
If you don’t have access to a zero-waste shop near you, then you can also buy a 5-litre carton to refill your own bottles at home. This will last you AGES and AGES.
As well as the refill potential, there are lots of reasons to love Faith In Nature’s range of body wash. For a start, it’s made right here in the UK from natural ingredients. This means it contains no parabens or SLS/SLES. Secondly, their entire range is vegetarian and vegan-friendly and free from animal testing. And thirdly, their shower gels are free from artificial colours and fragrances.
With heaps of different fragrance options, there’s something to suit every taste.
Bower Collective
- Packaged in returnable and recyclable plastic pouches.
Bower Collective’s range of own-brand sustainable body washes (£14.49 for 1 litre) is made in the UK using naturally derived, ethically sourced, and environmentally responsible ingredients. Find delicious scents, including orange and mandarin, and coconut and orchid.
Its eco-friendly shower gels are free from ingredients such as SLS and parabens, and are also vegan and cruelty-free.
Bower Collective’s clever refill and return service helps lessen the environmental impact of your shower. Simply decant your pouch into any shower gel bottle. Once the pouch is empty – you don’t even need to wash it out – simply pop the pouches in the pre-paid returns envelope that comes with your Bower Collective order.
To make the returns process as environmentally friendly as possible, Bower Collective advise collecting around 4 pouches in the returns envelope before sending it back. Once the envelope is ready to send, just pop it straight into a postbox. Or, if it’s easier for you, you can take it to your nearest Post Office for free return.
Once returned to Bower Collective, it’s cleaned and refilled with the same product at their refill centre, ready to be used again. Each pouch can be reused up to 10 times, and at the end of life, it is responsibly recycled with Bower Collective’s specialist partner.
This option works well if you don’t have the space to store large refill bottles but still want to cut down on single-use plastic.
Miniml
- Packaged in recycled and recyclable plastic bottles or returnable pouches, with bulk refill options available.
Another good choice for refillable shower gel is Miniml (from £4.95 for 500 ml). Available in a range of scents, including pink grapefruit and aloe vera, nourishing coconut, and English lavender and chamomile, there’s heaps of choice.
If you’re watching the pennies but still want a genuinely eco-friendly option, this is one of the most cost-effective refill brands around.
This richly foaming yet gentle, sulphate-free body wash naturally keeps even sensitive skin smooth and moisturised. It foams easily with hands, a flannel or a loofah, so you don’t need to use loads to feel clean.
As well as being made in the UK, the vegan formulation is cruelty-free. It’s also free from solvents, lanoline, sulphates, parabens and phosphates, and is scented with essential oils.
You can buy a 500 ml bottle, which you can refill in refill shops. Or if that isn’t practical for you, you can purchase 1 litre or 5 litre refill cartons to refill at home. I buy the 5L carton, and it lasts for ages!
More Sustainable Bathing Resources
Looking to make your bathing habits even more sustainable? Let me help – I’ve got heaps of guides:
- Plastic-free bubble bath
- Eco-friendly shampoo
- Plastic-free conditioner guide
- Guide to the best shampoo bars
- Guide to eco-friendly soap brands
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