Guide To Plastic-Free Vitamins In The UK (Also Vegan!)
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If you’re looking for plastic-free vitamins – from multivitamins to targeted supplements – here are heaps of UK zero-waste options that are kind to your body and the planet. All are vegan-friendly too.
Eating a balanced diet, with a healthy mix of fruit and vegetables and other important nutrients, is undoubtedly the best way to get all the vitamins and minerals you need.
In an ideal world, most vitamins and minerals would come straight from our plates. However, low winter sunlight, stress, certain life stages, and other key factors, can all leave us feeling a bit depleted.
If you need a little extra support to feel healthy, vitamins and supplements can be a good way to go. However, for a product that’s supposed to help boost your health, I always feel that there’s a bit of an uncomfortable contradiction at play.
You see, vitamins are often sealed in plastic bottles or plastic blister packs. All that plastic isn’t so great for the health of the planet. And if something isn’t great for the planet, then, in turn, it’s not great for us.
And with blister packs being so hard to recycle in the UK, I’d rather seek out zero-waste alternatives where possible. If you would too, then to help you out, I’ve rounded up my favourite plastic-free vitamins. All have the added bonus of being vegan-friendly.
My Favourite Plastic-Free Vitamins In The UK
Thankfully, there are a few plastic-free and vegan supplements that help support your health without relying on plastic. Here are some of my favourites, covering a range of different concerns. These come packaged in sustainable materials, including glass jars, refill systems, tins, cardboard, and compostable pouches.
Vegums
Vegums (available from £7.99 at Ethical Superstore) is a great choice for vegan-friendly vitamins that are both plastic-free and zero-waste.
Offering vegan multivitamins, alongside vegan omega-3, iron, and vitamin C supplements, these come sustainably packaged without plastic.
Depending on what you opt for, your vitamins come in recyclable cardboard and tin packaging, or in recycled paper pouches. These are biodegradable and compostable.
In a gummy format, they are all certified vegan by The Vegan Society. The full range uses only naturally derived colourings and flavourings. And all products are palm oil-free too.
Wild Nutrition
Wild Nutrition (from £14.40) is another zero-waste brand that’s well worth a look at.
Subscribers receive a glass jar with a metal lid on their first order. Every order after that comes in a fully recyclable, biodegradable, and certified plastic-free pouch for which to refill your jar with.
Not all Wild Nutrition products are vegan-friendly, but I have linked to the vegan range, which contains Vitamin B12, vegan protein powder, and organic turmeric supplements.
If you aren’t vegan, there’s a wider choice – covering just about every vitamin and supplement you could imagine.
Dr Vegan
Dr Vegan (from £7.64) is a fully vegan-friendly and plastic-free vitamin and supplement brand that caters to a wide-range of health concerns. From daily multivitamins and specific vitamins such as Vitamin B12, right through to supplements that help with concerns such as stress, poor gut health or menopause, it’s all here.
Each and every order is delivered in 100% plastic-free and certified home-compostable packaging that fits through your letterbox. Dr Vegan says its customers have already helped save over 20 tonnes of plastic by switching to its zero-waste products.
Everything is all made in the UK, from the best quality vegan-friendly and naturally sourced ingredients. Each supplement is also free of allergens, gluten, dairy, lactose, sugar and starch.
Viridian
Viridian (available at Napiers from £8.70) is another zero-waste brand worth knowing.
It has a wide selection of vegan vitamins (although not all vitamins are vegan, so do check the description before you buy). These all come in recycled and recyclable plastic-free packaging – from glass vitamin bottles to recycled cardboard shipping boxes.
Viridian is also fully palm oil-free, is against animal testing, and says its products are made ethically using high-quality ingredients.
Together
Finally, Together (available at Ethical Superstore from £7.49) is another good plastic-free choice when it comes to vegan vitamins.
These made-in-the UK supplements come packaged in a plastic-free, fully home-compostable pouch. This has an outer layer and seal derived from corn starch, a paper layer, and a protective barrier film made from renewable wood pulp.
Together is also PETA-Approved Vegan. As a certified cruelty-free brand, this means that it has been independently verified that the ingredients Together uses, alongside the finished products, are not tested on animals.
Find supplements including iron, magnesium, omega-3, multi-vitamins, vitamin D3, calcium, alongside menopause and women’s health blends.
The Brands To Be Wary Of
Some brands may appear low-waste at first glance but still come with ethical baggage. Solgar, for example, packages its vitamins in glass bottles but is now owned by Nestlé, a company associated with extensive environmental and social controversies.
There are SO MANY reasons why it’s best to avoid Nestlé products that I don’t know where to start. Instead, I’m going to point you in the direction of a whole Wikipedia page that’s devoted to Nestlé controversies. It’s a long one!
You can also check out my Substack post on ‘ethical’ brands that are owned by unethical companies, for more companies, like Solgar, who are owned by companies you might not want to support.
An Important Point To Note
You might have noticed that all of these vitamin brands come with a higher price tag, compared to chemist or supermarket own-brand supplements.
If you can’t afford to make the switch to plastic-free options, then remember it’s not a personal failing. It’s a systemic failure that means it’s cheaper for brands to use plastic bottles than paper pouches.
Until that changes, don’t feel guilty if you need to buy supplements in plastic. Taking care of your health should always come first, especially if you’ve been told to take specific supplements by a health professional.
More Plastic-Free Health & Beauty Resources
Looking for more zero-waste health and beauty resources? I’ve got lots:
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