Ingredient Decoder: read any label in ten seconds
Free, instant, and nothing you paste is ever stored.
Ingredient lists are written for regulators, not for shoppers. A single tube of hand cream can carry forty Latin and INCI names, and only a handful of them tell you whether an animal was involved, whether a rainforest was cleared, or whether the formula relies on a substance regulators in other markets have already restricted.
The EthiCompare Ingredient Decoder closes that gap. You paste the list exactly as it appears on the pack, and the decoder returns a line-by-line reading: what each flagged ingredient actually is, where it usually comes from, why people avoid it, and what a comparable product uses instead.
Key takeaways
- Every EthiCompare rating is a 0–100 score built from five weighted pillars, not a pass/fail badge.
- Certifications are auditable evidence; adjectives like "natural", "green" or "conscious" are not.
- Missing disclosure costs a brand points — we never assume the best case for an unanswered question.
- Ownership matters: a certified brand inside a group that still tests where the law demands it is a different decision.
- Scores and sources are re-checked continuously, and every page shows the evidence behind the number.
What the decoder checks for
Every ingredient is matched against a reference set built around the questions shoppers actually ask. Rather than a single pass/fail verdict, you get the reason behind each flag so you can decide what matters to you.
- Animal-derived ingredients such as carmine, lanolin, beeswax, shellac, tallow, keratin, collagen and casein.
- Hidden non-vegan processing aids that never appear in marketing copy.
- Palm oil and its several hundred derivative names, the single most disguised ingredient in the supermarket.
- Controversial or restricted substances, including certain preservatives, UV filters and microplastic polymers.
- Ambiguous ingredients that can be plant- or animal-sourced, where only the brand can confirm the origin.
Why a certification alone is not enough
A vegan logo covers the finished formula. It usually says nothing about deforestation risk, microplastic content, or the working conditions behind a raw material. A cruelty-free logo covers animal testing, not animal ingredients. The two are routinely confused, and plenty of products carry one while failing the other.
Decoding the list yourself is the only way to see the whole picture. The decoder is designed to make that a ten-second habit instead of a research project.
How to use it well
Copy the ingredient list from the retailer's product page or type it from the pack. Order matters: ingredients are listed by descending concentration, so a flag near the top of the list carries far more weight than one near the bottom.
When an ingredient is marked ambiguous, treat it as a question for the brand rather than a verdict. Brands that answer quickly and specifically tend to be the ones with real supply-chain visibility.
Where it fits in the wider workflow
The decoder answers what is in the product. The Greenwashing Checker answers whether the claims around it hold up, the Label Lookup answers what each logo actually verifies, and the product database answers how the item scores against alternatives on a transparent 0–100 scale.
How to use this page in four steps
The guide below explains the thinking; this is the fastest route from question to decision.
- 1
Start with the score
The 0–100 number tells you where a product or brand sits against everything else we track in the same category.
- 2
Open the evidence
Each pillar links to the certification, policy page or report behind it, so you can verify the claim yourself.
- 3
Check the ownership
Parent-company policies can override a brand's own promises in markets where testing or sourcing rules differ.
- 4
Compare alternatives
Every page ends with better-scoring options in the same category and price band, so switching takes one click.
How the score is calculated
Every product is graded 0–100 across five weighted pillars. Nothing is pay-to-play: brands cannot buy a position, and a missing disclosure costs points rather than being assumed positive.
| Pillar | Weight | What we look at |
|---|---|---|
| Animal welfare | 25% | Third-party cruelty-free and vegan certification, animal-derived inputs, testing policy in every market the brand sells in. |
| Materials & sourcing | 25% | Organic, recycled or regenerative inputs, traceability to farm or mill, deforestation and biodiversity risk. |
| Labour & human rights | 20% | Living-wage commitments, published supplier lists, audit results and remediation, Fair Trade certification. |
| Packaging & waste | 15% | Recycled content, plastic intensity, refill or take-back options, real end-of-life recyclability. |
| Transparency | 15% | Public reporting, verifiable claims, parent-company disclosure and how quickly the brand answers questions. |
Reading the score
Leader · 80–100
Multiple independent certifications, published supply chain, credible reductions.
Strong · 65–79
Solid certified core with one weak pillar, usually packaging or labour disclosure.
Mixed · 50–64
Real progress in places, significant gaps elsewhere — read the detail before buying.
Weak · 0–49
Little verified evidence, or an ownership structure that contradicts the marketing.
What to look for before you buy
A ranking gets you to a shortlist; these checks tell you whether a specific product is right for your household. Work through them in order — the first two rule out most greenwashing on their own.
- Check the certification, not the adjective: a logo from Leaping Bunny, Vegan Society, GOTS, Fair Trade or B Corp is auditable; the words "natural" and "clean" are not.
- Look up the parent company — a certified brand owned by a group that still tests where the law requires it is a different decision than an independent one.
- Read the full ingredient or material list, not the front-of-pack claim; a single animal-derived or high-impact input can undo the rest.
- Prefer refills, concentrates and take-back schemes: packaging is usually the fastest win in this category.
- Compare cost per use rather than shelf price — durable and concentrated products almost always win over a year.
- Buy the thing you will actually finish or wear a hundred times; the lowest-impact purchase is still the one you do not replace.
Label decoder: claims vs. certifications
Most on-pack wording is unregulated. Use this table to translate a claim into what it actually guarantees, and what to ask the brand when it does not.
| Claim on pack | What it actually guarantees | What to check instead |
|---|---|---|
| Cruelty-free | Nothing on its own — the term is not legally defined in the EU, UK or US. | A Leaping Bunny or Cruelty Free International logo, plus confirmation the brand does not sell where testing is required. |
| Vegan | Usually no animal-derived ingredients, but self-declared and rarely covers processing aids. | Vegan Society or V-Label certification, and whether shared equipment is used. |
| Natural / clean | Nothing. Both terms are marketing language with no standard behind them. | The full INCI or material list, and an organic certification such as GOTS, COSMOS or EU organic. |
| Eco-friendly / green | Nothing verifiable; increasingly restricted by EU greenwashing rules. | A specific, measured claim — recycled content percentage, certified supply chain, or a published footprint. |
| Recyclable | Technically recyclable somewhere, not necessarily in your municipal system. | Whether the pack is mono-material, and whether the brand runs a take-back or refill scheme. |
| Carbon neutral | Often offsets rather than reductions, and offsets vary wildly in quality. | Absolute emissions cuts against a base year and a validated science-based target. |
Terms you will see on this page
Plain-English definitions of the labels, standards and jargon used across EthiCompare.
- Leaping Bunny
- The strictest international cruelty-free standard: a fixed cut-off date for animal testing, supplier declarations and third-party audits.
- GOTS
- Global Organic Textile Standard — certified organic fibre content plus environmental and social criteria along the whole supply chain.
- B Corp
- A company-level certification scoring governance, workers, community, environment and customers; re-verified every three years.
- Fair Trade
- Certification guaranteeing minimum prices and a community premium to producers, with audited labour standards.
- Greenwashing
- Environmental marketing that is vague, unverifiable or unrepresentative of the product's real footprint.
- Cost per use
- Price divided by realistic lifetime uses — the number that shows whether a durable or concentrated product is actually cheaper.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Ingredient Decoder free?+
Yes. There is no account, no paywall and no usage limit. Nothing you paste is stored on our servers.
Does it work for food as well as cosmetics?+
Yes. It covers food, personal care, household cleaning and supplement labels, since the same animal-derived and palm-derived ingredients recur across all of them.
Can it tell me if a product is certified vegan?+
No — it reads the ingredient list, not the certificate. Use the Label & Certification Lookup to check what a specific vegan mark verifies.
Why is an ingredient marked ambiguous?+
Some ingredients, such as glycerin, stearic acid or lactic acid, can be plant- or animal-derived. Only the manufacturer can confirm the source for a given batch.
Does EthiCompare accept payment from brands?+
No. Rankings are never sold and no brand can pay to appear, move up or remove a controversy. Where affiliate links exist they never influence a score, and the methodology is public.
How often are scores updated?+
Certifications, policies and controversies are re-checked continuously and each page shows when its underlying profile was last updated. Material changes — a lost certification, a new testing policy — are reflected as soon as they are verified.
What happens when a brand does not answer?+
Unanswered questions score as unverified, not as positive. That deliberately penalises silence: transparency is one of the five pillars and it is worth 15% of the total.
Is the guide available in other languages?+
Yes — every guide is published in English, Spanish, German and French with fully translated content, and the language switcher at the top keeps you on the same page.
Keep reading
Greenwashing Checker: test the words on the pack
Paste the copy. See which claims mean something and which mean nothing.
Label & Certification Lookup: what the logo actually proves
Every mark, what it audits — and what it quietly leaves out.
Vegan: certified picks and the ingredients nobody warns you about
Not just what carries the logo — what actually holds up on the ingredient list.
Reviewed and maintained by the EthiCompare editorial team.