Shop without the ingredients you avoid
Each hub screens every published product against a substance and its hidden aliases — then ranks what survives by our independent ethics score.
Palm oil-free
Palm oil expansion is a leading driver of rainforest clearance in Indonesia and Malaysia, destroying orangutan and Sumatran tiger habitat.
5 aliases screened
Plastic packaging-free
Under 10% of plastic ever produced has been recycled; most personal-care and household plastic is landfilled, burned or fragments into microplastics.
5 aliases screened
Parabens-free
Parabens are effective preservatives but are endocrine-active in lab studies and persist in waterways, prompting many shoppers to avoid them.
4 aliases screened
Synthetic fragrance-free
'Fragrance' can legally hide dozens of undisclosed compounds, including phthalate carriers and common sensitisers.
3 aliases screened
Microplastics-free
Rinse-off microplastics pass through wastewater treatment and accumulate in rivers, soil and the food chain.
5 aliases screened
Animal-derived ingredients-free
Many everyday formulas quietly rely on animal by-products, from carmine beetles in red pigment to lanolin from sheep's wool.
10 aliases screened
PFAS 'forever chemicals'-free
PFAS are used for water and stain resistance and do not break down in the environment or the human body.
4 aliases screened
Sulfates-free
Sulfates are cheap high-foam detergents that can strip colour-treated hair and irritate sensitive skin, and are often palm-derived.
5 aliases screened
Hidden-alias cheat sheet
The names these substances hide behind on a label — and what a better formula uses instead.
| Avoiding | Also appears as | Look for instead |
|---|---|---|
| Palm oil-free | palm oil, palmitate, elaeis, palm kernel, sodium palmate | Look for coconut, shea, sunflower or rapeseed-based formulas — or RSPO-segregated palm where a substitute is not viable. |
| Plastic packaging-free | plastic bottle, pet bottle, polypropylene, shrink wrap, plastic packaging | Choose aluminium, glass, steel, bare bars and refill formats. Refills typically cut packaging weight by 70–90% versus a new bottle. |
| Parabens-free | paraben, methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben | Modern alternatives include sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, benzyl alcohol and glyceryl caprylate systems. |
| Synthetic fragrance-free | fragrance, parfum, phthalate | Prefer unscented products or ones scented solely with disclosed essential oils and named aroma compounds. |
| Microplastics-free | polyethylene, microbead, acrylate copolymer, nylon-12, ptfe | Mineral, cellulose, jojoba-bead and salt/sugar-based exfoliants deliver the same texture without persistent polymers. |
| Animal-derived ingredients-free | beeswax, lanolin, carmine, collagen, gelatin, honey, silk, keratin, tallow, shellac | Candelilla and carnauba wax, plant squalane, synthetic keratin and fruit pigments replace almost every common animal input. |
| PFAS 'forever chemicals'-free | ptfe, perfluor, polyfluor, fluoro | Look for beeswax-free plant-wax waterproofing, ceramic or cast-iron cookware, and untreated natural fibres. |
| Sulfates-free | sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, sls, sles, ammonium lauryl sulfate | Coco-glucoside, decyl glucoside and sodium cocoyl isethionate clean effectively with gentler surfactancy. |
Start where you shop most
Screen the category you restock weekly — personal care or cleaning — before chasing rare purchases.
Read the alias, not the claim
"Palm-free" on the front rarely survives the ingredient list. The aliases above are what actually decide it.
Accept the trade-off
Every removal has a substitute with its own cost. Each hub names it so you can choose knowingly.
How screening works
- We collect every published product and its ingredient, tag and certification data.
- Each product is matched against the substance name plus its known aliases.
- Any match is excluded — no partial credit, no "trace amounts" exemptions.
- Survivors are ranked by ethics score, not by commission or brand payment.
Frequently asked questions
What does a 'free-from' hub check?+
Each hub screens every published product's ingredient notes, sustainability notes, tags and certifications for the flagged substance and its common aliases, then ranks what's left by ethics score.
Is 'free-from' always better?+
Not automatically. Some substitutes carry their own trade-offs — palm-free formulas can use land-hungry alternatives, for example. We explain the trade-off on each hub rather than selling avoidance as a universal good.
How often are these lists updated?+
They are generated live from the product database, so a newly added or re-scored product appears the next time the page is loaded.