I’ll be honest with you. My bathroom in my little Yarraville house is not pretty. Well, the bathroom itself is fine — in the way that an old house bathroom can be fine — but the shower ledge situation? A complete disaster. At last count, I had four half-empty shampoo bottles, two conditioners (one I definitely bought in 2023 and vowed to finish before buying another, and then absolutely did not), a body wash, a face wash, and what I think used to be a toning mist but has lost its label and now just lives there permanently, minding its business.
So when a friend mentioned Ethique over drinks on a Saturday night and described it as a beauty brand that had basically eliminated plastic bottles from its entire existence, I was genuinely curious. Partly because I do care about reducing my environmental footprint, and partly because I thought if everything came in a solid bar, my shower shelf might finally see some open space again.
Here is everything you need to know about Ethique and whether it is worth making the switch.
What Is Ethique?
Ethique is a New Zealand beauty brand that makes solid, plastic-free beauty bars covering shampoo, conditioner, face cleansers, deodorant, and lip balm. All products come in compostable packaging, contain no water in their formula, and require no plastic bottles. The brand was founded in Christchurch in 2012 by biochemist Brianne West.
The name “Ethique” comes from the French word for “ethical,” which pretty much tells you everything you need to know about where the brand’s priorities lie. It is certified cruelty-free and Leaping Bunny certified, fully vegan, palm oil-free, and carbon neutral.
The Woman Behind the Brand
Brianne West started Ethique in her kitchen in Christchurch as a university student, driven by the frustration of watching plastic bottles pile up in her bathroom. Relatable, Brianne. Incredibly relatable.
A biochemist by training, West began developing solid shampoo and conditioner formulas that removed water from the recipe entirely. Her reasoning was straightforward: most liquid beauty products are largely made of water, so shipping water around the world in single-use plastic bottles is an enormous and unnecessary waste of resources.
She originally sold the bars under the name “Sorbet” — until a rebranding to Ethique became necessary when the company went international (there were apparently copyright issues with the original name, which honestly sounds like the kind of subplot you’d find in a documentary on Netflix on a Sunday afternoon). In 2015, she ran a crowdfunding campaign that raised over NZ$200,000 to scale up production and launch into new markets.
Today, Ethique sells in more than 20 countries and has reportedly prevented over 25 million plastic bottles from entering landfill, with an ambitious target of 500 million by 2030.
What Makes Ethique Different From Other “Sustainable” Brands?
There are plenty of beauty brands throwing the word “sustainable” around like it is a personality trait, so it is worth looking at what Ethique actually does differently.
No Water, No Plastic
Most liquid shampoos and conditioners are largely made of water. Ethique removes water from the formula entirely, creating a concentrated solid bar. The practical upshots of this are:
- No plastic bottles required at any point in the product’s life cycle
- Each shampoo bar replaces roughly three standard 350mL bottles of liquid shampoo
- The concentrated formula means a little genuinely goes a long way, especially once you get the hang of using it
Compostable Packaging
Where many beauty brands have traded plastic bottles for recycled cardboard boxes, Ethique takes it a step further. All of their packaging is fully compostable, meaning it can go directly into your home compost bin rather than the recycling bin, where it might or might not actually get processed depending on your local council.
Cruelty-Free, Vegan, and Palm Oil-Free
Ethique is independently Leaping Bunny certified, meaning its cruelty-free status has been verified by a third party rather than self-declared. All products are vegan and formulated without palm oil — which matters because palm oil production remains one of the leading drivers of deforestation globally. For a beauty brand to be genuinely palm oil-free rather than just palm oil-reduced is meaningful.
Carbon Neutral Manufacturing
All Ethique products are manufactured in a Christchurch facility running entirely on renewable energy. The company also donates 2% of its annual revenue — or 20% of its profit, whichever is the higher figure — to environmental and social causes through the Ethique Foundation, and publishes public impact reports with actual data on its carbon footprint and progress toward its targets.
As someone who spent their teens reading X-Men comics while simultaneously guilt-reading about the state of the planet, a beauty brand that publishes hard targets and reports on them honestly? That hits very differently to a brand that puts a green leaf on its label and calls it sustainable.
What Products Does Ethique Make?
Ethique’s range covers hair, face, and body care. Here is a breakdown of what is available.
Shampoo Bars
This is where the brand made its name and it remains the hero product category. Shampoo bars are available for different hair types and concerns:
- Clarifying / oily hair — for scalps that need a proper reset
- Dry and damaged hair — richer, more moisturising formulas
- Curly and wavy hair — frizz control without weighing down curl pattern
- Fine and flat hair — volume-focused formulas
- Scalp concerns — including options targeting dry or flaky scalps
- Strengthening and hair growth — including a rosemary-based bar, which has been all over everyone’s feeds for good reason
Pricing on the Ethique AU website sits at approximately $24 AUD per shampoo bar for standard sizes. Given that each bar replaces around three liquid bottles, this works out to comparable or better value per wash than mid-range supermarket shampoos over time, even if the upfront cost looks higher.
Conditioner Bars
The conditioner bar is where a lot of people either fall in love with solid haircare or swear off it entirely. Get the wrong one for your hair type and it can feel heavy or waxy on the hair. Get the right one and it is genuinely hard to tell the difference from liquid conditioner. Ethique’s conditioner bars are designed to match their shampoo bar range by hair concern, so you can pair them to your specific needs.
Face Cleansers
Ethique makes solid face cleansers in a small, gentle formula intended for daily use. Given that I have had sensitive and acne-prone skin since my teens and still carry the acne scars to prove it, I am fairly interested in any cleanser that does not make sensitive skin throw a full tantrum. The solid format also means no preservatives to maintain a water-based formula, which can be a plus for reactive skin.
Deodorant Bars
A solid deodorant bar, yes — and before you say anything, it is not as confronting as it sounds once you actually use it. Ethique’s deodorant bars are aluminium-free, free from synthetic fragrances and parabens, and come in compostable packaging.
Lip Balms
A straightforward solid lip balm with no plastic tube to throw away. Sometimes the simplest swap is the most satisfying one.
Does Ethique Actually Work?
This is the real question. Because no amount of sustainable credentials saves a product that turns your hair into a haystack.
The short answer: yes, Ethique’s bars work well. The key is choosing the right bar for your hair type. If you have oily roots and grab the deeply moisturising bar designed for dry and damaged hair, you are going to have a rough week. Matched correctly, the bars perform comparably to quality liquid equivalents — and many longtime users say their hair actually improves over time as it adjusts to a cleaner, less-stripped formula.
There is an adjustment period worth flagging. Switching from liquid to solid shampoo can involve a transition phase of roughly one to two weeks where your scalp recalibrates. This is completely normal — think of it like every Iron Man suit upgrade Tony Stark goes through. There is always a brief recalibration period before things run better than before.
One practical thing worth knowing: you will need a bar holder or soap dish to keep your bars dry between uses. Leaving a wet bar sitting in a puddle of water is a quick way to lose product. A small bamboo soap dish from a two-dollar shop or Target handles this perfectly.
Where Can You Buy Ethique in Australia?
Here is where things get a bit complicated, and it is worth knowing before you go searching.
Ethique announced in late 2024 that it was closing its Australian website (ethique.com.au) by December 31, 2024, stating that continuing to operate directly in Australia and the UK was no longer financially viable. As of early 2026, the website still appears to be active in some form, likely as a clearance sell-through, but it is not a reliable long-term source for Australian shoppers.
The good news is that Ethique products are still available in Australia through a number of online stockists:
- Nourished Life — nourishedlife.com.au, currently stocking the Ethique range
- Flora & Fauna — floraandfauna.com.au, still stocking while stocks last
- Hello Charlie — hellocharlie.com.au, an Australian certified organic product retailer
Pricing across these stockists generally falls in the $24 to $30 AUD range per bar. If you used to pick up Ethique at Priceline (they had a distribution deal with Priceline Pharmacy across Australia for a number of years), that arrangement has now ended alongside the brand’s broader Australian market exit.
Is Ethique Worth Making the Switch?
If sustainability is something you genuinely care about rather than just having an opinion on while buying the same products as always, then yes — Ethique is one of the most credible options in the zero-waste beauty space. This is not a brand that put a green leaf on its packaging and declared itself done. Between the compostable packaging, the water-free formulas, the carbon neutral manufacturing, the verifiable cruelty-free certification, and the actual published impact reports, they have put in the work.
Practically speaking, the bars also travel extremely well. No liquid restrictions at airport security, no risk of a shampoo bottle leaking into your luggage, and the whole thing takes up about a quarter of the space of your usual bottles. As someone who regularly stuffs a tote bag to capacity for the commute from Yarraville into South Melbourne and back, the idea of a beauty routine that also minimises clutter has a very particular appeal.
Pros and Cons at a Glance
Pros:
- Genuinely plastic-free and fully compostable packaging
- Certified cruelty-free, vegan, and palm oil-free
- Concentrated formula — each bar lasts considerably longer than equivalent liquid products
- Full range covering hair, face, and body
- Carbon neutral manufacturing with transparent impact reporting
- Travel-friendly with no liquid restrictions
Cons:
- Higher upfront cost per bar compared to supermarket shampoo
- Requires a bar holder or soap dish to maximise longevity
- A brief transition period when switching to solid shampoo (one to two weeks)
- Direct Australian shipping is no longer available — purchase must go through a third-party stockist
- Reduced availability as brand transitions out of Australian distribution
Final Verdict
Ethique is what it says it is. In an industry where “sustainable” can mean anything from genuinely zero-waste to simply swapping a white cardboard box for a brown one, Ethique has set a standard that most beauty brands are still trying to reach.
For anyone who has been curious about solid haircare but has not quite committed — starting with a shampoo bar matched to your specific hair type is the lowest-risk way in. And if it works for you (which it likely will, once you get through the adjustment week), it is one of those small changes that actually means something rather than just making you feel like you are doing something.
Now if only there were a solid bar solution for my four half-empty conditioner bottles. That one I have not figured out yet.
All prices quoted are approximate AUD figures sourced from ethique.com.au and Australian stockists. Given Ethique’s current Australian market transition, pricing and availability may vary. Always check directly with stockists for the most up-to-date information.
