Herbal Essences unveils new shampoos with environment-friendly credentials

Herbal Essences is making it easier than ever for shoppers to make greener beauty choices.

The Procter & Gamble-owned haircare brand is launching two new sulfate-free botanical shampoos, formulated to meet the Environmental Working Group's (EWG) 'EWG Verified' status -- a credential that requires a brand to be extra-transparent with consumers about its ingredients and formulas.

Herbal Essences is the first mass hair care brand to achieve the accolade.

"EWG Verified will take awareness about chemicals in products to the next level by giving shoppers useful information from a team of scientists they have come to trust," said Nneka Leiba, director of EWG's healthy living science program, in a statement. "Only products that include robust ingredient labels and meet our stringent criteria, will be awarded our mark,"

"The mark will make shopping even easier for overwhelmed consumers who want to quickly find a bottle of shampoo and other personal care products that meet our rigorous standards," added Jocelyn Lyle, EWG Vice President of Development.

The new bio:renew sulfate-free shampoos are the result of a partnership between Herbal Essences and EWG that has been ongoing since 2016, and follow a recent trend by the label for sharing more information about the ingredients used and avoided in its products.

"Now more than ever, consumers are demanding transparency with their beauty products and with this partnership, we can provide consumers with the reassurance that our products are clean, safe and verified by a by a trusted group like EWG," said Herbal Essences Brand Manager Lynn Hicks.

Transparency has become something of a buzzword in the beauty industry this year, with multiple brands pledging to be more honest with consumers. In January the drugstore giant CVS Pharmacy made a move towards eradicating unrealistic beauty standards, with the launch of its debut photoshop-free "CVS Beauty Mark," while Procter & Gamble -- which also owns Olay, SK-II and First Aid Beauty -- pledged late last year to share all its fragrance ingredients with the general public.