the live free standard
There's the bar we set for everyone. Then there's the bar we set for ourselves.
We didn't set out to make another "clean-ish" product with vague eco-friendly packaging claims. We set out to make the best in clean and sustainable skincare, raising the bar on what's possible.
step one · the MADE banned list
Thirty-four categories, screened before a formula is written.
MADE SAFE screens every product against the MADE Banned List. That list is the whole standard for MADE WISE certification; for MADE SAFE it is only where the screening starts. Tap any category for the reason it's out.
Named families, banned outright rather than case by case, so a new variant of an old problem doesn't get in on a technicality.
Toxic antibacterials + antimicrobials
benzalkonium chloride · PHMB · chloroxylenol · triclosan · triclocarban
why it's out
Preservatives and disinfectants that kill bacteria indiscriminately, including the skin microbiome that keeps you healthy. PHMB is classified a Category 2 carcinogen by the European Chemicals Agency; benzalkonium chloride is a known respiratory sensitizer. Both also drive antimicrobial resistance. Screened as a class, so a new antimicrobial with an unfamiliar name doesn't get in on a technicality.
Harmful artificial colors + dyes
FD&C and D&C colorants · lake dyes · aminophenol · phenylenediamine
why it's out
Petroleum-derived colorants, several associated with allergic reaction and, in animal studies, with tumor formation. They exist to make a product look more appealing on a shelf, which is the weakest justification an ingredient can have. Our formulas are the color their ingredients are.
Bisphenols
BPA · BPS · BPF — in formula and in packaging
why it's out
Endocrine-disrupting plasticizers. Nothing in our formulas contains them, but bisphenols are primarily a packaging question — they migrate from container linings into the product. This is the one category on this page we're still closing: our component suppliers need to confirm in writing before we make the claim publicly.
Coal tar ingredients
coal tar · aminophenol · phenylenediamine · petroleum distillates
why it's out
A byproduct of coal processing, used historically as a colorant and as an anti-dandruff active, and the origin of several of the synthetic dyes above. It is a recognised human carcinogen and still legal in US cosmetics at limited concentration — which is exactly why it needs naming rather than assuming.
Ethanolamine ingredients
cocamide DEA · cocamide MEA · lauramide DEA · triethanolamine · diethanolamine
why it's out
Foaming agents and pH adjusters that can react with other ingredients in the same bottle to form nitrosamines, a class strongly associated with cancer. Cocamide DEA is classified as possibly carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The reaction happens after manufacture, which no ingredient list will show you.
Formaldehyde releasers
DMDM hydantoin · quaternium-15 · imidazolidinyl urea · diazolidinyl urea · bronopol
why it's out
These preserve a product by slowly releasing formaldehyde into it. Formaldehyde is a known human carcinogen and one of the most common causes of contact dermatitis. The releasers never appear on a label as "formaldehyde" — you can read the full ingredient list and never know it's there.
Toxic flame retardants
PBDEs · TDCPP · TCEP · organophosphate flame retardants
why it's out
Not something you'd expect in skincare, and they aren't in ours — but they migrate from packaging, foam and textiles, and MADE SAFE screens them across all product categories. Worth naming so it's on the record.
Fluorinated + PFAS compounds
PTFE · perfluorodecalin · anything containing "fluoro" or "perfluoro"
why it's out
Used in cosmetics for slip and long wear. They do not break down — the reason they're called forever chemicals — and accumulate in blood over a lifetime, with associations to thyroid disruption, immune suppression and certain cancers. Nothing they do for a formula is worth that.
Toxic fragrance ingredients
parfum · fragrance · aroma · undisclosed synthetic aroma chemicals
why it's out
A single word on a label can legally stand in for dozens of undisclosed chemicals, and fragrance is the leading cause of cosmetic contact dermatitis. Our three formulas are fragrance-free — not lightly scented, not naturally scented. There is nothing to disclose.
Heavy metals
lead · arsenic · cadmium · mercury · antimony · nickel — as contaminants, not just added ingredients
why it's out
Heavy metals are rarely added on purpose. They arrive as contaminants in mineral pigments, clays and botanical extracts grown in polluted soil. This is a sourcing and testing question, not a formulation one, which is why third-party testing sits alongside the ingredient screen.
Isothiazolinone preservatives
methylisothiazolinone (MIT) · methylchloroisothiazolinone (CMIT) · benzisothiazolinone (BIT)
why it's out
Among the most potent contact allergens in personal care. The American Contact Dermatitis Society named MIT its Allergen of the Year in 2013 after a wave of sensitization cases, and the EU has since banned it outright from leave-on products.
Isocyanates
TDI · MDI · HDI
why it's out
Highly reactive compounds used in polyurethanes and adhesives. They are potent respiratory sensitizers and a leading cause of occupational asthma. A packaging and manufacturing screen more than a formula one.
Toxic solvents
toluene · xylene · methylene chloride · 2-butoxyethanol · certain glycol ethers
why it's out
Industrial solvents used to dissolve or thin a formula. Most are volatile, many are neurotoxic on inhalation, and several are on multiple regulators' priority lists. Water and glycerin do this work in our formulas.
Polyethylene glycol compounds (PEGs)
any ingredient beginning PEG- followed by a number · polyethylene glycol
why it's out
PEGs themselves aren't especially hazardous. The problem is how they're made: ethoxylation can leave behind 1,4-dioxane, a probable human carcinogen, and ethylene oxide, a known one. Residue levels vary by supplier and are never disclosed on a label. We'd rather not depend on someone else's purification step.
High-risk pesticides
glyphosate · organophosphates · neonicotinoids · residues on botanical inputs
why it's out
Botanical ingredients carry whatever was sprayed on them. Green tea extract, witch hazel, chamomile and rosehip are only as clean as the fields they came from, which is why sourcing documentation matters as much as the INCI list.
Polysorbates
polysorbate 20 · polysorbate 60 · polysorbate 80 · PEG-20 sorbitan monolaurate
why it's out
Solubilizers that let oils disperse in water — the standard fix for anything scented in a water base. They're made by ethoxylation, so they carry the same 1,4-dioxane residue risk as PEGs. A fragrance-free formula never needs one.
Siloxanes + silanes
dimethicone · cyclopentasiloxane · cyclotetrasiloxane (D4) · triethoxycaprylylsilane
why it's out
The clearest place our own standard exceeds the marketplace. We permit silicones in products we carry, because in a mineral sunscreen a silane coating on the zinc genuinely improves the product. In our own formulas we simply didn't need them — texture comes from jojoba esters, sunflower seed wax and polyglycerin. D4 and D5 are persistent and bioaccumulative in aquatic environments, and the EU restricts D4 and D5 in wash-off cosmetics.
Ecotoxic surfactants
nonylphenol ethoxylates · quaternary ammonium surfactants · sodium coco-sulfate
why it's out
Cleansing agents that persist in waterways and are toxic to aquatic life. Our marketplace standard names SLS and SLES specifically; here we take the whole class. Smooth Sali cleanses with coco-glucoside and decyl glucoside — sugar-derived, readily biodegradable, and gentle enough for daily use on teenage skin.
Paraffin oil, wax, petrolatum + liquid paraffinum
petroleum jelly · liquid paraffinum · paraffin wax · white mineral oil
why it's out
Petroleum distillates used as inexpensive occlusives — they sit on skin and slow water loss. Cosmetic grades are refined, but less-refined grades can carry polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and the refinement level isn't something you can read off a label. Plant butters and oils do the same work with a traceable origin.
Parabens
methylparaben · propylparaben · butylparaben · ethylparaben · isobutylparaben
why it's out
Cheap synthetic preservatives that extend shelf life. They absorb through skin and have been detected in human tissue, and several act as weak estrogen mimics — the EU restricted propyl- and butylparaben in leave-on products for children under three. The evidence on real-world harm is genuinely mixed. But effective alternatives exist, so there's no reason to make a teenager carry the debate.
Phthalates
DBP · DEHP · DEP · most often hidden inside the word "fragrance"
why it's out
Plasticizers that make fragrance last longer and formulas stay flexible. They're endocrine disruptors with documented reproductive effects, and several are banned outright in EU cosmetics. They're legally allowed to hide inside an undisclosed fragrance blend — which is the other reason our formulas are fragrance-free.
Silver compounds
silver citrate · silver oxide · colloidal silver · nanosilver
why it's out
Antimicrobial silver, used as a preservative and often marketed as a purity feature. It is toxic to aquatic life at very low concentrations, accumulates in sediment, and its spread through consumer products contributes to bacterial resistance. A preservative shouldn't be the most persistent thing in the bottle.
Synthetic musks
galaxolide (HHCB) · tonalide (AHTN) · musk ketone · musk xylene
why it's out
Fragrance fixatives that make a scent linger for hours. They're bioaccumulative — turning up in human breast milk, in freshwater fish, and in Arctic sediment — and several are suspected hormone disruptors. They're also the single most common thing hiding behind a proprietary blend, since a fixative has no scent of its own to give it away.
Harmful UV blockers + filters
oxybenzone · octinoxate · homosalate · octocrylene · avobenzone · octisalate
why it's out
These absorb into the bloodstream at concentrations the FDA has said require further safety data before they can be deemed generally safe. Oxybenzone and octinoxate are also implicated in coral bleaching and are banned in Hawaii, Key West and Palau. Non-nano zinc oxide is the only filter we'd ever formulate with.
Harmful VOCs
volatile organic compounds contributing to indoor air pollution
why it's out
Compounds that evaporate at room temperature and accumulate in indoor air. They're the reason a fragranced product affects more than the person wearing it. Our formulas are fragrance-free, which removes the largest single source.
Banned for what a substance does, not what it is called. This is the part of the list that catches ingredients nobody has written a rule for yet.
Carcinogens
known, probable and possible human carcinogens per IARC, NTP and Prop 65
why it's out
We exclude any ingredient classified as a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the National Toxicology Program, or California Proposition 65 — including those where the classification is "probable" or "possible" rather than confirmed. Waiting for certainty on a cancer question is not a standard.
Chemicals of high concern
ChemSec SIN List · EU SVHC · Washington State CHCC · California Safer Consumer Products
why it's out
A cross-reference category rather than a chemical family. If a regulator or scientific body anywhere has flagged an ingredient as a substance of very high concern, we treat that as disqualifying even where it's still legal in the US. American cosmetic regulation is not the benchmark we want to clear.
Endocrine disruptors
bisphenols · benzophenones · resorcinol · butylparaben · triclosan · certain UV filters and plasticizers
why it's out
Chemicals that mimic or block hormones, interfering with the systems that govern development, metabolism and reproduction. This matters more for our customers than most: adolescence is when the endocrine system is doing its most consequential work, and it's the window where exposure has the largest downstream effect. We screen for this as a hazard class, not just as a list of names.
Behavioral toxicants
substances linked to attention, learning and behavioral effects
why it's out
A subset of neurotoxicity that MADE SAFE screens separately, covering ingredients associated with changes in attention, learning and behavior rather than acute nerve damage. The evidence base is younger than for classical neurotoxicity, which is exactly why we'd rather not be in it.
Neurotoxicants
toluene · certain glycol ethers · organophosphates · methylmercury · lead compounds
why it's out
Substances with documented effects on the nervous system. The developing brain continues maturing into the mid-twenties, which makes this category specifically relevant to a product line built for teenagers.
Teratogens
retinoids · certain solvents · thalidomide-class compounds
why it's out
Substances that can cause birth defects. Our marketplace standard already excludes retinol for this reason among others; here we screen the whole class. Relevant to any product a pregnant customer might use, and skincare is used daily without much thought.
Genotoxins
substances that damage DNA or chromosomes
why it's out
Ingredients that cause direct damage to genetic material. Genotoxicity often precedes carcinogenicity, so screening for it catches problems earlier than waiting for a cancer classification.
Where an ingredient comes from counts as an ingredient question.
Endangered species
CITES-listed botanicals · sandalwood · rosewood · agarwood · certain marine ingredients
why it's out
A sourcing ethic rather than a safety screen. Several prized cosmetic botanicals are harvested to the point of endangerment — wild sandalwood and rosewood especially. We don't use them, and we check CITES status on any new botanical input.
Poisonous plants
comfrey (pyrrolizidine alkaloids) · pennyroyal · sassafras · certain botanical extracts
why it's out
"Natural" is not a safety claim. Several traditional botanicals carry real hepatotoxic or abortifacient risk, and a few appear regularly in clean beauty. We screen botanicals on their toxicology, not their marketing.
Not hazard findings. These are judgment calls we make for our own line, and we say so rather than dressing them up as safety.
Aluminum salts
aluminum chlorohydrate · aluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrex gly · aluminum sesquichlorohydrate · aluminum chloride
why it's out
We want to be honest here: the breast cancer link is not well supported by the evidence, and we are not going to claim it is. We don't stock them for a simpler reason. We don't think blocking a normal bodily function is what a deodorant should do, and every deodorant we carry works without it.
Benzoyl peroxide
benzoyl peroxide
why it's out
We don't carry it, and we want to be straight about why: it's an effective drug, not a dangerous ingredient. It's a synthetic oxidiser that bleaches fabric, dries skin hard, and has drawn recent scrutiny over benzene formation in products stored warm. If what we sell isn't getting you there, benzoyl peroxide from a pharmacy is a reasonable next step.
Artificial sweeteners
aspartame · sucralose · saccharin · acesulfame-potassium · high fructose corn syrup
why it's out
The safety debate on these is genuinely unsettled and we are not going to pretend otherwise. Our objection is narrower and more practical: they exist to make an underwhelming formula palatable. Stevia, monk fruit and xylitol do the job without the argument.
Artificial flavors
artificial flavor · flavour (arôme)
why it's out
A synthetic flavour blend, undisclosed by design, used to make a supplement or an oral-care product palatable. The objection is the same one we make about synthetic fragrance: a single word standing in for a list nobody will show you. Real flavour comes from the fruit, the mint or the vanilla.
Shark-derived squalene and squalane
shark squalene · shark squalane · shark liver oil
why it's out
This is not a human-health exclusion and we are not going to dress it up as one. We are Leaping Bunny certified, and olive-derived squalane does the same job as well or better. There is no reason to stock the shark version of either form. A label will usually just say squalane, so this is a supplier question rather than something you can read off the back of a bottle.
step two · the ecosystem approach
A banned list catches known names. This catches behavior.
An ingredient can be absent from every list and still be a problem, because of what it does in a body, or where it ends up after the drain. The second screen looks at both.
the honest footnote
A few substances carry category-specific allowances, or thresholds for content that is technically unavoidable. Those aren't waved through, they have to be tested to prove the level.
screened, not self-declared
Three marks, three different questions.
MADE SAFE®is it made with safe ingredients?Every ingredient screened against the MADE Banned List, then against the ecosystem criteria. Certification covers the finished product, not one flattering ingredient in it.
Leaping Bunnywas anything tested on animals?No animal testing of the finished product or its ingredients, and the commitment runs back through suppliers rather than stopping at our own door.
Vivomerwhat happens to the bottle?A biopolymer grown by microorganisms and certified to break down in a home compost, not only in an industrial facility most people can't reach.
the material · vivomer
The bottle is grown by microbes, not drilled out of the ground.
Most clean beauty stops at the formula and ships it in petroleum. Vivomer is a biopolymer made by microorganisms fed on plant matter, it behaves like a bottle on your shelf and like organic matter in your compost. Two different problems, one material solves them both.
from a toxin perspective
from a sustainability perspective
grown, used, returned, a closed loop
vivomersoil to soilwhat we chose not to use
These are the materials we turned down. Some more sustainable than others, but none of them were the right solution.
Every packaging choice trades one problem for another. Four of the five standard options move the problem somewhere you can't see it. Seven categories, five materials, one column each, and the one we picked instead.
| the material | Virgin plastic | Recycled plastic (PCR) | Glass | Aluminium | VivomerLive Free's choice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| what is it | Petroleum-derived resin. PET, HDPE or PP, moulded into bottles, jars and caps. | The same resins, made from post-consumer waste rather than new petroleum. | Silica sand melted at high heat, inert against almost any formula. | Rolled metal, almost always with an internal liner so the formula never touches the metal. | A biopolymer grown inside microorganisms fed on plant matter, then harvested and moulded. |
| what's the catch | Fossil carbon at the source, microplastic shedding through use, and a real-world recycling rate in the single digits for cosmetic formats. Nothing about it breaks down. | Better feedstock, identical ending, it still sheds, colour and purity limits cap how much can be used, and most PCR cosmetic packaging cannot be recycled a second time. | Melting takes enormous heat, and the weight moves the problem to freight: a full glass bottle can spend its recycling gain on shipping emissions. It also breaks in a bathroom. | Primary production is among the most energy- and mining-intensive processes in packaging, bauxite mining, red mud, smelting, and the liner means it is not a single-material package. | It costs several times more than plastic, cannot be made at plastic's volumes, and needs careful formulation to stay stable across shelf life. We took the cost. |
| petroleum-based | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| chemical migration to product | yes | yes · worse than virgin | no | needs liner | no |
| microplastic shedding | yes | yes | no | liner sheds | no |
| recyclable | limited | limited | high | high | compostable |
| sustainably produced | no · virgin fossil oil | partly · recycled input, fossil resin | no · energy-heavy | no · mining-heavy | yes · plant-grown |
| home compostable | no | no | no | no | yes |
| industrial compostable | no | no | no | no | yes |
two standards, on purpose
One for the shelf. One for the products we make.
