April is Earth Month and even the beauty world is getting in on the green act. That doesn’t mean you have to ditch the rasor and hairbrush and go bush. There are many ways in which you can support the environment - and environmentally-minded companies - without sacrificing your lovely little looks one bit.

GET COMMUNITY-MINDED

The Body Shop started community trading over twenty years ago, sourcing raw ingredients in far-flung underdeveloped corners or the world, and helping those communities to build a sustainable industry and booming economy. These days, fair-trading is becoming a more widespread corporate commitment. Just a few examples … L’Occitane buys its shea butter from a women’s co-op in Burkino Faso, Africa. Aveda works with an indigenous community in Western Australia to source its supplies of sandalwood oil. Dr Hauschka chose to buy Romanian roses so as to help boost that country’s struggling economy. And Chanel’s recently launched Précision Sublimage Essential Regenerating Cream features vanilla planifolia orchid from Madagascar (pictured here).

GO ORGANIC

It’s great for your skin, your health and the environment. No wonder organic is becoming such a beauty buzzword, with the term organic splashed on practically every second beauty bottle. But be aware, that may not mean what’s inside lives up to the name. In Australia, there’s currently no law to stop any brand from using the word organic - or any version of it - in their brand or product names. What’s more, there are no guidelines yet for what exactly constitutes an organic beauty blend; if a beauty product has a certification stamp, it’s likely to be one from an association that usually assesses the food industry. Making this whole process trickier still is the fact that water - which is one of the most common beauty ingredients - is not a certified-organic ingredient. Which is why most of the certified-100% beauty products you see are oil-based - they contain ingredients that would pass the test for an organic food product. Oil-based products also boast the benefit of not needing a preservative - which is extremely difficult to concoct from all-natural ingredients.

That’s not to say that anything below 100% lacks merit. There are many great natural-minded beauty brands that use organic ingredients where possible, and are helping put the pressure on suppliers to make a wider variety of organic offerings available. Shop the personal care aisle of your local health food stores, or else check out: Jurlique, Shizen (from Adore Beauty), Trilogy (from Thexton), Venustus, MV Skincare, Bod, Absolutely Gorgeous and The Organic Pharmacy (from Rescu Beauty Bar).

Latest-hottest organic beauty buy: Trilogy Everything Balm ($34.95, see from Trilogy for stockist info), a lush use-anywhere (lips, cuticles, elbows, feet …) mix featuring largely organic ingredients that are fair-traded from sustainable sources.

BE ANIMAL-FRIENDLY

Determining a company’s stance on animal testing can be a tricky task. There are loopholes that allow for individual ingredients to be animal-tested along the supply chain, way before the final product is concocted, bottled and legally labelled as ‘not tested on animals’. The good news is that the European Union is moving to blanket-ban animal testing in the cosmetics industry in 2009, a move which will have flow-on effects to the beauty industries in most other countries. In the meantime, if you’re concerned about using beauty products that are 100% animal-friendly, your best bet is to either get assurance from a company that all ingredients are tested by alternate means. Or else, check out the Choose Cruelty Free list; all companies listed here - including Innoxa, Aesop, Natio, De Lorenzo and Paul Mitchell - have passed strict eligibility tests.

THINK LOCALLY

While there are many reasons for buying international beauty brands - you want to support their organic, fair-trading or animal-friendly stances, or they simply work best for your skin - it’s also timely to consider if there are any local buys worthy as substitutes. Air freight has been accepted as a huge contributor to our global warming problems, and consumers are being urged to shop locally where possible. Of course, not all beauty products are jetted in; many arrive by the much lower-polluting means of ship. Still, it’s an opportunity to reconsider some local heroes and support the Australia beauty industry. Keep in mind that many local beauty brands may still need to source some ingredients overseas. One company that strives to grow as much of its own plants as possible is Jurlique, whose herbs are grown organically on its South Australian farm (pictured here).

SOME OTHER ECO-BEAUTY TIPS…

* Try to let hair air-dry wherever possible. You can always smooth the outer layers with a straightener once hair has dried off.

* Make sure to always switch off appliances, or buy ones that feature an automatic time-out switch.

* Learn to power-shower. Scrub yourself before turning on the taps (most creamy scrubs or salt and sugar mixes work best on dry skin anyway). Turn the water off while your conditioner is in; use this time to shave your legs or file your feet.

* Reconsider having water treatments at the day spa - a nice but not very necessary use of water, given the current drought situation and water restrictions. It’s the reason Jurlique has announced it’s discontinuing all wet spa treatments in its wellness spas. Have a luscious oil-based massage or pampering facial instead.