Beauty Brands Giving Back in Support of Coronavirus Relief

As the spread of the novel coronavirus sends rippling effects through shuttered businesses across industries, many brands have found inventive, generous ways of giving back. For instance, some companies are encouraging the purchase of gift certificates to cash in once the quarantine is over and reminding customers about going online-only, while others are pivoting production to essential items. Over the last few weeks, it's become obvious that many businesses have devoted themselves to not only getting through the COVID-19 crisis themselves — but also helping others to do the same.

Happily, the beauty industry is part of that movement. We've been on the lookout for beauty brands giving back to coronavirus efforts and we've found scores of skin-care, hair care, and makeup companies doing just that.

So if your beauty cabinet is in need of restocking, consider one of these 43 brands that are doing their part during this period of uncertainty.

Dial

Dial is partnering with FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) in disaster relief efforts by donating over 600,000 units of liquid hand soap, bar soap, and body wash products to the cause. Not only that, Dial kicked off its #IWashMyHands social media campaign to encourage and promote healthy handwashing habits — with the help of actor Jenna Dewan.

100% Pure

On the heels of its Hand Sanitizer Spray, which customers can now directly donate to those in need), 100% Pure has also debuted a Hand & Surface Cleansing Spray. It's made with skin-softening aloe vera and hydrating glycerin, as well as 70 percent ethyl alcohol and antibacterial lemon essential oil, so you can keep your hands and non-porous surfaces, such as grocery carts or door handles, clean at the same time. No more needing to switch between hand sanitizer, antibacterial wipes, and all-purpose cleaning spray — genius.

Together with The Detox Market, 100% Pure has donated 3,000 units of the original Hand Sanitizer Spray to Baby2Baby, a nonprofit dedicated to helping children and families living in poverty. And on its own, 100% Pure has also donated Hand Sanitizer Sprays to HealthRight 360, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that provides healthcare services to homeless and other low-income residents statewide.

Sol de Janeiro

Sol de Janeiro launched its own sprayable hand sanitizer, Brazilian Touch Hand Sanitizer, with the brand's signature tropical scent — alongside 80 percent alcohol to fight germs and glycerin to keep hands from drying out. While it's currently sold out, 100 percent of profits made from Brazilian Touch sales on soldejaneiro.com will directly benefit Bayada Home Healthcare and the organization's healthcare staff, who care for the elderly. Sol de Janeiro also announced an additional donation of 10,000 Brazilian Touch Hand Sanitizers to Bayada.

Unilever U.S.

The first $8 million of donations focused on items such as food and soap, as well as personal hygiene and cleaning products — which were distributed in partnership with Feeding America to support a network of food banks. Unilever also gave more than 200,000 masks to hospitals in heavy-hit areas like New Jersey, where the company's U.S. headquarters are based.

Unilever also organized a National Day of Service on May 21, during which the company dedicated and donated one day's worth of production on essential products at its U.S. factories (estimated at $12 million) to communities impacted by COVID-19. Unilever also devoted its entire marketing and advertising spend that day to promote non-profit partners, relief organizations, and other community groups distributing its products to those most in need.

MAC

MAC's Viva Glam Fund donated $10 million to COVID-19 relief efforts, particularly those that are helping communities of color who are being disproportionately affected by the pandemic — including Jerusalem House, Housing Works, and Harlem United. And on top of that, 100 percent of Viva Glam Lipstick sales will also benefit communities most at risk during COVID-19.

Marc Jacobs Beauty

Marc Jacobs Beauty donated 2,000 Youthquake Moisturizers to healthcare workers at hospitals nationwide in partnership with Donate Beauty. In addition, the brand is also donating proceeds from Enamored (with Pride) Hydrating Lip Gloss Sticks to two charitable organizations providing vital services and assistance to the LGBTQ+ community. Le Refuge provides shelter & support for LGBTQ+ youth and Sage is dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQ+ older adults.

Kate Somerville

For the entire month of May, Kate Somerville will be donating 15 percent of sales from its new DeliKate collection, which was made especially for sensitive skin types. Proceeds from purchases made on the brand's site and sephora.com will go to World Central Kitchen's #ChefsForAmerica COVID-19 Food Relief. A single DeliKate purchase will help serve one to two individually packaged, fresh meal to a family, child, or first responder in need.

L'Oréal

L'Oréal has promised $720,000 to the Chinese Red Cross Foundation. The funds will go toward providing medical supplies, including masks and protective gear, that are lifesaving for medical personnel. Supporting an initiative like this will be easy. The tricky part will be deciding which of the many Best of Beauty- winning L'Oréal products you want to spend your money on.

Billie

You likely know it as a shaving brand, but just this week, Billie began offering at-home essentials like wipes, dry shampoo, and tinted lip balm alongside its Best of Beauty-winning razors and shaving cream. The brand has announced it will donate $100,000 to the fight against COVID-19, with funds being directed specifically to food banks serving those who have lost access to regular meals as a result of the pandemic.

True Botanicals

True Botanicals recently showed some local love when it donated 10 percent of its profits to a food bank in San Francisco, which is where the brand was founded. Additionally, it started a social medial campaign called #TakeCare and is asking its followers to share uplifting messages with the accompanying hashtag to generate positivity during this uncertain time.

Peace Out

The fan-favorite brand started by donating 10 percent of all its proceeds to help hospitals in Milan, the hometown of founder Enrico Frezza. Now, the brand is going one step further and offering 20 percent off to all customers on the website. It will donate 10 percent of sales to those who are most impacted by COVID-19.

Farmacy

We're just about out of our last tub of Farmacy's Green Clean Makeup Meltaway Cleansing Balm (a 2017 Best of Beauty Award-winner), so we couldn't be more pleased to hear that the brand is donating 10,000 meals per day for the next 30 days to Feeding America. And it's currently matching donations to the organization via a webpage created specifically for that purpose. "We are a small indie beauty brand, but we want to do everything we can to make sure we can support those in need," wrote a Farmacy spokesperson in a statement. "We encourage our community to do the same, even if it’s just generating awareness for the work Feeding America is doing."

Rituel de Fille

Rituel de Fille is an independent brand known for its shade-shifting beauty products. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the brand has temporarily dedicated its manufacturing capabilities to the production of hand sanitizer. Available now, the 62 percent ethyl alcohol product — also spiked with soothing lavender and tea tree essential oils — is offered at three different price points for a choose-what-you-pay system intended to grant accessibility to as many folks as possible. (With a limit of three per customer.)

Haus Laboratories

Lady Gaga's coveted beauty brand Haus Laboratories may be less than a year old, but it has already pledged to donate 20 percent of last week's profits to Los Angeles and New York food banks, resources that are more crucial than ever with recent school and workplace closures.

Lipslut

Fans of Lipslut are likely already aware that the beauty retailer gives away 50 percent of proceeds to support causes chosen by its customers. But in the wake of the novel coronavirus, the lipstick brand has upped that number significantly. For the time being, a whopping 100 percent of profits will go to organizations supporting those affected by COVID-19, including No Kid Hungry and the CDC Foundation.

The Body Shop

The Body Shop has often been at the forefront of change initiatives, like when it threw support behind a global campaign to end animal testing in 2017. So we're not surprised to hear that the brand will be donating 30,000 units of its cleansing products to shelters and senior communities across the United States and Canada.

Loli Beauty

Loli Beauty is still selling its Grape Hand Tonic, a soap-free hand cleanser with 60 percent alcohol, but because stock is limited, founder Tina Hedges wants to make sure customers know how to make their own at home. The brand will be releasing a BIY — blend-it-yourself — recipe and video to help you make your own germ-busting sanitizer.

LVMH

The corporation is probably behind your favorite perfume and cosmetics including luxury brands like Dior, Guerlain, and Givenchy, and now it's behind a powerful initiative as well. With hand sanitizers in high demand, LVMH will transition several of its facilities toward the production of hydroalcoholic gel, with the goal to produce 12 tons of the stuff by the end of the week. Even better, the sanitizer will be distributed to French hospitals free of charge. The company has also pledged $2.3 million in aid to the Chinese Red Cross Foundation, which is providing support to the areas hardest hit by COVID-19.

Trilogía

Trilogia, a new wellness brand in the cannabis space, just launched a campaign called Masks for Good to help provide N95 masks to hospitals in Seattle and the surrounding area. The mission: to get the masks into the hands of as many health-care providers as possible. Currently, they're raising money on GoFundMe with a goal of $500,000; they're almost at $40,000. The brand hopes to distribute masks to all Seattle hospitals and to donate additional masks to affected areas across the U.S.

Volto Urbano

Eco-friendly skin-care brand Volto Urbano has teamed up with three charities — No Kid Hungry, Meals on Wheels, and God’s Love We Deliver — and will be donating 50 percent of all proceeds to help feed those who are sick, the elderly, and children.

Tangle Teezer

Tangle Teezer has donated 4,000 of its Compact Styling Brushes to medical workers at USC Medical Center and other hospitals around the country through Donate Beauty in an effort to help them keep their hair tangle-free on-the-go. The portable brush also has a cover to help protect it from dirt and damage.

Krigler

The high-end fragrance house made a donation directly to the CDC Foundation and has pledged to give over 30 percent of proceeds from its e-commerce site to the organization as well.

CURLS

Natural hair-care brand CURLS is currently giving away free bottles of hand sanitizer with every purchase — that, and it's donating N95 masks to select medical facilities across the country.

Guerlain

Like many other beauty brands, Guerlain is now using its factories that once made fragrance, makeup, and skin-care products, to produce hand sanitizer, which it will donate straight to hospitals to help healthcare providers who are at high risk.

Orly International

Nail brand Orly is yet another brand that's announced it will now be using its factories to produce hand sanitizer. It plans to donate the first 10,000 units to those experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles, and from there, all additional units will be available to buy on the brand's site.

Vegamour

Vegan and cruelty-free beauty brand Vegamour just launched a new hand sanitizer spray to help with the shortage we've seen since the pandemic began. In addition to 75 percent isopropyl alcohol — which exceeds the CDC’s recommended 60 percent to kill 99.9 percent of germs and bacteria — it also contains soothing aloe vera and lavender essential oil, as well as marula oil for added moisture.

Each bottle retails for $8, and for every purchase, the brand promises to donate 20 percent of the proceeds to the L.A. Food Bank to help fight hunger during these trying times.

Glow Recipe

K-beauty brand Glow Recipe is offering healthcare providers who are on the front line free full-sized bottles of its famed Blueberry Bounce Cleanser, as well as a one-month supply of its Banana Soufflé Cream in single-use packets for easier use.

Coty Inc.

Coty Inc., the major beauty manufacturer behind brands like Rimmel London, CoverGirl, and Gucci, announced that it will be using its production facilities to provide free hydro-alcoholic gel to medical and emergency services. According to a statement from the company, it expects that production and donations will reach tens of thousands of units per week.

Estée Lauder

Beauty giant Estée Lauder is reopening its manufacturing facility in Melville, New York, as a direct response to the hand sanitizer shortage. What's more, the company previously donated $2 million to Doctors Without Borders to help support medical providers in their efforts.

Briogeo

New York City-based hair-care brand Briogeo is giving to the city where it started by donating a portion of all proceeds to the Food Bank For New York City. This contribution will provide up to 50,000 meals to those with limited access to food. The brand has also begun offering two to three day delivery on products so that customers aren't without their hair-care favorites for too long.

Mediheal

As a part of another Donate Beauty effort, a total of 500 Mediheal sheet masks including the NMF Hydrating Mask and Tea Tree Essential Blemish Control Sheet Mask have been donated to healthcare workers countrywide, by the beloved Korean skin-care brand.

Banila Co.

We've seen images of the skin-irritating effects surgical masks are having on healthcare workers. Thankfully, Korean skin-care brand Banila donated 500 jars of its signature Clean it Zero Cleansing Balm, which hopefully will bring some skin-soothing at the end of their days.

Strivectin

While washing your hands is crucial, it can also cause skin to become dry, cracked, and irritated. To help with this, Strivectin is donating 2,000 hand creams to healthcare workers across the country. "As you continuously wash your hands, skin becomes dry and can eventually crack leading to small lesions through which infections can enter the body," says a spokesperson from the brand. "By donating to those on the front lines, Strivectin hopes to provide small comfort to those working around the clock to help stop the spread of COVID-19."

Dr. Hauschka

Last year, skin-care brand Dr. Hauschka launched a program called The Giving Garden, which delivers meals to disadvantage folks in the Western Massachusetts area. In response to the pandemic, the brand has since expanded the program throughout the U.S., and increased the number of meals it's delivering. For instance, in the last week alone, it delivered 10,000 meals to those in need.

EOS

Following a successful and very generous first round of giving, eos topped its initial 50,000 tube donation of [its] Shea Better Hand Cream with an additional 50,000. All 100,000 skin-soothing tubes were sent to hospitals and healthcare workers across the country. While the first batch was sent to New York City hospitals and essential workers, this week's donation got fans involved by allowing them to submit nominations for a healthcare worker to get one. In exchange, they received a refill hand cream of their own.

GlamGlow

GlamGlow's Bubblesheet Oxygenating Cleanse Mask adds a little fun to self-care with its fizzing face foam in a sheet mask. Now, thanks to the brand, 1,000 healthcare workers across the country can also indulge in both this and another favorite, Thirstymud. The donations were coordinated by the charity organization Donate Beauty, which was started by beauty editors at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical workers at NYU Langone and San Francisco General hospitals were among the many recipients.

Sabon

Sabon will donate one of its Self Care Kit to NYU healthcare professionals for every kit sold. The set includes the Citrus Blossom Body Scrub with a wooden scooper, Patchouli Lavender Vanilla Mini Shower Oil PET, Delicate Jasmine Body Lotion, and the Musk Mini Hand Cream.

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