Who Owns St. Ives?

St. Ives is certified cruelty-free by PETA through the Beauty Without Bunnies program. This certification means that St. Ives and its ingredient suppliers do not conduct, commission, or pay for tests on animals for any of its products. PETA's certification is verified through the brand's enrollment in the program. St. Ives is not certified by Leaping Bunny, the other major cruelty-free certification body.

St. Ives is not certified vegan by The Vegan Society or equivalent organizations. While many of the brand's products do not contain animal-derived ingredients, some formulations may include ingredients like beeswax or honey-derived components. Consumers seeking vegan-specific products should check individual product ingredient lists.

St. Ives is not a certified B Corporation. Its parent company, Unilever, is not B Corp certified either, though Unilever has published sustainability commitments including a goal of zero non-hazardous waste to landfill across its manufacturing network and a commitment to 100% renewable grid electricity by 2030.

The brand has reformulated products to remove parabens and sulfates from most of its lineup. However, these reformulations are self-reported by the brand and are not independently certified by organizations like the Environmental Working Group (EWG) or Open Beauty Facts. Consumers seeking independently verified clean formulations should consult the EWG's Skin Deep database or Open Beauty Facts.

St. Ives participates in Unilever's broader packaging sustainability programs, which include targets for increasing recycled plastic content and reducing virgin plastic use. Unilever has committed to making all of its plastic packaging reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025. The current status of this commitment as it applies to St. Ives packaging specifically is not separately reported.

St. Ives has received recognition within the beauty industry, primarily for its long-standing market position and product accessibility rather than for specific award wins.

The Apricot Scrub has been featured in numerous beauty magazine "best of" lists over the years, including recommendations in Allure, Cosmopolitan, and Glamour as a budget-friendly exfoliator. These editorial recommendations have contributed to the product's sustained sales performance.

St. Ives has been recognized by consumer publications for value and accessibility. The brand's budget pricing and wide retail availability have been acknowledged by consumer advocacy groups as making effective skincare accessible to consumers across income levels.

The 2024 rebrand by design agency Sunhouse received coverage in design and branding publications, noting the brand's shift from Swiss to Californian positioning. The rebrand was recognized as a strategic effort to modernize the brand's identity for a new generation of consumers.

St. Ives has not received major independent industry awards from organizations like Allure Best of Beauty or Cosmopolitan Beauty Awards in recent years, reflecting the brand's mass-market positioning rather than prestige beauty positioning.

St. Ives has faced one significant controversy that generated substantial media coverage, along with broader industry challenges related to ingredient transparency.

Apricot Scrub Class Action Lawsuit (2016-2018): In 2016, a class action lawsuit was filed against Unilever alleging that the St. Ives Apricot Scrub caused micro-tears in skin due to the walnut shell powder used as an exfoliating agent. The plaintiffs claimed that the product was unsafe for facial use and that St. Ives misled consumers by marketing it as a gentle exfoliant. The lawsuit sought damages and an injunction against the product's marketing claims. In 2018, the court dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that the plaintiffs had not adequately demonstrated that the product caused injury or that the marketing claims were false. Despite the dismissal, the lawsuit generated significant media coverage and contributed to a broader consumer shift away from physical exfoliants toward chemical exfoliants.

Clean Beauty Scrutiny: Following the Apricot Scrub lawsuit, St. Ives faced ongoing scrutiny from clean beauty advocates who questioned the use of walnut shell powder and other ingredients. The brand responded by reformulating products to remove parabens and sulfates and by expanding its range to include gentler formulations. However, some clean beauty influencers and publications continue to recommend chemical exfoliants over physical scrubs, affecting the brand's perception among ingredient-conscious consumers.

Microbead Phase-Out: Like all skincare brands sold in the United States, St. Ives was required to phase out plastic microbeads from its products following the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015, which banned plastic microbeads in rinse-off cosmetics. St. Ives complied with this requirement and transitioned to natural exfoliating agents. This was a regulatory compliance measure rather than a controversy specific to the brand.