Why Shade scored 61/100 - and why that score only tells part of the story

We were delighted to see Shade included for the second time in Ethical Consumer’s 2026 sunscreen report, where we received a score of 61/100.

The highest-scoring brand in the guide received 86/100, so we are genuinely proud to have ranked strongly - especially as a very small independent UK business, not a large beauty corporation with a sustainability department and a policy team.

So first of all, thank you to Ethical Consumer for featuring Shade and recognising what we’re trying to do.

We know many of our customers care deeply about how products are made, what goes into them, how businesses operate, and whether brands genuinely walk their talk. So being included in an independent ethical review matters to us.

At the same time, after reading the full report, we felt it was important to add a little context, because while the score is useful, it doesn’t fully reflect how a tiny business like ours actually works.

A quick reality check: Shade is a microbusiness

Shade is made by Not the Norm Ltd, which is not a group, a parent company structure, or a scaled-up cosmetics operation.

It is a founder-owned UK microbusiness, 99% owned by me, with a turnover (not profit) of around £330k, run from a home office in West Wales, supported by two part-time staff.

We do not have:

• a corporate head office
• a boardroom
• a logistics network
• an ESG reporting team
• a legal department
• or a budget for glossy sustainability frameworks

What we do have is a very small business trying to make genuinely useful products in a more thoughtful, lower-impact way.

That distinction matters.

Because many ethical scoring systems are built around what larger businesses can formally document, not always what smaller businesses are practically doing every day.

What we’re proud of

1) We have always taken a clear stance against animal testing

This is one of the things that matters most to us.

In our Ethical Consumer questionnaire, we stated that:

• we do not use suppliers who engage in animal testing
• our products are tested only on human volunteers
• we operate a fixed cut-off date of 11 March 2013
• and we have never knowingly sourced ingredients tested on animals since the company began trading in 1999

We also explained that we are:

• vetted by Naturewatch Foundation
• and listed in the Compassionate Shopping Guide

That is not new marketing language we have suddenly invented for a scorecard.
It reflects how we have always operated.

We also openly use sustainably sourced beeswax, and have discussed that decision publicly because ethical ingredient choices are often more nuanced than simple labels allow.

2) We deliberately keep our footprint small

One of the biggest things the score doesn’t really capture is this:

our business is intentionally small, lean, and low-impact

In the questionnaire we explained that we do not formally report Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, but that we do:

• manufacture in the UK to minimise transport emissions
• avoid supermarkets and large distribution chains
• use plastic-free packaging
• and offset estimated carbon emissions annually through tree planting with Make it Wild
• reuse packaging where possible

Now, would a large multinational publish more carbon reporting than us?
Of course it would.

But that doesn’t automatically mean it is operating more lightly.

In practical terms, Shade’s day-to-day footprint is very small:

• we work from home
• we have minimal travel
• we don’t operate warehouses or fleets
• and we don’t build our business around volume at all costs

We understand why formal climate reporting exists.
But we also think there should be room to recognise that microbusinesses often reduce impact through practical restraint, not formal emissions paperwork.

3) We reduce waste through actual business decisions

One thing we’ve always believed is that sustainability should show up in the boring, everyday decisions - not just in polished brand messaging.

In our questionnaire, we explained that:

• we reuse our inner and outer shippers
• we remove paper tape and labels and send boxes back for reuse
• we do not use printed/branded external packaging which, in our opinion, waste ink, resources, raise costs to the consumer and reduce the reusability of the boxes for other purposes
• all packaging is reusable or recyclable
• our sunscreens are packaged in recyclable aluminium tins
• we use paper or maize starch void fill
• our cardboard packaging contains 66–100% recycled content
• and our CDQZ supplement is sold in biodegradable/compostable bottles

We are also registered with EPR reporting and contribute towards recycling schemes for packaging placed on the market across Europe

That’s the kind of practical, unglamorous work we think matters.

Not because it earns points.
But because it’s simply the right thing to do.

4) We work with UK manufacturers and short supply chains

Another important point is that Shade is not made through an opaque global sourcing model.

In our submission, we explained that:

• all Shade and RoKai sunscreens and CDQZ supplement products are contract manufactured in the UK
• ingredients are sourced directly by us to maintain full visibility of origin
• we prioritise UK suppliers and family-run independent businesses
• and we intentionally maintain a short UK-based supply chain to reduce risk and improve accountability
• we only partner with suppliers who demonstrate accountability for their own supply chains

We also explained that we visit the sunscreen factory at least twice a year

This matters because small businesses are often marked down for not having the same published supply-chain infrastructure as larger companies, even when their actual supply chains are:

• shorter,
• simpler,
• easier to trace,
• and lower risk by design.

That doesn’t mean there is no room for improvement.
There always is.

But we think there is a meaningful difference between:

• not publishing a long supplier transparency page, and
• actually operating a high-risk supply chain

Those are not the same thing.

5) We formulate Shade very deliberately

Shade was created specifically as an alternative to conventional synthetic chemical sunscreens.

In the questionnaire, we confirmed that our sunscreens:

• use non-nano zinc oxide
• do not use palm oil derivatives
• do not use mica
• do not use oxybenzone
• do not use octinoxate
• do not use parabens
• do not use phthalates
• do not use triclosan
• do not use formaldehyde
• and do not use microplastics

We also stated that our sunscreens contain only four ingredients, are 72% certified organic, and 81% unrefined

That simplicity is intentional.

We’re not trying to build the most trend-driven sunscreen on the shelf.
We’re trying to make one that is lower-fuss, lower-tox, and easier to feel good about using.

6) We support small-scale, independent retail

This is another area that often gets overlooked in formal ratings.

In our submission, we noted that we primarily supply:

• independent shops
• zero waste stores
• co-operatives
• and ethical retailers

We also stated that we do not supply supermarkets or supermarket distribution chains

That is not accidental.

We actively prefer to support smaller retail models, because we believe they are often more community-minded, more resilient, and more aligned with the kind of business ecosystem we want to be part of.

Where the score doesn’t fully tell the story

We want to be fair here.

Ethical Consumer has to assess many brands using one methodology.
That is not easy.

But we do think there is a broader issue worth talking about:

ethical ratings can sometimes reward documentation more than lived practice

For example, a very small business may lose points because it does not have:

• formal emissions reporting
• a public supplier list
• Living Wage certification
• a published geopolitical sourcing policy
• or a suite of corporate governance statements

And yet that same business may still be:

• low waste
• low travel
• low packaging
• short supply chain
• UK-made
• animal-testing opposed
• fairly run
• and intentionally restrained in how it operates

That is where microbusinesses can fall through the cracks.

Not because we are doing nothing.
But because we are doing things in a way that doesn’t always produce the same kind of formal paperwork as a larger company.

So how do we feel about 61/100?

Honestly?

Proud - and realistic.

We are proud that Shade scored 61/100 in a field where the top score was 86/100.

We are proud to have been recognised at all.

And we are also realistic enough to say that some parts of the score probably reflect the limitations of applying large-business ethical frameworks to very small businesses like ours.

That doesn’t make the report useless.
But it does mean it should be read with context.

What matters most to us

At Shade, we are not trying to become a perfect scorecard company.

We are trying to build a better kind of sunscreen brand.

That means:

• thoughtful ingredients
• simpler formulations
• lower-impact packaging
• UK manufacturing
• shorter supply chains
• fairer day-to-day choices
• and trying to tread as lightly as we can

Not perfectly.
But honestly.

And we do think our customers, or potential customers, shouldn't be scared off because we scored low on 'climate' and 'workers'. 

We do what we can, reasonably, and with relevance to our tiny business model.

And as always:

one tin at a time.

Thank you

If you’ve chosen Shade, thank you.

Every order supports a very small independent business trying to do things in a more considered way - without the scale, budgets, or corporate machinery of much bigger heavily invested brands.

We’re proud of what we’ve built.
We’ll keep improving where we can.
And we’ll keep doing our best to make products that are not only healthier and effective, but responsible too.

With thanks,
Tania
Founder, Not the Norm Ltd