4 best Shopify themes for sustainable or ethical skincare brands
Your online store is more than just a place to sell - it’s a reflection of your brand’s values and the positive impact you’re working to create through your product. For conscious skincare brands (whether you focus on sustainability, ethical sourcing or organic formulations), choosing the right Shopify theme is a meaningful step in creating an engaging customer experience that reflects your commitment to quality, transparency and protecting or restoring our planet.
To help you find the perfect fit, we’ve curated a list with four of our favourite Shopify themes that are particularly well-suited to conscious beauty brands.
01 | Broadcast
PERFECT FOR SHOWCASING SKINCARE RESULTS
Broadcast is a visually stunning theme, perfect for showing your skincare products in their best light. Their Before and after image slider is one of our favourite features, as it allows your customers to see the real, impactful results your products can deliver. It’s a simple yet powerful way to build trust and show your commitment to transparency.
Additional features we love:
Cross-selling: Encourage customers to explore complementary products (such as pairing a facial cleanser with a matching moisturiser) to help customers build a complete routine - and increase your average order value.
Countdown timer: Create a sense of excitement around your product launches or promotions, especially if you have limited production, small-batch runs or products that are seasonal.
In-menu promotions: You can highlight specific products directly in your navigation menu to increase their visibility (such as a product where part of the profits directly supports environmental causes).
Broadcast is usually our first choice for a Shopify theme for brands that value storytelling and want to connect with their audience through an elevated look and feel.
02 | Portland
MINIMAL AND INTENTIONAL FOR SMALL RANGES
Portland has a clean and minimal design, which makes it ideal for brands with smaller catalogues or curated collections. It’s a very elegant theme (a great option if you’re not very comfortable with design), which allows you to tell your story with intention while giving your audience a seamless shopping experience.
Features that we love:
Flexible sections: You can tell your brand story in a really unique way, by highlighting your sustainability practices, ingredient sourcing or even showcasing rituals that align with your brand ethos (as in our example below).
Variant picker: Make it really easy and engaging for customers to choose between product sizes, packaging options or formulations - this is ideal if your brand also offers refill options.
Mobile-optimised layouts: You can give your customers a seamless experience on mobile as well, allowing them to explore your products while still providing beautifully designed layouts that tell a story.
Portland is a great choice for brands wanting a clean and professional look that feels sophisticated and approachable at the same time, which is exactly what we did for our client Serein (below).
03 | Sahara
AN EASY SETUP FOR NEW FOUNDERS
Sahara is designed for brands that want a professional and modern website, without the complexity of custom design or the need to hire a designer. It has very intuitive sections and layouts that would allow you to set up your online store quickly, while still creating an elevated experience for your customers.
Additional features that we love:
Product badges: Highlight new products or help your customers shop products by values (such as organic or vegan) with badges that add a subtle yet effective cue to your product catalogues.
Shoppable sections: Show real customers using your products from your social media account directly on your website, which can build more trust with customers and see your skincare being used in real life.
Quick shop feature: Make it really easy for customers to buy your products (or restock their skincare essentials) directly from your homepage or collections pages, for a really simple and seamless experience.
Sahara is ideal for founders at the start of their journey, who are looking for a beautiful website that doesn’t compromise on quality or impact.
04 | Combine
MODERN AND MEMORABLE FOR LARGER RANGES
Combine is a very powerful and modern theme, ideal for brands with larger product catalogues that want to focus on customisation. Their unique Bundle builder feature (a rare one among Shopify themes!) can allow your customers to create their own skincare sets or rituals, by selecting products that work together and encouraging more mindful purchasing.
Additional features that we love:
Customisable landing pages: You can create dedicated pages for product launches to get customers excited for new launches or dedicate a page to your new sustainability campaign, so you can bring your mission to life and really connect with your customers.
Parallax slider: Tell your brand story or guide your customers through skincare rituals with subtle animations that can give your website depth and create an immersive brand experience
Sticky add-to-cart button: Keep the ‘add to cart’ button visible on the product page even as customers explore the page, learning more about your natural ingredients, exploring your brand values or reading product reviews.
Combine is usually our first choice for more mature brands that focus on creating a more personalised website that offers a memorable shopping experience, like we did for our client Nulla below.
Why Shopify theme features matter for eco-conscious brands
If you are a purpose-driven business, your website is an extension of your mission. All four themes listed above include features designed to help you tell your story and connect with your audience on a deeper level. Here are three additional features that we’ve found useful when we’ve built websites for eco-conscious skincare or beauty brands in the past:
Customisable product pages: All of these themes have specific sections that would allow you to highlight key ingredients and their benefits and product certifications, or go in more depth into your brand values and sustainability commitments.
Dynamic product filtering: You can make it very easy for customers to find what they’re looking for based on their skin concerns or values such as vegan, organic, etc.
Product videos: You can use this feature to create a more personalised experience for your customers (such as recording a short video on your brand’s mission or story for your About page) or to share customer testimonials, which are more powerful than written ones.
As you’re deciding what Shopify theme suits your brand needs, pay attention to more than just the designs or layouts of the theme - consider the functionality of each theme and its unique features. Most of the design choices (such as the fonts, colours and most layouts) can be changed, so focusing on the function (rather than the form) will ensure that you purchase a theme that will serve your business for longer.
Whether you want to highlight your product’s ingredients, use storytelling to connect with your customers or create an intuitive shopping journey, I hope this article inspires you to choose your theme with confidence.
If you are a beauty brand looking to move to Shopify or update your existing website, we can help bring your vision to life. Our studio has worked with a variety of beauty and skincare brands over the years, and we’ve helped them design websites that not only look beautiful and elevated but also connect with their audience and drive their mission forward, which in turn converts into more sales. Let's work together!
