An Ethical Guide for Tarte Cosmetics

Image: Viva Glam Magazine

If you’re an avid makeup lover, Tarte Cosmetics is a brand you definitely have in your makeup drawers. The popular brand is known for their bright and fun packaging, as well as their “good-for-you” ingredients. The brand offers cruelty-free cosmetics, while also boasting vegan skincare.

However, it’s not all glitz and glamour for this brand. Like so many other companies, Tarte has been faced with crisis situations before. Most recently, the company received major backlash after releasing a foundation that many consumers felt didn’t offer dark enough shades. In order to avoid such crisis situations in the future, here is an outline of a code of ethics for Tarte.

Code of Ethics

1. Educate the market on the importance of the “good-for-you” ingredients being used in your products. Explain why it is important that the brand is cruelty-free, never testing the products on animals. Share why the company feels this is an important principle in its identity. Why should these values make your market want to purchase your products?
2. Take action. Create equal amounts of product shades for each range (i.e. light, medium and dark). Promote all types of skin tones and types on social platforms. Perhaps create a client testimonial campaign, showcasing the diversity across their products.
3. Provide transparency with your audience. It is important to make your audience aware when social posts are ads, vs. when influencers or customers are leaving honest reviews. This gets particularly tricky in the beauty community, as many YouTubers and other influencers receive PR packages. Make your followers aware of when they are seeing authentic content vs. paid advertising.
4. Promote positive conversation in the beauty community. This community can be hard to market in, as there is such an emphasis on physical beauty. It is important to remind your customers and audience the importance of inner beauty. Promote the ideas of embracing flaws and seeing others with grace.

The makeup industry can be a difficult one when it comes to remaining ethical. Overcoming the stereotypes of focusing only on looks and appearances can be a hard path to walk. With the ability of social media, it is easy for consumers to start conversation about your brand, whether it be positively or negatively. This is why it is not only important to monitor what is being said about your brand, but to listen as well.