“Phthalate-free” appears on a lot of labels, ours included, usually without much explanation of what a phthalate is or why it's there in the first place. So here's the honest version: what they are, where they turn up, what regulators actually say, and why we leave them out of our formulas.
What phthalates are
Phthalates are a family of chemicals — there are dozens of them — originally developed to make plastics softer and more flexible. That's still their main industrial use, in everything from flooring to packaging to medical tubing.
A small number of them found a second use in cosmetics, where they work as solvents rather than plasticisers. The one you're most likely to encounter is diethyl phthalate, or DEP, which is used to carry and stabilise fragrance and to keep scent from fading too quickly.
Where they turn up, and why you often can't see them
The reason phthalates are hard to spot on a label isn't that anyone is hiding them. It's that fragrance formulations are treated as proprietary, so a scent made up of dozens of components can be listed as a single ingredient: fragrance, or parfum. If a phthalate is present as a fragrance solvent, it usually sits inside that one word.
That's why “fragrance” is the line people watch. Not because the word means something bad is in there, but because it's the one place on an ingredient list where you genuinely can't tell what's in there.
What regulators actually say
This is where a lot of natural beauty writing overstates its case, so we'd rather set it out plainly and let you read the sources yourself.
In the European Union, a list of phthalates — including dibutyl phthalate (DBP), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) and diisobutyl phthalate (DiBP) — is prohibited in cosmetic products under Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009. DEP, the one commonly used as a fragrance solvent, is not on that prohibited list.
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration's published position is that it “does not have evidence that phthalates as used in cosmetics pose a safety risk”, and that it does not have safety concerns about DEP as currently used in cosmetics and fragrances.
In Australia, chemical ingredients in cosmetics are regulated by the Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS), which has published individual assessment reports on several phthalates including DEP, dibutyl phthalate and dimethyl phthalate.
So: some phthalates are restricted in cosmetics in some markets, the one most used in cosmetics currently isn't, and the research on this family of chemicals is ongoing. We're a small beauty brand, not a toxicologist, and we're not going to tell you what to conclude from that. The links at the end go to the bodies whose job it is.
Why we formulate without them anyway
Our reason is simpler than a safety argument, and it isn't a claim about anyone else's products.
Pure Earth formulas are scented with essential oils — Lavender, Lemon Myrtle, Bergamot, Mandarin, Rosemary, Lime. Because the scent comes from the oils themselves rather than from a synthetic fragrance blend, there's nothing in our formulas that needs a fragrance solvent to carry it. A phthalate would have no job to do.
That sits inside a broader approach: short ingredient lists, every ingredient disclosed, and nothing included unless it's doing something. When a customer asks what's in a bottle, we want the answer to be the label, in full, with no single word standing in for thirty others.
Every Pure Earth product is formulated without sulphates (SLS/SLES), parabens, silicones, phenoxyethanol, phthalates, synthetic fragrance and animal derivatives. All are vegan and made in Australia.
If you want to avoid them
Whatever you make of the research, avoiding phthalates in your routine is straightforward:
Look for products scented with essential oils, or fragrance-free ones. If a product names its scent ingredients individually, there's no undisclosed fragrance blend to wonder about.
Read the ingredient list to the end. “Fragrance” or “parfum” near the bottom of the list is the entry to notice.
Check for an explicit statement. Brands that formulate without phthalates generally say so, and should be willing to confirm it if you ask.
Ask. Any brand should be able to tell you what's in their fragrance. If they can't or won't, that's information too.
Where to read more
Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS) — the regulator for chemical ingredients in cosmetics in Australia, including published assessment reports on individual phthalates
Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products — the EU cosmetics regulation, including the Annex II list of prohibited substances
US Food and Drug Administration — Phthalates in Cosmetics — the FDA's current published position
General information only, current at September 2026. Regulatory positions change — the sources above are the authoritative versions. Nothing here is health advice, and we make no claim that any Pure Earth product treats, prevents or affects any health condition.
