Eco Cosmetics

Eco Cosmetics is a German natural-cosmetics company based in Laatzen, near Hannover, best known for mineral-filter sun protection and certified-organic skincare. It was founded in 1993 by the naturopath Dieter Sorge and the trained natural cosmetician Gudrun Stirner, who had met as colleagues at another natural-cosmetics firm [5]. The business remains an independent, family-run operation and continues to sell directly through its own online shop and through European natural-cosmetics retailers.

The company began not as a cosmetics label but as a supplier of essential oils. Trading first as Venus, Sorge & Stirner GbR, it provided aromatherapy oils to alternative-medicine practitioners before broadening its range to soaps, supplements and cosmetics in 1998 [8]. It adopted the name eco cosmetics GmbH & Co. KG in 2004 [8].

Dieter Sorge worked as a Heilpraktiker, a German non-physician practitioner of natural medicine, before turning to cosmetics. Together with Gudrun Stirner, who had been trained in natural cosmetics, he built the early company around the Venus essential-oil series aimed at practitioners. According to the trade magazine Schrot&Korn, Stirner later spent fifteen years running her own practice before returning to the company in a deputy-management role, while Dieter Sorge's daughter Leyla Sorge joined as a co-owner and introduced black cumin oil to the range [5].

The decisive turn came in 2004. The same year it took its current name, the company introduced what third-party profiles describe as Germany's first natural-cosmetics line certified under Ecocert guidelines [7]. In 2005 it presented a sun-care series built on mineral light filters at BioFach in Nuremberg, the large organic trade fair [7]. A further milestone followed in 2011, when, according to Schrot&Korn, it launched a natural sunscreen with SPF 50+ that could be worn comfortably rather than sitting thick on the skin [5].

Eco Cosmetics positions itself on the idea that nature already provides what skin needs. Its German tagline, "Kosmetik aus dem Schatzkästchen der Natur" (cosmetics from nature's treasure chest), frames a philosophy that, in the company's words, combines traditional plant knowledge with modern formulations and gentle manufacturing. The brand emphasises ingredient transparency, listing the percentage of each ingredient on its packaging, and describes itself throughout as an independent family business rather than part of a larger group. Its stated mission is to be "good for you and your skin, so you feel more beautiful, healthier and more confident."

Sun protection is the line most associated with the company. Its range centres on mineral UV filters, which editorial profiles note are reef-safe, and extends to facial care, body care, hair care, baby and child care, and oral care. Named product lines include ECO naturals, ECO revital and the Beautify CC creams; the company also runs a separate organic-cosmetics brand, ey! Cosmetics. Beyond sun care, it has become known for organic tattoo care [6]. Several lines are formulated for sensitive and allergy-prone skin and draw on ingredients such as black cumin, sea buckthorn, noni oil and pomegranate.

Production is split across two countries: manufacturing takes place largely in Portugal — where the company works with two brothers, João and Joaquim — while research and development is handled at its laboratory in northern Germany [5].

Environmental claims sit at the centre of how the company presents itself. Its products carry Ecocert Cosmos Organic certification, which requires at least 95% organic plant-derived ingredients, and the company states it has held Ecocert certification since 2004. Editorial sources also report Veganblume (vegan) certification [5].

The company says it was the first natural-cosmetics firm in Germany to be made CO2-neutral, certified through the association Prima Klima e.V. [6]. It points to a range of further measures: solar-powered production, spring water drawn from a private well in a Portuguese nature reserve, folding boxes made from at least 90% recycled paper, and a shift toward mono-material packaging to improve recyclability. The company also describes carbon offsetting through Climate Partner — citing 6,215 kg of CO2 compensated — and supports reforestation and ocean-protection projects.

Eco Cosmetics remains active. It operates a live direct-to-consumer shop, maintains current Instagram and Facebook presences, and continues to be stocked by European natural-cosmetics resellers. By the accounts of editorial profiles, it has run as an independent family business for more than thirty years.

Sources differ on the company's exact address. Its own legal notice gives Bremer Str. 7a, 30880 Laatzen [4], while the third-party business directory Creditreform lists Hildesheimer Str. 353 in the same postal district [11]; both place the company in Laatzen.