Companies and Brands

Avoid All Essential Oil Brands Except These 10

Aaron Webber

Published: July 24, 2024 12:30 pm

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• The essential oil market is lightly regulated, so many products are fake or have harmful ingredients.
• Many essential oil companies use predatory multi-level marketing to sell their sub-par products.
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Just like every other industry, the essential oil market is full of fraud, misleading marketing, synthetic ingredients, harmful chemicals, exploitative manufacturing and sourcing, sketchy and abusive multi-level marketing, and much more. If you use essential oils or want to begin using them, where should you begin? Which companies should you avoid? Which ones are best?

Essential oils are barely regulated, so many ingredients and practices often fly under the radar, adversely impacting the end user (you). That being said, if you want to find your next favorite essential oil provider, there are a few things you can look out for. These include independent third-party GC/MS testing, transparent sourcing and manufacturing practices, available safety guides, in-depth ingredient lists, employee-owned companies, and no multi-level marketing practices.

Here is our list of companies and brands that check most, if not all, of these boxes. Please enjoy this list of reputable, ethical, and wholesome essential oil brands.

Why Are We Talking About This?

It’s hard enough to navigate the labyrinth of American consumerism and the confusing morass of different regulatory authorities, rules, and laws. You can’t trust the companies themselves to give you trustworthy information. So, we looked into the industry and found the companies that you can trust with your essential oil needs so you actually get what you pay for and support worthwhile companies.

#1 Jade Bloom

• Ethics: Fairtrade, Organic, Cruelty-free,

You will notice that a lot of essential oil companies are based in Utah, and normally, that would raise red flags regarding multi-level marketing (also known as legal pyramid schemes). So, when we looked into Jade Bloom, we really appreciated that they value education about essential oils. It has a “Jade Boom University,” free courses where you can earn points to get free products up to $35. It also insists on its website that it believes in scientifically proven ways to prevent illness, and essential oils being used in tandem with traditional medicine. Besides a vast array of essential oils, some of its offerings include oral care, deodorant, soap, shampoo, skincare, ointments, and even tea.

It also has a strong commitment to quality by becoming the first company to “start publishing GC-MS batch testing results and making them available to the public. Since then, the industry has followed suit.” It offers a No-Risk policy to back its claim. The price point of its oils is very affordable as well.

#2 Aromatherapy Associates

• Ethics: Certified B Corp, Recyclable Packaging, Diversity and Inclusion Action Board, 100% Renewable Energy, 

Aromatherapy Associates founders Geraldine Howard and Sue Beechey, trained under Micheline Arcier, who was a student of the original aromatherapy pioneers, Maury and Jean Valnet M.D.

Aromatherapy Associates

Since the 1970s, Aromatherapy Associates have been leaders in the aromatherapy world. It prides itself in being the “gold standard,” of the essential oils market.

Besides offering “therapy grade,” products, 10% of proceeds from its Inner Strength Blend supports immunotherapy research from the Defense Against Cancer Foundation. It has also given 100,000 pounds worth of products to healthcare workers and donated 25,000 pounds to Mind, a UK-based mental health charity.   

#3 Plant Therapy

• Ethics: Kid-safe, Leaping Bunny Certified, USDA Organic Certified

Things we love about Plant Therapy: legitimate certifications, published third-party GC/MS test reports that you can find by looking up your product’s batch code, lists of oils that are safe for kids, pregnancy, nursing, ponies, and puppies, and a robust resource library that includes DIYs, coloring pages, printable charts, and safety information.

Some of its bestsellers include its Lavender Essential Oil, Germ Fighter Blend, Lemon Essential Oil, and Peppermint Essential Oil. Besides oils, its offerings include skin care, household products, supplements, and diffusers.

#4 Bloomtown

• Ethics: Good Shopping Guide Ethical Beauty, Palm Oil Free, Cruelty-Free, Vegan, Woman-Owned

UK-based company Bloomtown blends and pours its oils locally in Cornwall. It is actually the UK’s very first Independently Certified Palm Oil-Free Company, which is an excellent achievement. It continues its earth-friendly pursuits by using glass bottles, jars, biodegradable starch packaging, and paper tape.

Some of its best sellers include its Restfulness Essential Oil Set, Sleep, Relax, Mindfulness Essential Oil Set, and Balance. When you purchase from Bloomtown, you can be sure that forests are safe, people are safe, and you are safe.

#5 Thistle Farms

• Ethics: Woman-owned, nonprofit, Gives Back, Social Justice

We couldn’t find any official certificates on its website, but what we did find excited us! Thistle Farms is first and foremost a non-profit. Its mission is to help women recover from prostitution, addiction, homelessness, and addiction. They do this by providing 36 safe places to live, a job, and a community. Thistle Farms uses the enterprise branch of manufacturing and selling products to support its social enterprise. Some of its most popular oils are Breathe, Balance, Calm, and Comfort. Besides that, it offers candles, body products, apparel, books, and accessories.

#6 Appalachian Botanical Co.

• Ethics: Hiring Locals, Post-Use Land, Organic, GMO-Free, USA Made

Appalachian Botanical Co. not only has excellent products but is investing in its West Virginian community by using reclaimed post-mining land to grow its GMO-free lavender and raise bees. It also exclusively hires locals who can face a lot of employment barriers in the region. It teams up with local organizations to provide outside support for its employees and integrates its own services for employees such as transportation, clothing, and meals. It pays employees above minimum wage.

Appalachian Botanical Co.

Appalachian Botanical Co. reclaims once unusable land, uses organic farming practices, and produces high-quality eco-conscious products. Lavender happens to thrive in the rocky soil that mines typically have and is a quick-growing crop, which helps the coal mine landowners reclaim the land more quickly than reforestation.

Besides a number of lavender-based aromatherapy products, they offer jasmine lime mist, Honeysuckle Sandalwood Mist, Neroli Eye Cream, Creamy Lip Balm, and Lavender Essential Oil (of course). Its essential oil is hand-harvested, steam-distilled, and is 100% pure.  

#7 RE Botanicals

• Ethics: USDA Certified Organic, USDA NOP Certified, Third-Party Tested, Glyphosate Residue Free Certified, 1% For Regenerative Agriculture

RE Botanicals doesn’t offer typical essential oils. RE Botanicals offers essential oils paired with USDA Certified Organic CBD oil and MCT oil. Each roller bottle of essential oils contains either 200mg or 500mg of CBD. We love that RE Botanicals publishes its lab results (CoA) on its website.

It is a member of the California Hemp Council, Hemp Industries Association, AHPA, and Vote Hemp. Its most popular sellers are Relief Peppermint Oil, Extra Strength Relief Lavender Body Oil, and Ginger Lime Relief Body Oil.

#8 Aura Cacia

• Ethics: Woman-Owned, Member Owned Co-op, Giving Back

Aura Cacia isn’t only a purveyor of fine essential oils and other products, they have an impressive Positive Change Project which donates money to organizations that are focused on helping women and girls through a variety of areas including employment, self-confidence building, mentorship, stability, self-sufficiency, and positive self-image. Since 2016, they have donated more than $1 Million. Some of its organization partners include the Calvary Women’s Services, Resonance Center for Women, and ACHIEVEability.

Some 100% Pure Essential Oils they offer are Lavender, Cedarwood, Sweet Basil, and Texas Cedarwood. There are over 125 different essential oils to choose from. If you don’t know where to start, you can visit its handy Essential Oils Guide.

#9 Rowe Casa

• Ethics: Third Party Testing, Cruelty-Free, Plant-Based, Made in USA, Woman-Owned

Rowe Casa is a non-MLM small business that works with organic chemists and gets its products third-party tested. Founded by sisters Jill and Alicia, started their company when they were frustrated with the lack of transparency in the wellness market. Each product comes with a purity report QR Code right on the bottle. You can also look up the purity report on its website with each report being LOT # specific.

Besides essential oils, you can also purchase body care, hair care, pets, baby, household, and outdoor products. It carries 58 different oils to choose from including Immunity, Allergy, Spa, Amaretto, Lemon, Tropical, and Eucalyptus. Each product has a clearly marked caution/warning label right on the website.

#10 Rocky Mountain Oils

• Ethics: Third Party Tested, 90-Day Satisfaction Guarantee, Sustainably Sourced

Rocky Mountain Oils is committed to transparency and high quality. It offers a S.A.A.F.E Promise that guarantees Satisfaction, Authenticity, Analysis, Free of Adulterants, and Effective & Pure. This is by far the most transparent company that we’ve reviewed on our list. Besides the transparency, it also has a loyalty program to earn savings.

Some of its best-sellers include Orange Essential Oil, Peppermint Essential Oil, Tea Tree, and Lavender. Its oils have won various awards from Yahoo!, Women’s Health, and Bustle. It has also appeared in Vogue, the Chicago Tribune, The New Yorker, and Women’s Health.