OUR MISSION
SHAPING THE NEXT GENERATION
OF SUSTAINABLE BEAUTY
In 2017, we made it our mission to not only help beauty & personal care brands reduce waste, but to reuse it too. We’re out to prove that the beauty industry can thrive solely using upcycled materials – from ingredients to packaging.
BE INFORMED
RAISING AWARENESS & GROWING THE DEMAND FOR UPCYCLED BEAUTY.
In 2017, we made it our mission to change the perception of ‘waste’ and bring upcycling into the spotlight. We've even gone as far as proving that upcycled cosmetic ingredients can often outperform other conventional ingredients.
It’s now a trend firmly on everyone’s radar, but it's not over yet; we’re on a journey to make upcycling a movement that’s here to stay by continuing to raise awareness & grow the demand for upcycled beauty.
THIS IS
WASTE
AS FEATURED ON
MADE FROM WASTE
BE INSPIRED
HELPING BRANDS MAKE MORE SUSTAINABLE CHOICES.
Our Zero Waste Beauty Report offers the latest market insights and inspiration - from ingredients to packaging and sustainable manufacturing processes - whilst our Brand Spotlights champion brands who are raising their sustainability game.
TAKE ACTION
MAKING UPCYCLED COSMETIC INGREDIENTS MORE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL.
To make upcycled cosmetic ingredients more accessible to all, we’ve developed the Upcycled Ingredient Directory – a searchable directory of upcycled ingredients comprising of actives, functional ingredients and so much more, from manufacturers all around the globe. You might recognise our portfolio of Upcycled Certified™ ingredients. Launched in 2017, our NECTA™, TONIQ™ and CRUSH™ ranges come with no MOQs to further reduce waste across the supply chain.
MADE FROM WASTE
WE ARE B CORP CERTIFIED
We manufacture upcycled ingredients from what the food and drink industry throws away. These are supplied to formulators, manufacturers and beauty brands who want their supply chain to answer to the same standard we do. Since May 2024, we've been B Corp certified alongside our sister company and we're now going through recertification as a standalone business, verified independently by B Lab against the highest bar for social and environmental performance today.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A B CORP?
B Corp Certification is issued by B Lab, the non-profit that has spent almost two decades building an independent standard for what it means to run a business responsibly. Getting certified isn't a marketing exercise, it's a legal and operational commitment.
Certified B Corporations meet demonstrably high standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability. B Corps legally embed the interests of workers, customers, suppliers, community and the environment into how the company is governed, not just its mission statement.
The Upcycled Beauty Company is one of a global community of B Corps, over 10,000 businesses across more than 100 countries, using business as a force for good rather than treating sustainability as an add-on. We sit alongside consumer brands, who've made the same legal and public commitment, at every point in the supply chain. Worldwide, only a tiny fraction of B Corps (fewer than 30 companies, by some estimates) are upstream ingredient and R&D providers like us.
You can read our full, independently audited profile any time on B Lab's public directory
WHY WE CHOSE B CORP
In beauty and personal care, brands buying "sustainable" ingredients often have no way to verify what's actually behind them. B Corp gives us a framework to hold our own operation to the same high standard we ask our customers to trust us on.
Certification pushes us to formalise our mission through action — from our supplier partnerships, our energy use, our pay ratios and our climate plan. For brands formulating with our actives, our environmental and social claims aren't ours to grade. B Corp status means an independent third party has already verified our company and conduct.
HOW B CORP CERTIFICATION WORKS
Since April 2025, B Lab certifies against fixed requirements, not just a score. B Lab overhauled its standards in 2025, its biggest change in almost 20 years. Instead of letting companies pick their strongest areas to offset weaker ones, every B Corp must now clear three Foundation Requirements, then meet a defined bar across seven mandatory Impact Topics. Here's how we're held to it.
ELIGIBILITY
Legally incorporated, trading for 12+ months, operating outside excluded industries, and fully compliant with UK law.
LEGAL COMMITMENT
Stakeholder governance written into our company's constitution, and our signature on B Lab's Declaration of Interdependence.
RISK MANAGEMENT
A completed risk profile covering our sector, supply chain and geography, with any additional due diligence it requires.
THE SEVEN IMPACT TOPICS
Every certified B Corp must meet requirements in all seven of these areas. Below is what each topic means in practice and some examples of how we're approaching our impact as a UK-based manufacturer of upcycled raw materials for the beauty industry.
01
Purpose & Stakeholder Governance
Requires a defined company purpose, and governance structures that give real oversight to social and environmental performance — not just shareholder return.
Our Approach: Our directors are accountable, in writing, to workers, suppliers, customers and the environment alongside shareholders, with impact reviewed at board level.
02
Fair Work
Covers pay, contracts, safety and voice — with a baseline expectation that the lowest-paid workers earn a living wage or collectively bargained rate.
Our Approach: We're a Real Living Wage employer and give every team member a route to raise concerns without going through a manager.
03
Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Assesses whether a company actively builds an inclusive workplace and supply chain, rather than treating diversity as a statement of intent.
Our Approach: Anonymised hiring, pay-gap reporting, and a by-product sourcing network that actively looks beyond our existing processors.
04
Human Rights
Requires companies to identify the human rights risks most relevant to their operations and supply chain, and act to prevent and remedy them.
Our Approach: Audits on every new by-product stream with traceability back to the farm (in some cases), processor or producer it was reclaimed from.
05
Climate Action
Requires a credible plan to cut emissions in line with limiting global warming, covering direct operations and the wider supply chain.
Our Approach: Local circular sourcing, renewable energy at our production site, defined packaging policy including recyclable aluminium and PCR UN-approved containers.
06
Environmental Stewardship & Circularity
Looks at material use, waste and biodiversity impact across the full product life cycle — the topic closest to our mission.
Our Approach: Limited primary resources used, every active comes from a waste stream, never grown or farmed to compete with the food chain.
07
Government Affairs & Collective Action
Asks companies to act beyond their own four walls — responsible lobbying, fair tax practice, and contributing to collective progress on shared issues.
Our Approach: No political lobbying against environmental legislation. Member of the B-Beauty Coalition, Sustainable Beauty Coalition and Circular Cosmetic Collective.