UPCYCLED
BEAUTY FAQS

'Recycling' refers to producing something of lesser value than the starting material. With 'upcycling', you are producing something of greater value than the already existing starting material.

Upcycled beauty describes beauty products made with or made entirely from by-products or 'waste.' These by-products are typically derived from plant-based food waste streams and can range from discarded fruit seeds to upcycled tree bark. At present, there is a very limited selection of beauty products available on the market that are made entirely from upcycled materials, but we're on a mission to change that - with your help! Join our community for the latest updates on all things upcycled beauty & to find out how you can help.

Food waste accounts for 8% of all greenhouse gasses, and over 1/3 of all food is discarded.

At The Upcycled Beauty Company, we want to help tackle the global food waste crisis by finding value in these waste streams and presenting beauty brands with the opportunity to get involved too.

We believe that these by-products deserve to be seen as the valuable resources they are, rather than as trash. This is exactly why we created our range of upcycled ingredients. By taking plant-based leftovers that would typically go to waste and upcycling them into unique cosmetic ingredients, we can directly replace conventional ingredients (without compromising performance or efficacy), whilst helping to divert waste from landfill.

Let’s not limit ourselves to food waste though. Our Charcoal CRUSH™ range is a by-product of a by-product; offcuts from sustainable oak fencing are used to provide restaurant quality charcoal and we upcycle the smaller pieces that they cannot use.

There are plenty of beauty brands on the market that are using upcycled ingredients and we champion them wherever we can. You can find examples of upcycled beauty brands through the Brand Spotlights page on our website or head over to @UpcycledBeautyCo for even more upcycled beauty content!

Currently, the beauty economy runs primarily on a 'take-make-dispose' model. Circular beauty is a term used to describe a green business model that focuses on repairing, reusing and extending a product's life-cycle by minimising waste across all aspects of the supply chain. To achieve circular beauty, the business must look at every step in the creation of the product; from the ingredients used to how the packaging is disposed of. Want to learn more about circular beauty? Download a free copy of our Zero Waste Beauty Trends Report to explore the future of circular beauty.