It can be alarming to see your bathroom dustbin so regularly and rapidly fill up. And, let’s be honest, recycling everything properly – from removing pump springs and labels, to cleaning out the contents of bottles and staying up to date on your local council’s regulations – can be pretty time-consuming. If you’re doing all this already, we salute you!
For those of you who aren’t – you’re not alone. According to the British Beauty Council, only 9% of the industry's packaging is actually recycled in the UK. But the good news is that the zero-waste movement is empowering companies from all corners of the globe to take action, and we now have a raft of forward-thinking brands making a change. Instead of sticking with the linear take-make-waste model, they’re embracing a circular economy, ensuring resources are kept in circulation and waste is eliminated or minimised at every stage. Keep reading for a list of all these pioneering products.
As the Ellen MacArthur Foundation points out, in a circular economy we stop waste from being produced in the first place. And so, as BRiMM's head of beauty, former beauty editor at Grazia and all-round self-care fan, I’ve dug deep to find some remarkable brands making award-winning products from upcycled ingredients with zero-waste packaging – creating circular eco-systems.
- Pick Products That Use Upcycled Ingredients
More and more brands are closing the loop on waste and opting for upcycled ingredients to create their products. Take for example Upcircle, who work with over 55 upcycled ingredients, coffee being the main one (they’ve collected and transformed more than 450 tonnes!). They collect coffee grounds from local cafés and transform it into low-impact skincare products. They also use pink berries, waste from the fragrance industry, and unsold rose petals from the floristry industry. Each one adds a powerful attribute to the product it’s included in, such as potent antioxidants to soothe skin and improve irritations.
Add to that My Skin Feels, who use ingredients like reduced breakfast oats, orange juice and tomato ketchup to power up their dermatologically approved skincare. Their smart manufacturer has figured out a way to ferment traditionally ‘non-fermentable’ ingredients using a special type of chemistry, resulting in a sensitive skin wonder worker – which even shows signs of dramatically improving eczema.
My Skin Feels Moisturised Moisturiser
- Look Out For Zero-Waste Packaging
A staggering 95% of cosmetic packaging is thrown away (again, according to the British Beauty Council) – a stat that has inspired some very smart thinkers to entirely rethink how we contain things. Take for example It’s About All Of Us (formerly known as Haeckels), Wildsmith and Hair By Sam McKnight: they’re all using a material in their packaging made from Vivomer, a bio-based, homecompostable, 'plastic-like' material made by microbes. Once you’re finished with your product you can simply add the container to your compost and it’ll fully break down, leaving nothing behind.
We also really commend SBTRCT who have ensured all of their packaging can be domestically compostable, from the cartons, to the paper, to even the tamper seal. This means you can put it in your compost bin at home and it will biodegrade into fertile soil for use in your garden. No rinsing, no drying, no nothing. Check out our interview with the founder, Ben Grace.
And then there are excellent refill models (and/or 'concentrates', created by the likes of SBTRCT and Upcircle), that significantly reduce the need for excess packaging in the first place.
Discovery Set Bamboo_SBTRCT
- Support Circular Eco-Systems
In order for us to reach the UK’s goal of being net zero for greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, we need to optimise the production process, fast! From manufacturing and distribution to product use – every stage plays a part. That includes trialling, testing and sourcing ingredients. Optimising operations is essential.
Brands like Pelegrims are acquiring, formulating, trialling and manufacturing all in the same lab and production centre, located close to (20 minutes’ away) from Westwell Wines, the vineyard that provides them with the grape extracts their skincare is made using. “We literally see the process all the way through from seed (vine) to bottled product,” says Alex Verier, their founder. “While it might take a year to make a small batch – to ensure quality and performance – we know everything and every step of the process. This limits our carbon footprint and we also have direct traceability from seed to bottle.”
Upcircle Conditioner Haircare
It’s About All Of Us Reef Complex Skin Oil
Hair by Sam McKnight Pure Genius 98% Natural Scalp Restoring Oil
Wildsmith Skin Active Repair Copper Peptide Cream
Pelegrims Hand Cleanser and Hand Cream Set
