74 UPCYCLED INGREDIENTS
Upcycled ingredients: where the future lies
Katie Chester - Smink Laboratories
Sustainability has been defined as the ‘avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance’.1
by including recyclable packaging, carbon- neutral ingredients, multifunctional products and biodegradable claims. Another option to support the sustainability movement is upcycling. Upcycling, which was the Cambridge
Dictionary word of the year in 2019, is becoming commonplace within the personal care industry. It is not a new phenomenon in the industry; upcycled ingredients such as lanolin have been used for thousands of years, but the upcycled ingredients market is predicted to have a compound annual growth rate of 6.4% between 2022 and 2032.2 Do we as an industry and consumers truly
understand what upcycling is? As these types of ingredients become used ever more widely across cosmetics, have we reached a point where we need to define upcycling precisely and deeply explore the innovation it could offer? An upcycled cosmetic ingredient or finished product is not legally defined.3
However, there
are a range of definitions in use. According to Oxford Languages, the verb, upcycled, is defined as ‘items that have already been used and then made into something of greater quality or value than the original item’.1 According to Natrue, upcycling is ‘the process
of transforming by-products, waste materials or discarded objects into new materials or products’.4
For this article, the definition used
for upcycling will be the procedure of starting with a waste product and processing it into a useful product. This can be from waste of the
On the surface, upcycling seems like a This topic
has been growing in prominence across multiple industries and personal care is no exception. The beauty industry is embracing sustainability
favourable option, both from an economic, and efficiency point of view. Nevertheless, as with many sustainability topics, it is rarely black and white.
Benefits of upcycling On the one hand, converting waste materials into useful products is a positive. Creating upcycled materials can increase profits for the supplier, by making money from waste material. It would ensure that waste is minimised, and therefore efficiency of product usage is maximised. In agriculture, this is particularly pertinent when discussing land and water use. Depending on where the waste is going, by
effectively removing or decreasing this waste, even more space could become available due to a reduction in landfill sites. Additionally, as legislation around waste responsibility and disposal increases, upcycling is likely to become even more important to suppliers. Upcycling also provides an alternate route for
same or alternate industry. An example is using discarded coffee cherry from the coffee industry and upcycling it to create a new cosmetic raw ingredient. It is worth noting the difference between
upcycling, downcycling and recycling. Recycling is reusing materials; it could be argued that both upcycling and downcycling are a form of recycling. Upcycling is adding value to a ‘low value’ product such as waste. Downcycling is re-using a waste material into
a product of lower value- for example, reusing paper into toilet paper. There is an element of subjectivity within this as the value of an object is not absolute.
supply chains. Over the last five years, there have been wide-reaching supply chain problems due to uncontrollable factors such as the Suez Canal blockage and the Covid-19 pandemic. Additionally, with the climate crisis causing
extreme weather patterns, supply chains relying on natural ingredient sources may come under risk. Upcycling is a tool businesses can utilise to support their supply chain, and gain the most from each product they have. This way of working can encourage collaboration across industries.
Drawbacks of upcycling If a large amount of water, energy and other resources are required to convert the waste material into a material of value this may mean it is not the most efficient or sustainable option. Sourcing upcycled ingredients can add an extra layer of complexity; you can become reliant on other industries that fluctuate beyond your control. Additionally, another industry may not
Figure 1: The difference between recycling, upcycling and downcycling PERSONAL CARE October 2024
comply with the same regulations and standards as the personal care industry and the selection of a suitable waste stream is crucial. Not all sources can yield safe and valuable materials for product creation, limiting the options available. There can be variability in the levels of active components from batch to batch, due to the nature of the waste. This added complication for manufacturers can be overcome as it is a challenge that can be seen with many natural
www.personalcaremagazine.com
Credit: Mibelle Biochemistry
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