76 UPCYCLED INGREDIENTS
already been used, this means it is easier to ensure high levels of active components. Perhaps looking at untapped waste streams
that have not been used at all is a good place to source more highly efficacious ingredients. Another avenue for upcycling is tapping into
different waste streams that are untouched or underutilised currently. For example, there is research investigating utilising bacteria to obtain hydrocarbons from ‘oily sludge’ (petroleum waste) to produce bioplastic polymers.12
A
problem with selecting waste streams is the safety, supply and reliability. Often, large amounts of waste products
are needed to produce a reliable cosmetic ingredient that can be sold across the world. Is there an opportunity to create bespoke- one-off ingredients from smaller waste streams, to allow for expansion in this area? Perhaps this can be tied into traceability and local sourcing claims simultaneously. CALMandrin, a skin care active made
by Mibelle Biochemistry, is sourced from the peel paste of mandarins, grown on the Greek Island of Chios, a waste product from fragrance production.13
This allows a high level
of traceability and sourcing claims. This is not always possible for all upcycled ingredients but can be an advantage when forging close connections with suppliers and using more niche waste sources. Upcycling has become widespread within
personal care, not only for specific ingredients and ‘eco-friendly’ brands. It is now in use, in a variety of product formats and across a range of different types of brands. Sulapac and Chanel have collaborated to create upcycled packaging, demonstrating how high-end luxury products can be created using upcycled materials.14 Cosmetics is not the only industry to be
carrying out upcycling and there are fascinating examples from other types of business. Looking to other industries can be a great way of gaining insight into how upcycling and the circular economy can apply to our own. One recent example is research into
converting the waste of rapid antigen tests into flame-retardant plastic. These plastics are
Upcycling will not be a primary claim, but
the general efficiency of supply chains will be measured. In an ideal world, the era of waste would come to an end and all supply chains would be circular. Ingredients will be chosen primarily on their data, and it will be standard that supply chains do not create waste.
References 1. Oxford Languages and Google – English. Oxford Languages. https://languages.oup. com/google-dictionary-en/
2.
Fact.MR – Upcycled Ingredients Market Analysis By Ingredient Type – Global Market Insights 2022 to 2032. June 2022.
https://www.factmr.com/report/upcycled- ingredients-market
Figure 4: Sourcing from sea buckthorn berry plants. Image courtesy of Gattefossé
designed to extend the time of escape from fires.15
The problem around single-use plastics is
widely discussed. Incorporating upcycled plastic into packaging for cosmetics is a future possibility for the personal care industry.
The future of upcycling The upcycling movement has been gaining momentum within the personal care industry over the last two decades. Consumer perception of upcycling can have negative associations due to the sourcing from waste material. A way to combat this and ensure ‘true
sustainability’ is to create and communicate systems using the circular economy approach. An additional method could be to have a legal or standardised definition across cosmetics of upcycling to ensure no greenwashing is taking place.
The future of upcycling could be tapping into
unused waste streams, creating one-off bespoke ingredients from smaller supplies or not explicitly referring to upcycling at all. It is possible, we may fractionate each primary supply into multiple products and none of the outputs will be perceived as waste.
3. Company TUB. The Regulatory Landscape: Upcycling in Beauty & Personal Care. September 2023.
https://blog.covalo.com/ personal-care/the-regulatory-landscape- upcycling-in-beauty-and-personal-care
4. NATRUE. Circular beauty: upcycled ingredients in cosmetic products. 2021.
https://natrue.org/circular-beauty-upcycled- ingredients-in-cosmetic-products/
5. Curtis V, de Barra M, Aunger R. Disgust as an adaptive system for disease avoidance behaviour. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B. Biol. Sci. 2011; Feb 12;366(1563):389–401
6. Yuan Z, Bi J, Moriguichi Y. The Circular Economy: A New Development Strategy in China. Journal of Industrial Ecology. 2006 Jan;10(1–2):4–8
7. Murray A, Skene K, Haynes K. The Circular Economy: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of the Concept and Application in a Global Context. J. Bus. Ethics. 2017 Feb 1;140(3):369–80
8. Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Circular economy introduction. https://www.
ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/ circular-economy-introduction/overview
9. Upcycled Food Association. The Upcycled Certified Standard. https://www.
upcycledfood.org/upcycled-certification
10. The Upcycled Beauty Company. Faba TONIQ.
https://www.upcycledbeauty.com/faba- toniq
11. Gattefossé. Eyeglorius. https://www.
gattefosse.com/personal-care/product- finder/eyeglorius
12. Patel PD, Patel RB, Munshi NS. Exploring the Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3- hydroxyvalerate) Production Potential of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon Degrading Bacteria Using Oily Sludge Waste as Feedstock. ACS EST Eng. 2024 Jun 13.
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestengg.4c00063
13. CALMandrin. Mibelle Biochemistry. https://
mibellebiochemistry.com/calmandrintm
14. Holley E. New range of beauty innovation from Chanel with sustainable Sulapac material. 2022.
https://www.sulapac.com/ blog/new-range-of-beauty-innovation- from-chanel-with-sustainable-sulapac- material/
Figure 5: Sourcing of mandarins. Image courtesy of Mibelle Biochemistry PERSONAL CARE October 2024
15. Slatinek T, Slapnik J. Upcycling of SARS- CoV-2 Rapid Antigen Test Cassettes into Flame Retardant Plastics. Materials (Basel). 2024; May 16;17(10):2384
www.personalcaremagazine.com
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