Breathing new life into used goods: Innovators in by-product waste

By Becky Bargh | Published: 17-Mar-2020

The environmental impacts of sourcing ingredients for cosmetics is an exposed nerve for the beauty sector. This report looks at the innovators giving waste by-products another life in beauty

Whether it be shampoo, fragrance or spot cream, shoppers want to make sure their product waste has the potential to be given a second life.

And, by and large, companies are concentrating their attention on where their beauty packaging is found at the end of its life. With TerraCycle’s Loop rallying cosmetic Goliaths to do more with their post-consumer product packaging, making the effort to recycle is unavoidable.

But missing out on the spotlight of scrutiny are the eco-friendly credentials of companies’ ingredients list.

The environmental impacts of sourcing ingredients for cosmetics have become a sore point for the sector. With the issues of palm oil farming contributing to deforestation and the use of oxybenzone and octinoxate in sunscreen killing coral reefs, beauty brands have been forced to look to more sustainable materials for their products.

In response, companies are adopting new methods by sourcing waste by-products from other sectors and developing them to make innovative upcycled ingredients.

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