Waste not, wonk not: How you can prevent food waste

By Julia Wray | Published: 19-Oct-2021

Wonky, oversized and ‘ugly’ food, or produce which does not adhere to strict industry and consumer standards, could be the source of your next hero ingredient

By-products from the food and drinks industry, as well as side streams from the creation of other cosmetic ingredients, are much-loved raw materials for making the ingredients that comprise our beauty solutions.

A glance at some of the most recently launched active ingredients reveals a roster of innovative ways to use by-products from a variety of industries.

Aroma ingredient L’Ame du Bois from Eurofragance is made from discarded sawdust, while Indena and Alvinesa Natural Ingredients’ collaborative product Enovita Organic is made from the Vitis vinifera seeds that are the by-product of organic wine farming.

New Symrise offer, lily of the valley fragrance ingredient Lilybelle, uses D-limonene from waste products from orange juice production; Akott Evolution’s two latest launches, anti-glycation active Italine C and anti-pollution variant Italine O, make use of artichoke and olive oil production production streams, respectively; and Clariant’s Eosidin is made using the unripe unshiu fruits that are harvested to boost tree growth, which would ordinarily be thrown away.

Full Circle, meanwhile, specialises solely in ingredients made from plant-based leftovers. In addition to its NECTA line-up of oil-soluble actives, made from by-products of the juicing industry, and CRUSH range of exfoliators and active powders, made from what is left following the production of NECTA oils, the supplier recently launched TONIQ water-soluble actives with the debut Gin TONIQ, a moisturising active developed using leftover grain ferment from gin distillation.

The finished-product end of the spectrum likewise includes several labels which cite upcycling as a founding purpose, such as the UK’s UpCircle, which began by repurposing used grounds from London coffee shops into scrubs and other beauty goodies; US-based Le Prunier, which uses 100% upcycled plum kernels, which were previously a waste product on the founders’ family farm; and Byre, whose body washes are made using the whey which is discarded by the British dairy industry in the making of butter and cheese.

And the big boys are also getting in on the act; Avon’s new Far Away Beyond fragrance, for example, is made using Upcycled Vanilla Extract, which uses 100% upcycled vanilla beans that would otherwise be discarded.

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