Back in 2015, we had a thought: if we’re throwing away a cafetière full of coffee grounds every morning, how much is going to waste from coffee shops all over London?
A lot, as it turns out. So we decided to do something about it. We needed a way to give those coffee grounds a new lease of life. And UpCircle was born.
We began our journey collecting coffee grounds from one coffee shop, we now collect from hundreds of coffee houses across London – our list is always growing!
Creating a positive environmental impact is at the heart of what we do here at UpCircle. We want to leave the world better than we found it. When it comes to the environment we are constantly bombarded with intimidating doom and gloom headlines. The scale of the problem can feel so daunting that it’s all too easy to give up before you’ve even begun. So, at UpCircle, we try to focus on positive change and keep an “every little helps” mentality.
And as well as being 100% natural, our skincare range is also 100% brilliant. Because you shouldn't have to choose between doing the right thing and getting the best results. With UpCircle, you get to enjoy the uplifting benefits of nature's own skin rejuvenators - and do the planet some good, too.
That's all round better skincare.
But, it didn’t happen overnight.
THE IDEA
In our first batch of soaps alone we saved 5 tonnes of aromatic chai spices from being thrown away. Not a bad start! Then, when we found out that the UK produced 23,000 tonnes of fruit stone waste in 2012 alone, we knew something had to be done there too. So… out came the “fruit stone range”, within which each product is made with the powder of a different discarded fruit stone.
THE MISSION
We’re all about quality skincare that gives salvaged natural ingredients a new lease of life. At UpCircle we’re not trying to save the world, or scold others for not doing more. We're never preachy about what we do. We're conversational and down to earth. That's why people listen to us, and it’s how we make an impact.
We use the highest quality ingredients, for the best possible results. You'll feel the difference.
Skincare is a crowded market, and ‘natural’ is the new “normal”. Each product in our range sources and rescues by-products from other industries – the food and drink industry in particular. In recent years we have seen the dramatic rise of natural, then organic, then vegan and cruelty-free beauty, but we believe circular / by-product beauty will be the next step – we’re proud to be pioneering that movement.
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Natural
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Sustainable
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Vegan
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CrueltyFree
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Palm Oil Free
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Made in the UK
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Handmade
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Repurposed
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Organic
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Fighting Waste
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Ocean Friendly
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100% Recyclable Packaging
OUR MISSION
The circular economy sits at the heart of what we do – we even named ourselves after it! UpCircle also hints at ‘upcycling’, the process of making something better from things that already exist. Our ultimate mission is to leave the world better than we found it by transforming ingredients that would otherwise be discarded into natural, organic beauty products – better for you, better for the world.
OUR VISION
If we can provide competitively priced, high performing products from upcycled ingredients then we are demonstrating that the beauty industry can become a lot less wasteful – it is an innovative approach and a fresh perspective. But, all of this effort is futile if the industry is not willing to open its arms to what-would-be waste ingredients. So… is the beauty world ready? Well, if our success is anything to go on, it looks like the answer is yes. Hallelujah.