L’recycling (we also speak of “upcycling” in good French from France) is the principle of restore value to objects and products that would have ended up in the trash, without any guarantee of being recycled. It is very common in fashion and decoration (who has never come across a small table made from old wooden pallets?), but much less developed in beauty.
However, between the packaging and the ingredients produced to create the formulas, there is a lot for the cosmetic industry to do!
Audrey Ducardonet by Pink PirateChristelle de Chalus d’Seeds and Marina Berger Collinet-Ourthe d’oopin are three entrepreneurs who have put upcycling at the heart of their brand project, to more virtuous and responsible beauty.
Rose Pirate breathes new life into lipstick cases
Qualified Chemical Engineer, Audrey Ducardonnet worked for 15 years developing the make-up collections of one of the largest French haute couture houses.
Used to robust and aesthetic packaging, she has always had great difficulty separating from it and dreamed of a different fate than incineration for these containers having often been developed over several years by renowned designers:
” I never liked throwing away and for me it became a real case of conscience to get rid of a jar or case once the product was finished.
I wondered what we could do to give them a second life and to extend the customer experience. »
The choice of lipstick quickly stuck with the budding entrepreneur to throw Pink Pirateher beauty upcycling project:
” It is a very emotional product that can bring back many happy memories and moments. We like to pass it down through the generations, so I thought it made sense to start there.
It’s also an item that sells millions of copies every year worldwide but can’t be recycled, so I found the challenge interesting. »
Interesting but also necessary. In fact, from 1 January 2022, as required by the law on the fight against waste and the circular economy (AGEC) of 10 February 2020, brands will no longer be able to burn their unsold lipsticks (and other products intended to be applied to the mouth).
But once the bulk has been donated to the associations, what will happen to the products that have expired and cannot be reused?
In his workshop in Bois-Colombe (92), Audrey cleans and sterilizes all tubes sent in by her customers, then fills them with a natural lip balm formula composed of shea butter, apricot kernel oil, rose flower wax and sweet potato.
A universal and easy to use product : exactly what he wanted encourage as many people as possible to recycle their beloved phone cases. Well wrapped in tissue paper, the case (and its precious contents) is then returned to its owner, ready to experience new adventures.
What if you want to give away your old lipsticks without buying the balm? It is also possible! After some polishing and proper filling, they are available for purchase on the Rose Pirate e-shop:
” It allows those who do not have a vintage packaging to be able to afford the balm in a beautiful case. And, I hope, to have it reloaded when it’s finished! »
Funded by a crowdfunding campaign last June, the project is only just beginning (the first conditioners started a few weeks ago) but Audrey Ducardonet has no shortage of ideas for developing her brand:
” In the future I would like to be able to offer other beauty products according to the upcycling principle, but we are still at the beginning and, although I am optimistic, I wonder if people are really ready to change their way of consuming cosmetics. »
While waiting to be able to launch a complete range, she hopes that many brands think of her when they say goodbye to dormant stocks. And also in the USA!
Ensème revalues the co-products of the agri-food industry
In writing the specifications for his zero waste organic solid cosmetics project, Christelle de Chalus had only one thing in mind: preserve natural resources by making the most of what already exists. He explains to Madmoizelle:
” I worked for 15 years in the perfume industry and I knew that it was possible to go further in the requirements we had in terms of formulation.
Why produce new raw materials when the food and agricultural industries are getting rid of tons of residues that could be used in cosmetics? »
With Jérôme Martino, biomedical engineer and co-founder of Ensème, he spent two long years at source the most interesting waste.
” We have met many growers and producers, and some have become real partners. We recover the seeds, the grains, the wheat straw; we transform them into oil, plant extracts and powder for our shampoos and solid soaps.
Our formulas contain 30 to 50% recycled ingredients and our cases are made from paper made from grape residue. »
For a brand that is just starting out (the production of the first references has just been launched), it’s a great start, but Chistelle doesn’t intend to be satisfied:
” Our goal is to develop the upcycling sector, but waste must still affect our products. With Jérôme, who creates all our formulas, we have done many tests with other residues and co-products but sometimes it doesn’t work.
We had a nice surprise with treacle [le résidu sirupeux de la cristallisation du sucre, ndlr]which is a great cleanser, but that’s not always the case. »
Even if the brand hopes one day to be able to offer 100% recycled products.must for the moment complete its formulas with other carefully selected ingredients:
” We are intransigent about their effectiveness, their harmlessness and their consequences on the environment. We think about each component in its use but also about the impact it could have on us and on the ecosystem once used.
We don’t just want to create high performance products that smell good, we want to have a real effect on everyday life. It’s our mission. »
Launched November 2020 on Ulule, Seeds it quickly exploded its fundraising goals, and nearly 3,000 products were pre-ordered within weeks.
” People are increasingly sensitive to the fact that it can no longer be consumed as before: once they understand our approach, they become interested, even if there is still a lot of education to be done around upcycling.
Our goal is not to navigate an emerging trend but to change consumption patterns. »
In any case, the little seed is well sown.
Océopin recycles the co-products of the extraction of its starry oil
When, how Marina Berger Collinet-Ourthewe have the privilege of being able to benefit from a rare and precious raw material such as maritime pine oil (his father, Jean-Jacques Berger is practically the last seed trader), when we decide to create a cosmetic brand, make things well.
oopin, launched in 2012, bridges the gap between traditional know-how and contemporary needs. Formulas, aesthetics, environmental impact… Nothing is left to chance and upcycling is naturally part of its specifications:
” Our main ingredient is cold-pressed pine cone oil, extracted from pine cone seeds, but we try to take advantage of all that the cone has to offer.
After the extraction of the oil, the cakes are recovered [les résidus solides de la trituration, rien à voir avec les crustacés, ndlr] then we grind them up to create another product, our body scrub powder.
The only residue of the seed that we cannot recycle yet is the fin that allows it to fly and settle further to create another pine. She has no interest in formulating cosmetic products, but hopefully employment can be found for her in another field. »
Even the pine cones, which contain the precious seeds, are not forgotten after handing over their treasure:
” The most beautiful ones are used in floral decoration and the less aesthetic ones are reused directly in our factory: they are transformed into fuel to feed the ovens which are used to open the cones.
With us, nothing is lost, everything is transformed and we try to have the most virtuous production chain possible. »
Even the packaging is designed to be recycled:
” From the very beginning, we have tried to fight for zero waste, but as soon as packaging is needed, we are keen to offer something sustainable. This is especially true of our care cream, which is sold in a beautiful, very thick cardboard box and which our customers like to reuse to store their jewellery. »
True to its commitment to more responsible cosmetics, the brand is testing bulk products in the Maison Orso stores in Rennes and La Rochelle and is offering its best-selling product, Body and Hair Wash Gel, in a 5-litre soft refill exclusively on its e- shop .
” We are the only ones able to produce this maritime pine seed oil, it is an incredible opportunity but also a great responsibility that commits us to always do better. »
Without a doubt, with such busy brands and the current trend of producing in a more reasoned and reasonable way, Beauty upcycling has a bright future ahead of it.
Front page photo credit: Alesia Kozik on Pexels
Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
