UpCircle

Production Locations

• England

All of UpCircle’s products are made in England, where the brand has worked with the same manufacturer since it was founded in 2015. The name and quality details of this partner have been shared confidentially with COSH!.

Working Conditions & Living Wages

According to the brand, the manufacturing partner adheres to Good Manufacturing Practices. Beyond production, UpCircle supports multiple charities, including One Tree Planted, Amazon Frontlines, Rainforest Alliance, Refuge, and The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust. They’ve also supported the Save The Elephant Foundation.

Through the Project Saaf Samudra in India, UpCircle claims to support waste workers with living wages, health insurance, and dignified workplaces. This initiative reportedly helps them remain ​“plastic-negative” by collecting more plastic than they use.

The brand promotes diversity and inclusion at their headquarters and encourages applications from women, people of colour, LGBTQ+ people and those with disabilities.

Materials

• Upcycled coffee grounds
• Upcycled chai herbs
• Upcycled date seeds
• Upcycled flower petals
• COSMOS-approved base ingredients
• Some ingredients of organic origin

The brand states that all upcycled materials are residuals from other industries, such as the tea, juice, and wood sectors. These cannot be certified, but the remaining ingredients are COSMOS-approved and free from SLS, SLEs, parabens, mineral oils, perfumes, and sulfates.

Packaging

UpCircle packages its products in recyclable and reusable materials:

• Glass jars with aluminium lids
• Aluminium tubes
• Cardboard boxes for soap bars
• Some items like pipettes or pumps include plastic parts

Refills are available to reduce plastic waste. Some zero-waste shops offer in-store refills.

Water Usage & Chemicals

The brand claims to use preservatives only when necessary, ensuring a shelf life of 6 to 9 months. No further info is available on water usage or chemical management.

Circular Product Design

UpCircle’s core concept is upcycling ingredients that would otherwise go to waste. This includes food-grade residuals, which may complicate recycling of the end-product depending on formulation.

The brand adjusts packaging size to product lifespan, reducing excess waste.

Circular Business Models

The brand encourages refill solutions, both through its own system and partner shops. This supports a reuse cycle and lowers packaging footprint.

Distance & Complexity of the Supply Chain

• Ingredients are sourced from multiple countries depending on seasonality
• Final production takes place in the United Kingdom
• HQ is in London

The brand indicates ingredient origins vary, making the supply chain complex, but all products are processed and produced locally in the UK.

Transportation

No specific information was provided on transport methods used in the supply chain or for e‑commerce delivery.

The brand uses no animal-derived ingredients and is fully vegan.

They are certified by Leaping Bunny, and state they do not test on animals.

Product Design

UpCircle offers gender-neutral skincare for all ages. Their visuals showcase clients, friends and family as models to promote body positivity.

Slow Fashion Processes

No information is provided on the release frequency of new products. The brand promotes longer-lasting packaging, refill options, and tutorials to extend product use.

Transparency on Product

The ingredient lists are openly shared, including info on upcycled sources. However, exact ingredient origins are not disclosed.

Transparency on Processes

The production partner’s name has been confidentially disclosed to COSH!, but not made public. The brand has answered all COSH!’s questions in an interview.