'WE RESCUE WASTE AND MAKE IT BEAUTIFUL'

BRITISH BRAND UPCIRCLE REPURPOSES LEFTOVERS INTO FEEL-GOOD BEAUTY PRODUCTS. OK! CHATS TO THE FOUNDERS

- LYNNE HYLAND

Great inspiration really can come from a morning coffee. For proof, look no further than Will and Anna Brightman, whose idea was sparked by a humble cafetière and has gone on to create the biggest buzz in affordable green beauty.

The siblings are the co-founders of UpCircle, a British brand that’s only seven years old but has already set new standards for eco-friendly beauty. Not content with merely being natural (“That’s boring,” as Anna puts it), UpCircle gives a beautiful new life to what would normally be destined for landfill. And who can resist a good rescue story?

Not Will, whose conscience was pricked after using the cafetière he was given for Christmas in 2015. “I was throwing all these coffee grounds in the bin every day,” he explains. “Then, on my walk to work, I noticed that everyone had a coffee in their hands. Having thrown away all those grounds just for me, it made me think about how much must get thrown away every day across London. I started researching and I was shocked – even my small local coffee shop had so much they had to pay the council to dispose of it.”

Although coffee is a natural product, it’s not quite the benign substance you might imagine. “It’s a massive hidden waste problem,” says Will. “About 500,000 tonnes are sent into landfill in the UK every year, and around 10 million tonnes globally. It then sits there and releases methane, which is a greenhouse gas.”

Fortunately, Will’s research raised an intriguing possibility along with the alarming stats.