Three young innovators were recently recognised in The Shell LiveWIRE Smarter Future awards.
We thought these were interesting ideas and hope you think the same. Here is the first of these innovators.
Terence Chung is a cosmetic science technician at the London College of Fashion and founder of British start-up FRUU – a natural cosmetics business that is also tackling food waste.
FRUU’s new range of skincare products is derived from fruit by-products. According to WRAP, the UK wastes the equivalent of £159m worth of fruit juice and smoothies each year. While the introduction of fruit ingredients into skincare products isn’t new, Terence explains that the use of fruit by-product is novel for the cosmetic industry.
“During my research I found that although there are cosmetic brands sourcing natural ingredients, they aren’t always sustainable. The ingredients typically used are the primary product of crops, whereas we are only sourcing by-products, or secondary products” He explained. “We also found that these companies are often only using a small percentage of sustainable ingredients. At FRUU we are trying to use as much recycled materials as possible in each of our products”
Terrence is currently selling a range of fruit-derived lip balms through FRUU’s website. He told CIWM that the waste produce comes “mainly from fruit processors abroad who tend to process fruit waste whilst they are fresh. One of our suppliers is an Italian lemon processor, who also isolates lemon seeds and extracts the oil. The abundance of seed oil from fruit waste is under-utilised at the moment and it provides a nutrient-rich alternative to petrochemical-based emollients in the cosmetic industry”
“We have also recently partnered up with a processor of coffee waste for a supply contract to provide a reliable source of reprocessed waste coffee grounds. We will be using these as an exfoliant and a source of polyphenol and caffeine in our new body product”
Terrence’s expertise is primarily in the design of cosmetic formulations and establishing the manufacturing procedures that would be best to utilise these specialist waste-derived ingredients, but he is seeking to establish a waste processing facility to process UK local food waste.
“Our current range of lip balm products consist of over 60 percent oil-based content. These materials have an increased risk of oxidation in comparison with petrochemical products so our product designs include the incorporation of moisture absorbing ingredients, a water-less format, and high barrier packaging to prevent oxygen exposure. We also have a tight stock control and small batch production to ensure the freshness of the products”
“As waste-derived materials have a very limited sensory profile in comparison to petrochemicals, we carry out extensive sensory testing to ensure that our products have a sensory performance similar to synthetic products” He added.
Taken from CIWM Journal June 2017 – The Journal for Waste & Resource Management professionals.
