WHO WE ARE
A community of impact-led ingredient manufacturers with a shared ambition: to accelerate the growth of the circular cosmetic economy and redefine how cosmetic ingredients are sourced, developed and communicated.
The Collective brings together pioneering companies specialising in upcycled, biotech and circular ingredient solutions, offering cosmetic brands high-performance alternatives that combine efficacy with measurable environmental and social impact.
By challenging conventional linear supply chains, the group aims to demonstrate how “doing more with less” can unlock innovation while strengthening authenticity, storytelling and sustainability credentials.
In 2017, we made it our mission to not only help beauty and personal care brands reduce waste, but to reuse it too. We’re out to prove that the beauty industry can thrive solely using upcycled materials – from ingredients to packaging.
Our portfolio of ingredients are made *entirely* from upcycled plant-based leftovers. These zero waste ingredients offer forward-thinking brands, an opportunity to create innovative beauty products that make better use of the precious resources around us, without compromising quality or efficacy. From high performance actives and active oils to natural scrubs and powders, each ingredient is made from a by-product of various manufacturing processes including food & drink production.​
What we do:
WE INFORM: Raising awareness and growing the demand for upcycled beauty.
WE INSPIRE: Helping brands make more sustainable choices.
WE ENABLE: Making upcycled cosmetic ingredients more accessible.
B-Corp Certified
Colipi is a biotechnology company focused on fermenting renewable carbon to improve long-term quality of life. Its patented technology converts carbon dioxide and sugar-, organic acid-, or alcohol-based by-products into Climate Oil, a sustainable alternative to conventional vegetable oils.
These bio-based triacylglycerols provide a renewable, high-performance ingredient for consumer products across cosmetics, home care, laundry, and other industries. By adopting carbon-light Climate Oils, Colipi’s business partners can support their Net Zero strategies through significant reductions in Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate Oil is primarily composed of palmitic (C16:0), stearic (C18:0), oleic (C18:1), and linoleic (C18:2) fatty acids, with formulations customizable to meet specific industry needs. Colipi is also expanding its product portfolio to include additional molecular chain lengths to address a broader range of applications.
Gaia Tech emerged from a research project at ETH Zurich, driven by a mission to find high-value uses for olive fruit pomace. Through a proprietary extraction process, the startup is able to select specific bioactive compounds from biomass, ensuring maximum yield and superior bioactivity. Their flagship ingredient, Phenoliva Active, is a clinically proven, upcycled active ingredient powered by hydroxytyrosol, one of nature’s strongest antioxidants. At just 0.2% concentration, Phenoliva Active achieved a statistically significant >20% reduction in crow's feet wrinkles after 28 days in a double-blind study. Gaia Tech’s solutions have been recognized by industry leaders for bridging the gap between high performance and naturality, providing the building blocks for science-backed and sustainable formulations.
Innomost was founded in 2016 with a dream of making a positive difference for a more sustainable future for the next generations. Our purpose is to lead the way in sustainable innovation by upcycling forest industry side streams and transforming birch bark into high-performing products that offer more effective and renewable alternatives to fossil-based materials with minimal environmental impact. We give waste a new, high-value life. We use the strong and flexible birch bark fully transparently harvested from sustainable sources and transform it into our valuable products. By using certified forest industry side streams, no deforestation is needed, and the origin of the raw material is known. Birch, known for its strength and flexibility, has scientifically proven efficacy, and multiple benefits in different applications across industries.
Kaffe Bueno is the pioneer of upcycling coffee into high-performance ingredients for personal care. We unlock coffee’s untapped potential to help brands unite efficacy with sustainability—delivering antioxidant, anti-ageing, SPF-boosting, skin barrier, and hair-protective benefits. With radical ideas and science-backed insights, we’re driving the industry’s shift toward natural, circular solutions that honour both people and planet.
Lignopure was founded with a simple idea: unlock the full potential of lignin for functional and sustainable personal care.
Today, our proprietary particle engineering technology transforms non-food biomass into high-performance, formulation-ready lignin ingredients with proven safety, controlled particle properties, and consistent quality, helping replace fossil-based materials with renewable alternatives.
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With LignoBaseᵀᴹ, our flagship ingredient, we bring lignin’s multifunctionality to life — from SPF boosting and antioxidant protection to oil adsorption and soft-focus effects — supporting the cosmetic industry’s transition toward more circular, resource-efficient, and environmentally responsible formulations.
We are building a business ecosystem based on farmed and harvested algae, which we turn into ingredients that are used in the production of everyday consumer goods. Our biorefinery technology converts a global environmental problem, the eutrophication of the oceans into functional products.
Seaweed and algae are filled with nature’s building blocks and provide an endless pool of sustainable, biobased ingredients for various applications.
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Micro and macroalgae are viable crops to grow and harvest, but there's a huge difference in how it’s done. We want to do it right.
We discovered that with the right process, we can remove marine overgrowth and transform them into ecological, functional and sustainable ingredients for everyday consumer products. Every product would ease the chokehold of eutrophication and give functionality to your consumer product.
We built this company on shared sustainable values. Everybody at Origin by Ocean is committed to the same set of values, including our founding members, employees and advisors.
Founded in 2021, NoPalm Ingredients® is pioneering the production of sustainable oils and fats through the fermentation of upcycled agri-food side streams.
Headquartered in Wageningen, the Netherlands, our biotechnology provides innovative emollients for next generation beauty products.
Our biomass fermentation process, which utilizes non-GMO yeasts and patented low-CAPEX technology, can reach price parity with tropical oils while reducing carbon emissions by 90% and land use by 99%.
NoPalm Ingredients® has successfully scaled its technology from lab to industrial scale. With our demo factory build in 2026, we plan to commercialize in the near future.
Our ambition is bold: to enable forward-thinking brands to transition to sustainable oils at an industrial scale and ultimately to build a green, parallel oil and fat industry.
Swedish Algae Factory creates high-performance materials that work in harmony with nature. Our purpose is to accelerate the transition to a circular, bio-based industry by unlocking the full potential of algae.
We are the first company in the world to cultivate and commercialize diatom algae shells. The result is Algica® a naturally derived, porous silica with exceptional light-altering, absorptive, and binding properties that cannot be replicated by synthetic materials.
Today, Algica® is a top-performing, certified organic ingredient for personal care and with claims across multiple categories. Hydration, Soft-focus, Purification, Anti-pollution, Sensory enhancement Encapsulation & Active delivery
SPF boost.
Beyond beauty, Algica® is also being developed for e.g. wound care applications and solar applications.
We strive towards a fully circular production process. Algae can be cultivated using nutrient-rich wastewater and carbon dioxide emissions from other industries. The remaining biomass can be repurposed into valuable by-products, ensuring that every step in the process adds value while minimizing environmental impact.
The Collective is in an early starting phase. Currently, we aren't open for new members as we are running on limited resources. However, we hope that after in-cosmetics Global 2026 we will be able to welcome new companies to be a part of our community and contribute to the circular cosmetic economy.