What a year it's been. Quite frankly, we'll be glad to wave goodbye to 2020, it's been a bit of a shocker for both people and planet! However, in the spirit of always looking for the positives, join us as we take a look back at an unforgettable year.

The reputation: Pushy, desperate, wild-eyed, greedy, excessive... fundamentally unsustainable. Not ideal.
So, as an ethical brand centred around sustainability, why have we chosen to participate?

Let's talk Christmas gifting! The festive season is filled with excess packaging, presents and products we neither want nor need, so it's important to shop sustainably where you can. Check out our Christmas collection and do just that!

In August we announced our "Back to School for All" campaign, with a pledge to donate to book bundles to 100 UK primary schools. Thanks to generous donations we smashed this target, and reached 135 schools!

We want this blog to be a space full of anti-racism resources, black-owned business and individuals.

Let's keeping adding to it and learning together!

There has never been a more poignant time to reflect on how we educate our children, and ourselves. At UpCircle we want to celebrate the idea of ‘back to school’ week as for everyone. It’s not just children who can be learning and listening, it’s all of us. 

We've just added soy candles to the UpCircle range. We collaborated with Subluceo to create them, so we thought we'd catch up with Sophie, the woman behind the brand, to find out more about why she decided to become a candle maker.

Check out this podcast recording with Homethings. 

In this episode, "Repurposed Beauty for a Better World", we ask the question: how realistic is a zero-waste lifestyle?

Staying silent in the presence of injustice is a clear sign you side with the oppressor. Being anti-racist requires action.

We want to turn our words into tangible actions. To simply repost another’s resource or a few links feels passive, performative and insufficient...there are two parts to the action we plan to take.

Anna is interviewed live on BBC Radio London, following the huge response to our NHS pamper parcels send out - have a listen in full!

One of the best things about working in a small team? Every one of us is our own boss. This International Women's Day is about how we each make a difference.

So, let's meet the team and celebrate the vital input of each of the UpCircle gals.

We'll keep this brief, today a global climate strike is under way, with millions of people protesting for an end to the age of fossil fuels and climate justice for everyone.

Team UpCircle is joining the strike, so forgive us for the radio silence - there was no way we were going to miss this.

If you'd like a little more detail on what all this is about, click below.

 
It's now just over 6 months since we switched up our brand, waving goodbye to Optiat and hello to UpCircle.

But how has it all gone? What have we achieved and what have we learned? And, perhaps most importantly, WHAT'S NEXT?

We are thrilled to have been named the FSB Ethical Green Business of the Year! Due to our win we will go through to the UK final in London on 23 May - wish us luck!

Last week we took part in the inaugural Sainsbury’s Beauty & Wellbeing Live Innovation Pitch at Natural & Organic Products Europe. The team of buyers listened to fast-paced two-minute pitches from six beauty brands that had been shortlisted from over 60 companies.

Click READ MORE to watch a video of Anna's winning pitch!

I’m meeting Anna Brightman in a restaurant on the South Bank. She hugs me, asks me how I am, and if I found the place alright.

Anna’s office is located in a railway arch, and is stocked pile high with organic skincare products, with a couple of desks for her and her brother, William, crammed in too.

The Impact Hustlers podcast features entrepreneurs and change-makers solving the world's biggest problems and creating massive social impact.

In this episode UpCircle co-founders Anna and William Brightman chat with host Maiko Schaffrath about their achievements to date. 

As loyal followers of our brand journey we owe you a more in depth explanation. What, exactly, has happened over the past month? There’ve been a few changes and it’s only fair we share why. So, in this post we’ll lay bare our thought processes in the name of transparency.

The newly re-branded UpCircle products debuted at London's First Zero Waste Market this December. The event was a huge success - check out the highlights video, featuring UpCircle co-founder Anna!

What was the biggest surprise for us going on the show? Spending over three hours being grilled by the Dragons! Standing the whole time, with bright lights beaming at you, answering question after question.

We had no idea what the BBC would decide to show on TV. It could be the worst moment of our lives: embarrassed in front of millions, laughed at and kicked out of the Den. It was terrifying!

Co-founder Anna spent the morning with the wonderful hosts of Hoxton Radio chatting about all things UpCircle.

Listen to her radio debut here!

The Clean Hub is a community of clean beauty enthusiasts that seek to educate the beauty world of alternatives to toxic ingredients.

We were thrilled when they contacted us to be a part of their 'Clean Chat' podcast series. Have a listen!

This weekend marked the official 2nd birthday of UpCircle. 

We love looking back to see how far we have come between our three experiences at the show, from day zero, to year one, to year two. We thought it would be fun to take a look back at snapshots from each year!

As we get ready to release our new soap bars we caught up with Ash from Henny & Joe's, the chai tea company whose leftover spices have formed the base of our new range!

A couple of weeks ago we went to Vevolution festival to pitch UpCircle at the Pitch + Plant Dragons’ Den Competition.

We were delighted to walk away as the winners!

Naturewatch Foundation is a registered charity working to improve the lives of animals. We are proud to now be one of their endorsed cruelty free brands!

Read our guest blog!