Shellworks wants to crack makeup’s single-use plastic problem

Is the beauty industry ready to stop using single-use plastic? Shellworks is betting on it.

Targeting cosmetics brands, the London-based startup has scooped up a $6.2 million seed round to prove it can scale its petroleum-free, compostable packaging, which breaks down in about a year.

The first plastic-like product was developed using shellfish waste, but less than a year later the startup pivoted to using a fat-like substance frombacteria.

Shellworks kept its name despite the lineup change.

The vision of Shellworks is to break the reliance on the petroleum industry by building a new standard of packaging that is performant, cost-competitive and truly sustainable.

Plastic containers made from Shellworks.

Bybi and Liha are two beauty brands that Shellworks has worked with. The startup says it may expand into other areas, including cleaning products.

Shellworks is one of the many companies working on alternatives to plastic packaging, without the nasty 500-year decay time that is estimated for some products. Notpla, which makes seaweed-based pouches for sauces, and Cruz Foam, which turns shrimp shells into Styrofoam, are two of the businesses that make up this category.

According to the British Beauty Council, 70% of the beauty sector's carbon emissions are caused by packaging.

London-based VC LocalGlobe led the seed round for Shellworks, which will go towards expanding the firm's team. Cambridge-based seed investor Founder Collective is one of the investors in the round.