Grow Your Green Business
The drive for environmentalism in salons has grown exponentially over the past couple of years – both from clients and professionals alike. This demand has been clearly reflected in salons across the UK, who have taken steps towards becoming greener, more sustainable businesses – and as they should!
However, with brands greenwashing and unreliable information sources, knowing which resources and initiatives to trust can be challenging and ultimately, off-putting. So, we’re here to cut through the noise and give you the lowdown on what changes you can employ and the enterprises to get on board with to give you the confidence to move towards a greener business.
Take a browse – here are a handful of the initiatives, resources, and tips you could utilise in your barber shop or salon…
NO MORE COLOUR WASTE
Using colour waste technology may seem like a small place to start, but this simple modification could see your salon discarding significantly less product. Salon Sustainability founder, JC Aucamp spotlights Vish, as a means to get control over salon’s colour waste “use Vish for colour mixing” says JC. Vish is an intelligent colour management software which is designed by salon owners, for salon owners to not only measure colour accurately but also to utilise data to reduce waste, streamline inventory forecasts and increase profitability by using less to create more.
CLEAN UP WITH GREEN SALON COLLECTIVE
If you haven’t already, then sign your salon up to the Green Salon Collective. Founded by environmental experts, hairdressers and eco campaigners, GSC is on a mission to clean up the UK and Ireland’s salons, by ‘recycling the unrecyclable’ and finding circular solutions for salon waste. In 2021 alone, Green Salon Collective diverted 60 tonnes of waste from landfill back into the environment. From using discarded hair to clean up oil spills to transforming unwanted plastic into new beauty products – GSC are able to utilise all of your salon waste to generate inventive outcomes. Plus, their accreditation programme means you can also prove to clients, employees and the wider industry that your business is the real deal when it comes to salon sustainability.
RECYCLE WITH SALON SUSTAINABILITY
Recycle your waste with Salon Sustainability. Designed specially to make recycling within the hair industry as simple and easy as possible, Salon Sustainability gives businesses the opportunity to recycle up to 95 percent of salon waste – everything from aluminium foils, disposable towels, colour tubes, chemicals, hair, plastic and paper can be recovered. Utilising a straight-forward bin system and courier collection service, this initiative is intended to take the stress out of cleaning up your salon practices.
SAY YES TO ECO-FRIENDLY TOOLS
What’s in your hand? From hairbrushes to scissors, why not start with the very basics – your tools. Re-assess the everyday essentials and their sustainable credentials, and if they aren’t ticking the eco-friendly box then switch it up! For example, swap your combs and scissors for Leaf Scissors, a pioneering sustainable brand, which produces and sources the highest quality hairdressing tools with longevity and sustainability always in mind, whilst also committing to planting trees for every pair of scissors sold. Other innovative hair tool brands like HANDLE are also making difference. Promoting product sustainability, HANDLE collects used beauty packaging from salons and barbers, online retailers, beauty brands and stores and turns them into a range of unique and sustainable products, including beautiful, marbled hairbrushes.
SUPPORT OR CONTRIBUTE TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHARITIES & NGOs
Another way to ‘do your bit’ can be through the financial support of a sustainability focused NGO that centres around protecting nature and biodiversity. Just take, Neville Hair and Beauty, who partnered with ONETREEPLANTED throughout 2021, in order to offset the damaging repercussions of the increased plastic consumption linked to COVID. Alternatively, get involved with helping green charity organisations first-hand, suggested by the guys at Supply 91, who took inspiration from Patagonia’s ‘earth tax’ for their salon. In essence, by keeping back a small percentage of profit from your business each month, or simply once a year, you can use this to pay staff to take part in ‘clean up’ initiatives, whether a group litter pick, beach tidy, or even a community gardening project – it’s an effective way to give directly to these causes.
THREE QUICK FIXES
- Switch to disposable towels! This can help your salon save energy, money and time, plus it is more hygienic. Look into brands like Scrummi, Easydry and Enki for options.
- Swap over to LED lights and utilise natural light sources wherever possible.
- Make the move to green shower heads for your salon wash basins. Try brands like ECOHEADS in order to save up to 65 percent of your water usage.
Ready to do your part?
