Earth-bound Beauty

Every aspect of a human being’s lifestyle seems to be having a negative impact on the environment.

As a basic requirement of modern day living, beauty and grooming fall under the scanner.

Sustainability has become a much-heeded goal in the beauty industry with salon, brands and artists all striving to lessen their carbon footprint. But is it enough? Are we really making a difference?

Professional Beauty x Hairdressers Journal leads with the thought process that eco-sustainability is not a goal but a lifelong process that requires dedication, investment, analysis and evaluation.

Kanishka ramchandani delves into what goes in making a salon space eco-friendly and how being an environmentally conscious business is an everyday commitment.

Are we sustainable enough?

At last year’s COP26 Summit in Glasgow, the Government of India promised to meet its net zero target by 2070. Bigger industries such as transportation and construction are undoubtedly under the radar, with a good part of their investments going towards renewable energy and waste reduction. However, the net zero pledge is not confined to industrialists and corporate companies. If India has to achieve its targets, and show the world how serious we are about climate change, then each and every sector has to take their share of responsibility. And that includes the beauty industry. While we all have applauded the growth of the industry over the last two decades, including the rise in entrepreneurship, skilled labour, creativity and international recognition, we also need to look at the impact the beauty industry is making on the environment.

Remember the time when terms such as ‘organic’ and ‘natural’ were new? Today, we know how misused they are, and at times are used simply to ensnare the customer into thinking that ‘natural’ is automatically sustainable. Environmental sustainability is not a one-time task but a lifelong commitment that requires visionary entrepreneurship and the passion to make a difference. Your salon might be one of the best in your catchment area but over time your customers will start demanding eco-friendly products and treatments. They will question you about your salon management practices. Isn’t it a good idea to adopt sustainable practices now and be ahead of competition, and lead the movement in the future? Read on to know how you can achieve it…

How can we become sustainable?

As per the Complete Guide to Salon Waste Management by Zolmi.com, “The beauty industry generates about 421,000 pounds of waste daily. Each year, salons send 150 million pounds of trash to the landfill. Along with paper, cardboard, plastic and glass, foil products are often recyclable, too. In fact, recycling aluminium foils takes only 5 per cent of the energy needed to make new aluminium.”

These statistics might appear miniscule as compared to other sectors but as an industry it is the responsibility of each salon owner to endorse sustainable practices at their individual salons at the earliest.

Here’s how you can start

Awareness: You need to be ‘woke’ about the environmental impact created by your processes. Right from the product you buy for your salon to your waste disposal, you need to be aware of how each step is affecting the environment and take measures to correct them. For instance, investing in a product inventory that is certified green.

Education: While you might have identified the step that you are taking incorrectly yet you might not know how to rectify them. Enlist the help of a consultant to educate yourself and your staff on how to integrate sustainability in your salon.

For instance, the Green Circle Salons has an award-winning programme for salons in the US and Canada that empowers salons to offset their emissions and recover up to 95 per cent of their beauty waste. including previously unrecoverable materials and hard-to-recycle items like hair clippings, foils, excess hair colour, aerosol cans and colour tubes.

Action: As soon as your new eco-friendly gameplan is ready, execute it with the help of your team. You will have to factor in the budget and sourcing of materials while making these changes.

Propagation: Tell your industry colleagues and your customers about your efforts. It is important to spread the word about sustainability and your efforts at being an eco-friendly salon.

How can we be greener?

“A green salon should also try to reduce water usage, because the average one uses about 270 gallons of water per chair each day,” says the Zolmi report. Water conservation is the top requirement for any salon to be sustainable, in fact it can be the first step in this direction.

At a salon, water is predominantly used in the backwash area. “It’s very important to save water and we need to work as per the individual salon unit. Apart from saving water, recycling water from the backwash area, like using it in the toilets, should also be considered. There are other areas also where we can save water, such as not using running water to make hot towels. I recommend buying a warmer or getting a Hamam,” says Deepak Jalhan, Educator and Creative Director, LOOKS Prive.

Brij Kishore, Art Director, The Grooming Co (TGC) Salon, adds, “The salon industry uses a lot of water as hair needs to be washed for all clients at least once, sometimes even twice. Our aim is to keep the usage as limited as possible. To not have the tap running when it can be avoided, and to use the least amount of water when the client is at the shampoo stations. The salon and stylist both have to be environmentally conscious and respect that water is a limited resource and needs to be preserved. All stylists should keep this in mind so overall the salon industry doesn’t put so much pressure on an important resource such as water.”

Replacing the shower heads in your backwash areas with something innovative such as the ones by Ecoheads that helps save 65 per cent water.

Speaking about electricity consumption, Kishore says, “To be honest, much to the contrary of what people may think, the salon industry is not heavy on usage of electricity. The equipment doesn’t take up much power and is used for a limited time.”

However, there are other factors to take into account, apart from equipment. Jalhan states, “We select light fittings consciously. During the day, we try to consume less electricity, especially in areas that can use natural light as we have that benefit in our salon.”

As pointed out by Jalhan, natural light plays an important role in energy conservation. This is something that salons need to incorporate during the planning and design stage. LED lights, multi-functional fittings and sensor lighting are viable options. Another important aspect of energy consumption is the air-conditioning. This is where the interior design of the space plays a major role. Natural cross-ventilation and minimum use of heating and cooling equipment can make a huge impact on energy savings and input costs. There are several other small yet effective measures that you can add to make your salon more energy efficient, such as:

● Maintaining the temperature on your cooling devices

● Making optimum use of your washing machines, including loading it fully, operating it on eco programme and switching to an eco-friendly detergent

● Opting for cold rinses instead of hot ones for hair washes “I really like working on the sustainable model in which our brands play a large role. Apart from water or electricity, salons have to consider other elements that are important and essential to their industry such as planning for the future and giving back, etc,” Jalhan concludes.

Why right choices matter?

The two most important aspects of running a salon that have a direct and proportionate impact on the environment are products and waste management.

Products are the base of the treatments provided by the salon; they are instrumental to the menu. Hence, it is important to invest in products that are sustainable. Customers who are aware about sustainability are bound to enquire about the brands you use, so be very careful in your choices.

Vikram Mohan, CEO, Bounce Salons, says, “The biggest piece of the puzzle in making our salons ecofriendly was how to source a truly sustainable product brand that has sustainable practices from A to Z. From sourcing the materials to the final delivery to my doorstep, were they sustainably conscious? We had limited options five years ago. And that’s when we discovered Davines. We launched India’s first eco salon in Chennai using upcycled, repurposed and refurbished materials.”

Davines combines beauty with sustainability as it makes hair products for professional use with ingredients of natural origin, with renewable energy and are thoughtfully packaged with minimal environmental impact. Kevin. Murphy is another example of a brand making hair products using natural ingredients, which are from renewable or sustainable sources. Their square shaped bottles are designed for ease of packaging, leading to lesser outer packaging being used. Its secondary packaging is also biodegradable.

Mohan has implemented the following ideas to reduce the carbon footprint of his salons:

1. Replacing one time use or cotton towels with disposable hemp ones. This reduces the load of washing and it is biodegradable at 60 days. 2. Using solar power and LED lights 3. No plastic bottles to serve drinking water. RO purified alkaline water to be served in hemp cups 4. Waterless urinals are installed and grey water from the hair wash sinks is used in the WCs 5. No printed magazines or newspapers or bills - only digital versions

What does a green salon look like?

The Blossom Kochhar Aroma Magic Earth to Bottle is created with reliable solutions based on green science. The structure and its interior are designed keeping in mind sustainability. The salon uses natural and chemical-free products, with organic ingredients that are free from parabens, artificial colours and fragrances and are not tested on animals.

Dr Blossom Kocchar, Founder and Chairperson, Blossom Kochhar Group of Companies, says, “At our salons, we have installed a plastic collection box where we collect empty recyclable plastic bottles. We also have a green wall to remove air toxins released by colours and hair products. We have installed LED smart lights and all our appliances and machines are energy standard compliant to save power efficiently. We have applied a no plastic policy where we do not encourage plastic shopping bags, plastic cutlery or cups. We use essential oils as a disinfectants or sanitisation instead of chemical cleansers.”

Staying sustainable is not an easy task for the salons. It is an everyday endeavour but one that’s worth taking - for the sake of your salon, your customer and for your planet PBHJ