Sustainability Solutions

In light of Earth Month, we hear from Green Libertine Mel Tudor, salon owner and sustainability enthusiast from En Route Hair & Beauty, as she discusses the importance of training and educating beauty professionals on sustainability and how this can be incorporated into the salon.

Sustainability in the salon is absolutely fundamental, but don’t expect your team to automatically jump on board or even have any prior knowledge of what sustainability is actually about.

Some salon owners decide, “I’m going to go green,” like it is a switch you can turn on. But learning anything new does not work like that; if you want to learn a new language or become fit and healthy, there isn’t a magic switch for those either (unfortunately). With anything new, you need to plan it out, and a major part of that plan is going to be education.

Each staff member has to be educated in the “why”? Why do we need to be sustainable? Why do we as a salon want to be sustainable? Why is it essential that the whole team work together for the salon to be sustainable? What difference can they make as individuals? Once your team understands the “why,” then it’s much easier to then start putting sustainable practices into place.

I always begin with recycling, as it’s usually something they may do at home, so they are familiar with it. Having bins in the salon for different recyclables, e.g., metal, hair, plastics, and paper, is easy to implement and easy to put into practice. Explain the importance of not mixing waste items and them being in the wrong bins.

If you use disposable towels, they must be used correctly to get the best results, squeezing the water out, not rubbing like a traditional towel. Clients are encouraged to take them home, which becomes a talking point and helps clients understand the value of being more sustainable at home.

By educating your team on all the sustainable practices in the salon, you will create a more professional environment. Encouraging them to reuse items that might have been thrown away in the past or recommending their clients use your refill service adds value to the service.
The one thing it definitely does is create a buzz in the salon, which then passes down the line to your clients; it gives them enthusiasm about being more sustainable themselves. So it’s a win-win situation.

https://www.greensaloncollective.com/