-

Part of cultivating a well-lived life is joining together to protect the planet that we all call home. In honor of Earth Day, here’s a glimpse into the ways stylists can help keep the planet beautiful – all while making people beautiful.

One area where there’s always room for impact is reducing the waste generated in salons from hair clippings, used foils, color tubes, excess hair color and more. Not so fun fact: The beauty industry sends 877 pounds of waste to landfills every single minute.

We spoke to Will Simpson, Global Head of Corporate Accounts at Green Circle Salons, about how this industry can offset our environmental footprint and make sustainable beauty a priority with purpose-driven business leadership.

According to Simpson, the first place to make the leap is choosing products that are considered clean and sustainable. “Products that are vegan, cruelty-free, non-toxic, free of parabens. These are the easy first places to look,” he explains. “Green Circle did a landmark study with Bobit Media in 2019 and determined that 91% of consumers are willing to make the change to clean or green products.”

For hairstylists who don’t have the decision-making power to change their products, Simpson says they can look at personal consumption.

“When you go into work, are you ordering delivery, or taking your food? If you’re taking your food, are you going litterless or tossing that stuff in the trash?” Simpson asks. “Looking at what your food footprint is in your everyday life is a huge place to focus your attention.”

1. Plan a litterless lunch.

Whatever you generate in waste, take it back home with you and see how you can reuse that material or switch to more sustainable packaging.

2. Make sure that you’re eating your leftovers.

A few days a week, plan to eat your leftovers. This can save an incredible amount of carbon emissions that are being generated from wasted food.

3. Consider eating plant-based one day a week.

Or if you’re already eating plant-based one day a week, see if you can do two. The reality is that a hamburger takes 45 gallons of water to produce. Something as simple as eating meat can have a huge carbon footprint or no carbon footprint. When we look at what we consume, that’s the number one place where we can make changes.

Watch MODERN SALON’s full conversation with Simpson in the video below.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by MODERN SALON (@modernsalon)

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, Click here.