Study: Salons Generate 877 Pounds of Waste per Minute

Green Circle Salons has released its first Circle of Impact Report, an in-depth report analyzing the issue of salon waste and its detrimental effects on our planet. 

This report examines two themes: the overarching impact of salon waste on the environment and the attitudes of salon professionals toward this critical issue. According to Green Circle data, the salon industry in the U.S. and Canada generates an astonishing 877 pounds of waste per minute. To put that into perspective, that’s the weight of an adult grizzly bear per minute. This adds up to a staggering 421,000 pounds daily, assuming an eight-hour workday. The largest contributors to waste are:  

Hair Color: the industry throws away over 42,000 pounds of excess hair color daily.

Hair Clippings: Beauty waste includes a whopping 63,000 pounds of hair every day, which emits potent greenhouse gasses when left to decompose. 

Metal: salons in North America dispose of 110,000 pounds of metal every day, which is more than half the weight of a commercial airplane. 

"When most people sit down in a stylist's chair, they're prepping for a relaxing experience that will leave them looking and feeling good. But neither they — nor, often, the salon workers — are thinking about the tremendous impact they have on the environment at that moment. But it's not their fault. There hasn't been much education about the impact, and in the past, there has been a dearth of solutions. Fortunately, this is a problem that can be fixed, which is our mission here at Green Circle."

— Shane Price, CEO of Green Circle Salons

While momentum is building for salon sustainability, many salon professionals don’t know the industry’s environmental impacts. According to the report, 70% of salon professionals remain unaware of the clean recycling streams for hair color and the significant impact of hair waste on greenhouse gas emissions. The report also revealed that 64% of the general salon sample rated sustainability as "extremely important," indicating that the industry is ready to prioritize eco-friendly practices.

See the full Green Circle Beauty Sustainability Report here.