Eco-friendly salons vary in practice, whether it be using organic products or water-conserving shower heads at shampoo bowls, but many share one thing in common: a partnership with Green Circle Salons. Established 10 years ago, Green Circle’s network has expanded to over 2,000 salons and it grows by the day, helping salons divert a total of 5.2 million pounds of waste. How do they do it? By giving businesses an easily implementable recycling system.
RELATED: This Chicago Salon Makes Going Green Look Glamorous
The program is pretty simple, according to Abby Loveless, the director of guest care at Forecast Salon in Birmingham, AL. Though it just recently joined Green Circle, Forecast Salon has already started to see results. The amount of trash it’s sending to the landfill has decreased from about three bags every day to about one bag every other day, Loveless says. It took one month to get the recycling system fully up and running, and the biggest challenge was a learning curve with staff about which items to recycle and where to recycle them.
To help with the costs of implementing changes, Forecast Salon added a recommended “eco-fee” of $1.50 to every guest ticket, and Loveless says her clients are supportive. “When people realize their $1.50 can help keep haircolor from ending up in waterways and trash from ending up in landfills, they’re all on board,” Loveless says.
On top of a recycling program, Green Circle provides resources for salons to find ways to save energy, water and more. Learn more at greencirclesalons.com