Do you think it's possible to be an ethical & green business?

[redsadie]

Just a thought :idea: as I subscribe to a lot of small business online newsletters that are currently championing this school of thought....

How would a nail tech, salon, bar, business be considered 'ethical' and/or 'green' in the current climate?

Do any of you great guys and girls have any info on how/if you are green?

Thanks as always. :hug: xx

 

[Nailsinlondon1]

well being green hmmmmmmm.
Right I know what I do is make sure the rubbish is in the right bags.....
Acetone is not tipped down the sink
Never leave anything in the salon on stand by.

As far as products go, I am not sure if there is such a thing as a green polymer or monomer, or UV gel or resin?????
At the end of the day we are working in plastic.
Some companies trade with the foot note: We are Organic..now does that make them green? Well that sounds fine and dandy, but does that mean that their polymer, monomer, olygomer, or EC Resin was harvested in a field full of jumping fluffy sheep????

As for ethics do you mean like "Fairtrade" products for nail?????

 

[geeg]

CND products are not now and never have been tested on animals nor do they use any animal byproducts in their treatments ... is this being green?
Also CND products are organic.

 

[cabinkel]

There was a big article on "green" salons in professional beauty about 2/3 months ago. It was very interesting and gave lots of details of ethical suppliers etc. Could be worth trying to get your hands on a copy, well worth a read.

 

[skymark]

I think every business has aspects of what they do that can't be made any greener. If you re working with enhancement products the best you can do is beware of the disposal issues etc and as geeg said, the testing issues surrounding the products.

I think a business like ours can help to be greener in other ways....these are the main ones that pop to mind..

- Ordering items weekly or monthly all at once to avoid excessive packages and delivery miles to your premises.

- Doing away with aerosol products (the are many pump spray items available to replace the items we might use aerosol for)

- Using refillable items such as the disinfectant items from mundo that can be bought in large sizes and refilled.

- Using recycled paper etc in the salons

- Going eco friendly with things like loo cleaners etc

- Using paper bags instead of plastic ones and using proper mugs and cups instead of paper ones for water coolers

They are just a few but it all helps to cut down on waste.

 

[redsadie]

Thanks for replying I would have replied sooner only my wireless router decided to give up the ghost yesterday and I spent most of the evening (6 phonecalls - almost 3 hours!) on the phone to Sky to try to tell them it was nothing but my router. Eventually they suggested I hook up with an ethernet cable (?) and they would get one out to me within 5 - 7 working days! How long??!!

Anyway, I digress

well being green hmmmmmmm.
Right I know what I do is make sure the rubbish is in the right bags.....
Acetone is not tipped down the sink
Never leave anything in the salon on stand by.

As far as products go, I am not sure if there is such a thing as a green polymer or monomer, or UV gel or resin?????
At the end of the day we are working in plastic.
Some companies trade with the foot note: We are Organic..now does that make them green? Well that sounds fine and dandy, but does that mean that their polymer, monomer, olygomer, or EC Resin was harvested in a field full of jumping fluffy sheep????

As for ethics do you mean like "Fairtrade" products for nail?????

Hi Nailsinlondon1 . I suppose I meant things such as waste and doing things that would benefit the environment such as recycling and proper disposal. I wouldn't have thought there would've been many (if any) 'fairtrade' nail acrylic? Well not in the sense of things like fairtrade coffee and clothing. I think maybe fairtrade uniforms or dresscode could be good.

CND products are not now and never have been tested on animals nor do they use any animal byproducts in their treatments ... is this being green?
Also CND products are organic.

Thanks Geeg, I wasn't aware of this. It's great to know and I suppose this would be seen as more ethical that green, so that's good.

There was a big article on "green" salons in professional beauty about 2/3 months ago. It was very interesting and gave lots of details of ethical suppliers etc. Could be worth trying to get your hands on a copy, well worth a read.

cabinkel, thanks hun , do you know where I might be able to get a copy? Do I contact the mag directly?

I think every business has aspects of what they do that can't be made any greener. If you re working with enhancement products the best you can do is beware of the disposal issues etc and as geeg said, the testing issues surrounding the products.

I think a business like ours can help to be greener in other ways....these are the main ones that pop to mind..

- Ordering items weekly or monthly all at once to avoid excessive packages and delivery miles to your premises.

- Doing away with aerosol products (the are many pump spray items available to replace the items we might use aerosol for)

- Using refillable items such as the disinfectant items from mundo that can be bought in large sizes and refilled.

- Using recycled paper etc in the salons

- Going eco friendly with things like loo cleaners etc

- Using paper bags instead of plastic ones and using proper mugs and cups instead of paper ones for water coolers

They are just a few but it all helps to cut down on waste.

Skymark thankyou . These are great ideas too, the cup thing drives me mad! Where I work at the moment we have a coffee machine and you guessed it, paper cups overflowing in the bin everyday (although they do recycle paper and have a great big Sita recycle bin now too, it's the mentality of the other workers though mainly). If I do have a coffee from the machine, I re-use the cup for as long as I can. I do tend to drink tea from my mug instead though. I love tea :green:

I try to recycle everything I can at home and compost things that will rot down. I don't have a garden, I have a 'yard' but I get my dad to come and collect the compost fo his garden instead. I think it benefits everyone in the end, and if we can make our businesses more like this it's got to be good

Sarah. xx

 

[Kim Lawless]

I was only saying today how waxing has to be one of the most environmentally unfriendly treatments................especially now we won't be able to double dip at all. All those wooden spatula's and paper strips.............so many trees. xxx:hug:

 

[redsadie]

I was only saying today how waxing has to be one of the most environmentally unfriendly treatments................especially now we won't be able to double dip at all. All those wooden spatula's and paper strips.............so many trees. xxx:hug:

Hi there Wax Queen

Please forgive me if I'm being ignorant , I only get my legs waxed I can't actually do it :!: but can you use plastic ones or is that just silly? I know wax gets hot :green: but at least you can wash them?

Sarah. xx

 

[marketing-geek]

From a salon hygiene point of view...

obviously, effectiveness of product is key, but you can be green by purchasing product that is refillable, non-aerosol and that is packaged in recylable containers.

 

[Kim Lawless]

Hi there Wax Queen

Please forgive me if I'm being ignorant , I only get my legs waxed I can't actually do it :!: but can you use plastic ones or is that just silly? I know wax gets hot :green: but at least you can wash them?

Sarah. xx

Well, because I wax mainly men, I have loads of metal spatula's for general body waxing as they are large and bend. They are only used on one client before they're put in solvent (to get the wax off) then cleaned thoroughly and left in Barbicide..............reminds me, I must contact Mundo to get their catalogue). However, most waxers would use wooden spatula's and there's a new ruling coming in which says that we mustn't double dip. Double dipping is when you dip the spatuala into the wax and apply to the body, and then re-dip the spatula to re-load with wax and apply again and again until you've finished that body part (say legs).

On Intimate areas we mustn't double dip so every time we load the spatula and apply, we have to throw it away and get a new on. So you could end up using 15 to 30 spatuala's for each Brazilian wax. xxx

 

[redsadie]

Well, because I wax mainly men, I have loads of metal spatula's for general body waxing as they are large and bend. They are only used on one client before they're put in solvent (to get the wax off) then cleaned thoroughly and left in Barbicide..............reminds me, I must contact Mundo to get their catalogue). However, most waxers would use wooden spatula's and there's a new ruling coming in which says that we mustn't double dip. Double dipping is when you dip the spatuala into the wax and apply to the body, and then re-dip the spatula to re-load with wax and apply again and again until you've finished that body part (say legs).

On Intimate areas we mustn't double dip so every time we load the spatula and apply, we have to throw it away and get a new on. So you could end up using 15 to 30 spatuala's for each Brazilian wax. xxx

Wow! I see. That could get expensive, I never realised!

Sarah. xx

 

['chelle]

I just did a blog on this subject. Apart from the issues already mentioned here, the big thing that jumps to mind for me is the excessive and often unnecessary amount of packaging that is used in our industry. (please note that I'm mentioning the following company names as an observation only, I'm not having a go in any way)

I received two orders yesterday, one from CND and the other from NSI, and in both orders there was far too much packaging. I understand that the items have to reach you in tip top condition, but this way way over the top. The enamel rack was a flat pack item, and inside the large box that it all arrived in, each individual part was packed in its own box, and some bits were in plastic bags too.
My nail art stuff was packed in individual bags, which were then put in one larger bag, and this was put in another bag again! Then there was the packing and the outer box. I'm sure companies could reduce some of their packaging.

Also, every time I go to pick up some supplies, I'm always given my purchases in a carrier bag. I think it would be good for the suppliers to ask the purchaser if they really need a bag, I know that I rarely do.

 

[cabinkel]

hi sarah, yes Im sure if you contavt the mag direct they will be able to tell you what issue the green salons were in, and how to get a copy. xx

 

[Zo Zo]

The thing is with wood, it comes from trees, so by default it is a natural and sustainable resource. It's also biodegradeable. And trees help to protect the environment by absorbing harmful gases such as carbon monoxide. So as long as the forests are managed properly, I don't feel it's a huge problem.

I think it's unrealistic to run a beauty / nail business in a totally environmentally friendly way. However, as Skywark has said, there are lots of things we can do to reduce / mitigate our impact on the environment. Without wishing to sound like a broken record, it's very easy to use biodegradeable cleaning products, washing liquid, bin liners, recycled tissues & loo roll etc etc. It's also possible to compost couch roll, and of course there are lots of things we can recycle such as the inner roll of couch roll, tissue boxes, plastic bottles etc etc.

The key thing in my opinion is that if we all do something, even if it seems small, cumulatively the impact will be great