No matter where you look these days, efforts are afoot to protect the environment. Industries as diverse as the clothing industry and the food industry are striving to become more sustainable – and the beauty industry is no exception! At Salons Direct we’re big advocates of becoming greener, so we’ve taken a look at what your most loved brands are doing to become more sustainable.
L’Oréal
French beauty giant L’Oréal has made some bold commitments to becoming more sustainable in recent years.
They have introduced a program called ‘L’Oréal for the Future’ which sets out several areas where they want to become more sustainable:
- Fighting climate change.
- Managing water sustainably.
- Respecting biodiversity.
- Preserving natural resources.
- For a world without animal testing.
Within each of these areas, L’Oréal has set wide-ranging sustainability targets. But, they’re not starting from scratch.
Since 2005 L’Oréal has reduced the CO₂ emissions of its manufacturing facilities and distribution centres by 81%. And, at the end of 2020, the company had 72 carbon-neutral sites. Plus, 96% of L’Oréal’s new or renovated products now have improved environmental footprints.
Let’s take a look at some of these L’Oréal products that are now more environmentally friendly than ever!
L’Oréal Serie Expert
L’Oréal’s Serie Expert range of hair products now use plastic bottles that are made from up to 95% recycled plastic. In addition, their manufacturing process is carbon neutral and uses less water.
Explore L’Oréal’s Serie Expert range here.
L’Oréal Majirel
L’Oréal’s Majirel hair colouring system, which offers a rich, permanent hair dye, uses pack designs that feature a new 100% recycled plastic cap that saves 7 tons of plastic each year.
Explore L’Oréal’s Majirel range here.
Pureology
Pureology, which was acquired by L’Oréal in the mid-2000s, puts sustainability at the heart of its brand.
They ensure that both their formulas’ ingredients and packaging are as eco-friendly as possible, with products such as their shampoo and conditioner bottles made from 95% post-consumer recycled materials.
Pureology has also made significant gains in reducing energy and water consumption throughout their manufacturing facilities.
Explore the Pureology range here.
Biolage
Next up we have Biolage, a leading haircare brand that traces its roots to 1990, and hairdresser and entrepreneur Arnie Miller.
As a brand, one of its core values is to educate hairstylists and consumers alike on sustainable beauty practices. For Biolage, sustainability is an everyday promise.
They have three core sustainability principles that they are acting upon:
- Manufacturing – their primary manufacturing facility in the US is powered by renewable energy and is continually seeking to reduce both water consumption and the amount of waste sent to landfill.
- Packaging – every single Biolage bottle is manufactured from 90% PCR (Post Consumer Resin), with a target of achieving 100% by 2022.
- Investment in green chemistry – Biolage is also committed to ensuring that all of the formulas and ingredients in its products are as green and sustainable as possible.
If you’re looking for a sustainable hair care brand to use in your salon, you can’t get much better than Biolage!
Explore the Biolage range here.
Schwarzkopf
Beauty giant Schwarzkopf is another brand that’s making significant efforts to make every aspect of its operations more sustainable. Schwarzkopf has embraced the green agenda, “making it our mission to make a difference with services and products that look, smell and feel delightful”.
In order to become greener and reduce its carbon footprint, Schwarzkopf aims to:
- Use 50% less fossil-based virgin plastic by 2025.
- Reduce plastic waste disposed of in the environment.
- Support waste collection and recycling initiatives to promote closed-loop recycling and drive the circular economy.
- Reduce their footprint across the value chain by increasing their efficiency and becoming climate positive by 2040.
These actions are being taken across the company, but there are certain product lines that have been made notably more sustainable, such as Schwarzkopf’s Igora Royal range.
Schwarzkopf Igora Royal
Schwarzkopf really have gone to extensive efforts to make their brilliant Igora Royal permanent colour range as sustainable as possible.
Having completely revised the Igora Royal packaging, Schwarzkopf has been able to claim that the new tubes used in their Igora Royal products save 350 tonnes of new virgin aluminium every year.
Not only that, but by using a new type of cap, they are saving 80 tonnes of virgin plastic per year. Finally, the folding box used across the Igora Royal range saves 340 tonnes of virgin paper per year.
We’re sure you’ll admit, those are seriously impressive figures!
Explore the Schwarzkopf Igora Royal range here.
Redken Hair Care
US beauty brand Redken is another company that’s making brilliant efforts to become more sustainable.
Redken’s packaging plant has a solar array that provides an amazing 1.42MW of power through 4,140 solar panels, which saves a total of 1,324 metric tons of CO₂ per year.
Not only that, but Redken is going to great lengths to make its packaging as sustainable as possible. For example, all Redken bottles are made with at least 93% recycled plastic.
Explore the complete Redken range here.
OLAPLEX
For OLAPLEX, ‘the environment comes first’. They are committed to developing and maintaining sustainable products that have environmental, social, and economic benefits across their entire lifecycle.
OLAPLEX is particularly focused on making their product packaging as sustainable as possible and thanks to their ongoing efforts have been able to save 27m gallons of water, prevent 1.7m pounds of greenhouse gases from being emitted into the environment and (our personal favourite) have saved 21,000 trees from being cut down.
They’re also committed to offering entirely cruelty-free products as well as ensuring that their formulas don’t contain any harmful ingredients; as a result, OLAPLEX products are free from sulfates, phthalates, and phosphates.
Explore the complete OLAPLEX range here.
Wella
With over 6,000 employees across 100 countries, Wella is a beauty brand with a significant footprint, and it’s a footprint they’re busy making more sustainable.
Wella has set out a series of sustainability commitments that they are aiming to meet by 2030. These commitments cover multiple areas of their business including innovation, packaging, sourcing, manufacturing, transport and consumer use.
Having said that, Wella has already achieved a considerable amount. For example:
- All of their factories and distribution centres now use renewable electricity.
- Their factories all have energy reduction plans in place.
- They are close to achieving zero waste to landfill.
- They’ve replaced all plastic packing materials with 100% recycled paper, which has reduced the overall materials consumed and transported plastic by 46 tonnes per year.
So it certainly looks like Wella has achieved an enormous amount so far. They’re another brand you should certainly consider if sustainability is at the top of your salon’s agenda!
Explore the complete Wella range here.
Paper Not Foil
Finally on our list we have Paper Not Foil, who describe themselves as the sustainable alternative to hair foils.
Traditional aluminium foil has a considerable environmental impact – far more than most people realise. For every 1 tonne of aluminium foil produced, 12 tonnes of greenhouse gases are emitted. Plus, aluminium can take up to 400 years to break down – and if the aluminum foils are washed, they cannot be recycled…
But, Paper Not Foil are here to make salons way more sustainable thanks to their revolutionary alternative to aluminium foils.
Just how good are Paper Not Foil’s strips? Here are some eye-opening figures:
- They are made using 96% less energy than foil.
- Each strip is biodegradable in landfills without producing any toxic waste.
- The strips are washable and can be reused for a second time.
- They are produced without using water, acid or bleach.
- Every strip is fully recyclable.
If you’re serious about making your salon an ecological exemplar, start using Paper Not Foil!
Explore the complete Paper Not Foil range here.
Salons Direct: the home of sustainable salon supplies
We hope you’ve enjoyed our update on what some of the leading beauty brands are doing to become more sustainable.
At Salons Direct we take sustainability seriously and as such stock a huge variety of eco-friendly, cruelty-free and vegan-friendly brands. Explore them all today!
Shop sustainable salon supplies at Salons Direct today
Read more salon advice on the Salons Direct blog…
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