Since 1971, Élan Hair Design has been renowned for providing expert hair cutting and styling services, and now the salon is shortlisted in the prestigious Business Green Awards 2012 for both the Green Building Project of the Year and Small Business of the Year Awards. It begins as part of its latest refurbishment, owner Lorna Milton was looking for more eco-friendly, energy efficient and cost saving ideas.
Lorna commented:
"It all started when we thought about using LED lights in the salon, as these use much less energy than traditional lighting. Then we realised we could go a whole lot further and before we knew it, we'd incorporated green initiatives into every aspect of the refurbishment - from ceramic flooring made from 40% reconstituted material and carbon zero furniture to disposable towels, right down to combs; all the resources we use are the greenest we can find."
In addition to furniture, flooring and lighting, the salon looked at all its practices to see how far they could take things. This included the conversion to solar energy, switching to Scrummi and even embarking on a plan to send waste hair to local farms for composting, and recycling waste. Now Élan even derives an income from selling unused energy back to the power company!
Élan's new waste management scheme saw them team up with a local recycling company that turns food and garden waste into BSI accredited compost. As part of this initiative, used Scrummi's single use salon towels which are 100% recyclable and biodegradable, are collected for composting to spread on local fields - along with all food and organic waste and their clients' hair!
The changes make perfect business sense too, Lorna says "The motivation was to become greener but if salons go in our direction it has a dramatic impact on business efficiency. In particularly, the switch to Scrummi has not only fitted in perfectly with our green objectives, we have virtually eliminated the use of energy, water and detergents wasted on maintaining cotton towels, as well as saving staff time. This has contributed to falling utility bills, reduced waste and an increase in our ability to recycle and biodegrade all our waste and consumables."
But it's not just the environmental and economic advantages that have converted Élan to the Scrummi Revolution. "Clients have responded positively to Scrummi and love the hygiene benefits of receiving a clean, fresh towel that has never been used on anyone else. Plus as part of our sustainable aims, they're always thrilled to learn it's going to be recycled and put to good use along with their cut hair."
Rob Cooper (Managing Director of Scrummi) explained that Scrummi has welcomed the chance to be a part of this groundbreaking development in the hairdressing industry: "Élan is now arguably the most eco-sustainable salon in the UK and we love the fact that Scrummi is a vital part of this, we know that our towels are being responsibly disposed of and turned into high-quality compost, which meets the requirements of the British Standards Institute (BSI). In line with Scrummi's green credentials we know that our products will continue to be useful long after the end of their life cycle as a salon towel. As a brand that's committed to taking good care of the planet, this is a great achievement!"
With Élan leading the way in revolutionising the way the hair industry works in relation to environmental issues, Scrummi hopes that more businesses across the country will be keen to follow in their footsteps.
Élan Hair Design
Scrummi
