Sustainable Hairdressing at Alchemy & I

Here at Alchemy & I, we’re passionate about creating hair transformations that make a lasting impression, but we’re also passionate about creating those looks that wow without making a lasting impact on the world around us.

That’s why we’ve partnered with The Green Salon Collective to make a positive, sustainable change in the hairdressing industry.

While hairdressing is a beautiful industry, the waste that salons produce can often be challenging to recycle, reuse or dispose of sustainably. With over 35,000 salons in the UK, we must make a change now to curb the growing scar we’re causing on the environment.

By working with The Green Salon Collective, we’ll be disposing of all of our salon waste sustainably. From using PPE to generate electricity to using waste hair to mop up oil spills, everything that is no longer needed in the salon will be reused, reducing the impact on landfill, wildlife and the wider environment.

What is Green Salon Collective?

Green Salon Collective are a group of environmental experts, hairdressers, and eco campaigners looking to create a positive change in salon sustainability.

What do they do?

Working with salons across the UK, Green Salon Collective take in products that would otherwise be disregarded and find ingenious new uses for them.

Common waste such as used foils, chemicals, and personal protective equipment (PPE) all take up valuable landfill space and can instead be recovered to create new products or generate clean energy.

What they recycle:

• Plastics: Plastic is commonly recycled throughout homes and businesses. Bottles, lids, and cling film used within hairdressers and beauty parlours can all be repurposed into anything from packaging to furniture.
• Paper: Salons go through a great deal of paper which can all easily be reused. Items such as tissues, cardboard and magazines can all be salvaged for other uses.
• Metal: Contaminated foil and colour tubes from salons are often seen as surplus that cannot be recycled. But research has now proved otherwise, and GSC happily takes in these used items.
• Towels: Ensuring that disposable towels are composted properly and don’t sit buried at the dump is a crucial step in creating a circular economy.
• PPE: Unwanted equipment often does not get disposed of correctly, but with the correct time and effort, it can be used to generate electricity for the UK National Grid. This is especially in the current climate when we are going through more PPE than ever before.
• Hair: It may be surprising it hear, but excess hair can be used to soak up major oil spills, so it plays a massive part in saving wildlife and the overall natural landscape. ​

Not only that, GSC proudly recycles its profits each and every month to support organisations and local charities that make further positive impacts on the industry. These currently include Foodcycle, Haircuts 4 The Homeless, and Tree Planting.

Why are we working with them?

The hairdressing industry has got to stop operating in a linear economy and start acting more responsible in the way it recycles materials. By working hard to minimise our overall carbon footprint, we can all do more to take the unnecessary pressure off British landfill sites and contribute more to waste-to-energy sources.

We also want our stylists and clients to each be proud of Alchemy & I’s efforts to remain ethical and sustainable. We are always looking at new ways to contribute to a thriving work environment and a place where our clients, both old and new, will be keen to tell their friends.

How does this affect you?

You may notice labelled boxes which staff will be organising waste into before it comes to be collected by a courier. Please feel free to ask a team member about the changes and progressive impact we are making by working with Salon Green Collective.

We will now also be adding a £1 eco surcharge on top of every bill to ensure we can continue to work with GSC to build a better tomorrow.

Your £1 will ultimately go a long way in helping Alchemy & I help the planet and us to create a more environmentally friendly business.

Thank you for supporting us in protecting the planet and working towards a more sustainable future for hairdressing.