BUOY Salon Spa in Wellington, New Zealand recently shared an insight into their sustainability journey with us – why they chose to become a Sustainable Salon and where they believe the hair industry needs to go in order to reduce its carbon footprint.

Sam Elvy, Managing Director of BUOY, signed up the salon to Sustainable Salons in 2020 with the goal of eliminating waste and becoming a leading-edge salon for innovation in sustainability. With a history as long as an Emily Dickinson novel, the hairdressing industry is long known to be a large producer and contributor of waste. Sam and the BUOY team wanted to change that. They wanted to provide recycling solutions for their clients and deliver the best experience possible without compromising the environment. With the help of the Sustainable Salons program, BUOY now supports their local community and leads change for the industry.

How did you learn about Sustainable Salons?
Sustainable Salons approached us and we instantly connected with your story, goals and values. We knew we had to be a part of the change.

With the support of Sustainable Salons, it’s been very easy to get the right systems in place for the team to then go forth and conquer the small daily changes that make big differences.

 Sam Elvy / BUOY Salon Spa
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Why should other businesses in the hair and beauty industry join the mission?

We love that our efforts of sustainability serve a range of purposes, and support many different charitable causes. 

Sustainable Salons have done the research to ensure the most effective outcomes are possible from our salon resources. From using hair clippings to help clean up oil spills in our oceans, to donating 100% of proceeds from sales of foil and paper/cardboard to OzHarvest and KiwiHarvest to feed those in need. It’s rewarding to know we are helping where we can, and Sustainable Salons have made it that bit easier.

How have your clients responded to the program?

Our clients have been super positive and love to know we’re doing what we can to make their visit to our salon as non-wasteful as possible. They are particularly interested in what happens to the hair and are pleasantly surprised by the range of deserving causes that their hair contributes to. 

What are the common resources your team recycle?

Every day our team recycle hair, salon foil, shampoo bottles and excess hair colour.

What can you share about BUOY’s sustainability journey?

We feel very proud to be aligned with Sustainable Salons and they make being sustainable, for a busy company like us very simple. They keep inspiring us to make positive changes where we where can. 

The staff at BUOY are making change in the industry, they are providing leading-edge services with sustainability at the forefront. Educating their clients and getting them excited about not only receiving a beautiful treatment at a luxury salon, but about what is happening to the resources used and where their hair clippings end up. We all know that people purchase based on values, and Sam and the team at BUOY are shouting their values from the rooftops, and clients are following suit. Turns out it is possible to save the environment, and look good while doing it.

To find a Sustainable Salon near you, visit our Salon Locator

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