How Salons Are Reducing Waste
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What is the focus of this episode on salon sustainability?
Today we're in Chicago at Salon Centric, exploring a side of sustainability that doesn't always get much attention, the beauty industry. Salons generate a surprising amount of waste. So what does it actually look like to rethink packaging, recycling, and product life cycles in that world? Joining me today is Ben Thompson, who's helping lead those efforts at Salon Centric, from take-back programs to industry-wide collaboration, aimed at keeping more materials out of landfills. I'm Mia Quinn, and this is Sustainably Speaking.
Ben, thanks for all the attention you've given us today, the time. We're like really thrilled to have you.
No, thank you. I've enjoyed showing you around and definitely bringing this to the forefront of the industry as well.
So this has been a great day. This is just it's like Disneyland for me. It's really fun. So let's talk about how you got here. Tell me a little bit about your background.
I joined Salon Centric just about a year and a half ago, and I joined from PepsiCo, where I was part of the global packaging research and development team leading global sustainability and commercialization for food and beverages. So coming from food and beverage, the industry, yes, while it does have its challenges, they are very advanced in their progression towards sustainability and packaging holistically. Yes, there are some nuanced areas, but when you come to the beauty and cosmetics industry, it is a very much untapped industry. Salon Centric was a great opportunity to figure out ways to bring sustainability from a brand owner perspective, but also a retailing environment. What challenges are facing the beauty industry when it comes to sustainability?
So when it comes to sustainability, we have a lot of single use items from applicators, we have mixed material components, we have flexible packaging, we have Pretty much anything you can think of under the sun. So we as Salon Centric are promoting ways for salon owners and independent stylists to choose products that are more potentially sustainable or offer up services that drive sustainable products. initiatives within their environment. So one example is going to be our partnership with Green Circle Salons, which is a outlet for a salon to recycle up to 95% of their waste. And they can recycle everything from single-use applicators to foils that you're taking out of someone's hair after a coloring process.
all the way to the hair clippings. So they take the full gamut.
With this partnership with Green Circle, how are you enticing salon owners to be more sustainable?
So that partnership, it avails them because of all of the different brands that we work with here at Salon Centric. We are engaging the salon owners, the stylists, and bringing back products that they wouldn't normally actually think of, recycling them and then giving them a second life to actually work with Green Circle. And then the brands will reincorporate that plastic.
Oh, that's great. So when they come to shop, they just bring back what they've used so that you all can recycle it. And what's in it for them?
As of right now... There are some financial motivations that brands will participate in to get them going and get them more engaged. That is where we do in-store challenges or partnerships with those brands to say, hey, if you bring back X amount of bottles, you get X percentage potentially off of your product. off of your purchase, next purchase with that specific brand or something of that nature.
So a salon owner comes into Salon Centric, how do they know what to do?
Yeah, so we've got these boxes that are actually going to be placed around the stores. They're in our educational studios. These are the collection points, but it will actually tell the owner, the independent stylist, what they are actually collecting. But then also there's a simple QR code for them to go ahead and sign up with Green Circle Salons as well. And they just drop it in there. Just drop the product in here. Exactly.
Could not be more convenient.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the focus of this episode on salon sustainability?
0:00–6:03
2
How did Ben Thompson’s experience at PepsiCo shape his sustainability work at SalonCentric?
6:03–11:08
3
What are the biggest waste‑related challenges facing the beauty industry?
11:08–13:46
4
How does the Green Circle partnership enable salons to recycle up to 95% of their waste?
13:46–17:39