Cardiff’s first eco-friendly hair salon is pledging to protect our oceans this month as part of #Unblocktober, and they’re calling on hairdressers and customers across the city to join their green revolution.
Amaryllis directors Tiffany Hall, 30, and Rebecca Ryce, 34, were driven to call for change when they realised how much waste from the beauty industry ends up in Britain’s rivers and seas.
“We were shocked to find out that almost eight million tonnes of plastic are dumped into the ocean every year,” said Tiffany. “Beauty and hygiene products, waste food and packaging all create huge problems when they make it into our sewers and waterways. Unblocktober has encouraged us to look even closer at how we work and what we can do to help.”
Former Vidal Sassoon colour technician Tiffany and stylist Rebecca founded Amaryllis in 2014 as an eco-friendly alternative to the many salons across the city centre. The Cowbridge Road East salon puts sustainability and environmentalism at the core of everything they do;
- Amaryllis is a member of the Green Salon Collective, which aims to facilitate sustainability by recycling salon waste that was previously thought to be unrecyclable.
- Amaryllis was the first salon in Wales to exclusively use Davines eco hair products, which are cruelty-free and use zero-impact packaging. Customers receive 10% off new purchases if they bring old Davines product containers back for recycling.
- The salon is signed up to an excess colour and bleach recovery service to ensure that no leftover chemicals make it into landfill or Welsh waters.
- All chopped hair from the salon is sent off to be turned into hair booms and mats to protect the ocean from oil spills, instead of going to landfill.
- All used hair foils are recycled. Only 1% of all salon foil and other metals are currently recycled across the UK.
- The salon exclusively stocks Who Gives A Crap toilet paper made from 100% recycled bamboo. 50% of profits help to build toilets and improve sanitation in the developing world.
- The salon also supports charities Haircuts 4 Homeless, the Hair and Beauty Charity, and FoodCycle.
As part of the awareness month, the salon will be promoting sustainable ways to dispose of waste and encouraging other hairdressers in Cardiff to follow suit. They are also urging customers and Cardiff citizens to sign up to Unblocktober themselves.
Tiffany said: “We believe sustainability is a way of life, and since opening we have strived to set the precedent in Wales and show how easily this can be done in the hairdressing industry. Customers can leave the salon completely guilt-free, knowing that every bit of their hair service is fully recyclable, and it’s so easy that every hairdresser in Cardiff could do the same.
“The beauty industry doesn’t need to have an ugly side. Recycling foils, hair and chemicals is something that all hair salons can start doing right now. A few simple changes can make a real, lasting impact to our oceans and environment, and we can all play our part.”
