Eliminating color waste in their salons means this year’s Vish Waste Warrior award winners have massively cut the negative impact waste has on profits and the planet, showing they are prioritizing sustainability every day.
So we asked them, besides using Vish to cut waste, what other ways can the professional beauty industry do to lower its carbon footprint?
This is what the award winners had to say:
“Teaming up with a salon waste expert is the easiest first step toward salon sustainability. They will deal with all your trash. Winning a 2022 Vish Waste Warrior Award actually sparked a huge conversation in the salon about better recycling, which I’ve championed for years. I’ll even pick recycling out of the trash. I argued, ‘How is it fair for us to pass on the cost of salon recycling to the client, but not recycle ourselves?’ The second easiest step is to switch off all vampire devices at night–those that use up electricity even when they are not on, like phone chargers. Plus, we’ve put motion sensor lights in the restroom so they aren’t left on all day.” —Charlene Lynch, Salon 730, Fredericksburg, Virginia
“People say you need to ‘spend green’ (i.e. more) to be green, but sustainability saves you money. Our LED lighting saves us on energy and our biodegradable towels save us labor and laundering. As for Vish, it doesn’t just save us money, it makes us money because all those services we were always too busy to remember to add to our guest’s ticket are now added automatically and our color waste per service is down to just 30 cents.” —Suzy Tryall, Sage Tryall Salon, Lynchburg, Virginia
“If you want to make change stick, then ensure the team is on board before you start. This is true for any change, but especially when it’s about sustainability. Before we integrated with Vish, I talked to the team about the issue of color waste and how we could reduce it. Almost everyone was on board from the start, which is why we have such a low average waste cost per service and a 96 percent reweighing average. I’m really proud of how determined the team has been to bring down waste. They are thrilled with their Waste Warrior Award.” —Karen Merino, The Village Salon, Pennington, New Jersey
“Being sustainable means protecting your business and the planet, and using tech in the color department is a huge step toward that. With a new client or one who hasn’t been in for a long time, mix less color than you think you’ll need, then go back for more if needed. Again, dispense less than you think you’ll need. Don’t go overboard and mix the same or half the quantity when you know you only need a few grams; Vish will work out the math for you.” —Karen Welch, SoZo HAIR by Bajon Salon & Spa, West Chester Township, Ohio
