Launchpad chats with Pureology's Assistant Vice President of Global Marketing and Development, Sam Cheow, to find out what his company is doing to better Mother Earth.
1. How do you define a "green" product line?
Pureology is a brand with a sustainable vision. We want to help foster a more sustainable future and have a strong commitment to the wellbeing of the environment. From the day we opened our doors in 2001, we took measures to decrease our impact on the environment by using natural, organic botanicals and 100% Vegan ingredients. As a result we set a new standard in professional colour care.
2. What green initiatives are you pursuing in 2010?
o Increase the PCR (Post Consumer Recycled) content in all shampoo and hair condition bottles to 50% from 25%
o Utilize up to 50% PCR in all cartons
o Increase PCR content in all packaging to 50-100%
o Employ up to 100% FSC stock in all cartons
o Reduce the percentage of non-biodegradable ingredients in current formulas
o Introduce 100% biodegradable formulas
3. How do you currently position Pureology in terms of a green beauty product? What elements make your product green? What percentage of your formulas is "green"?
Pureology develops 100% Vegan formulas infused with organic botanicals that are harvested from plants grown without the use of synthetic pesticides or chemicals. Our formulas are also ZeroSulfate to be gentle on colour-treated hair and preserve vibrancy.
Pureology has also made great progress toward environmental sustainability in our manufacturing processes. Our facilities’ commitment to decrease the environmental impact and resource use has resulted in a significant reduction in water and energy consumption and waste.
o Water consumption decreased 21% through several practices such as converting from water sanitation to steam sanitation.
o Energy consumption decreased 16% by replacing old lighting systems with new high efficiency lighting.
o Transportable waste decreased 22% by segregating materials on the line to the variety of categories of recycling.
o In 2009 we introduced shippers that are made of 100% non-bleached recyclable stock.
4. Is your packaging recyclable? How so? Does it degrade when recycled? Is it precycled?
Pureology currently uses up to 25% PCR in all of our shampoo and hair condition bottles. All Pureology plastic packages have a 1 or 2 recycle symbol which designates the most environmentally friendly packages.
5. Is your literature "green", as in uses soy ink, etc.?
Pureology is making efforts to reduce the amount of waste in landfills by acting socially responsible and developing printed materials with the following standards. In the beginning of 2009, Pureology has phased-in:
o FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) stock for all printed materials
o Post-consumer-recycled paper for all institutional materials
o Application of soy based inks for printing
o Use of non-petroleum energy printers
6. How do you define "carbon footprint"? What size carbon footprint will you make in terms of future goals for Pureology?
We are diligently working toward reducing our carbon footprint and are investigating the potential of renewable energy such as wind energy. Also, starting in 2010 we are going to expand our offering of sustainable and environmentally friendly salon tools. What's more, we're introducing sustainable potato starch in salon tools, utilizing sustainable bamboo in salon towels, and launching a LEED salon program to encourage salons to help foster a sustainable future too.
7. What measures is Pureology taking to green up its business landscape in terms of internal practices?
In 2009 Pureology formed an exclusive global partnership with Green Cross International to help foster a sustainable future starting with the salon community. Pureology is committed to expanding the Green Cross International partnership (known as Global Green in the USA). We are focusing on water conservation because of the world’s escalating crisis in water shortage and because water is central to the operations of a salon and to personal hair care/shampooing.
To assist our efforts, we have launched a sustainable website that contains valuable information and our sustainability roadmap. Our preliminary initiatives include:
o Launch of annual trade advertising campaign to raise awareness on water conservation
o Drive fundraising by urging individuals and salons to become PureGreen Individual Members and PureGreen Eco-Conscious Salon Members.
o Build awareness through supplementary content on Pureology.com
1. How do you define a "green" product line?
Pureology is a brand with a sustainable vision. We want to help foster a more sustainable future and have a strong commitment to the wellbeing of the environment. From the day we opened our doors in 2001, we took measures to decrease our impact on the environment by using natural, organic botanicals and 100% Vegan ingredients. As a result we set a new standard in professional colour care.
2. What green initiatives are you pursuing in 2010?
o Increase the PCR (Post Consumer Recycled) content in all shampoo and hair condition bottles to 50% from 25%
o Utilize up to 50% PCR in all cartons
o Increase PCR content in all packaging to 50-100%
o Employ up to 100% FSC stock in all cartons
o Reduce the percentage of non-biodegradable ingredients in current formulas
o Introduce 100% biodegradable formulas
3. How do you currently position Pureology in terms of a green beauty product? What elements make your product green? What percentage of your formulas is "green"?
Pureology develops 100% Vegan formulas infused with organic botanicals that are harvested from plants grown without the use of synthetic pesticides or chemicals. Our formulas are also ZeroSulfate to be gentle on colour-treated hair and preserve vibrancy.
Pureology has also made great progress toward environmental sustainability in our manufacturing processes. Our facilities’ commitment to decrease the environmental impact and resource use has resulted in a significant reduction in water and energy consumption and waste.
o Water consumption decreased 21% through several practices such as converting from water sanitation to steam sanitation.
o Energy consumption decreased 16% by replacing old lighting systems with new high efficiency lighting.
o Transportable waste decreased 22% by segregating materials on the line to the variety of categories of recycling.
o In 2009 we introduced shippers that are made of 100% non-bleached recyclable stock.
4. Is your packaging recyclable? How so? Does it degrade when recycled? Is it precycled?
Pureology currently uses up to 25% PCR in all of our shampoo and hair condition bottles. All Pureology plastic packages have a 1 or 2 recycle symbol which designates the most environmentally friendly packages.
5. Is your literature "green", as in uses soy ink, etc.?
Pureology is making efforts to reduce the amount of waste in landfills by acting socially responsible and developing printed materials with the following standards. In the beginning of 2009, Pureology has phased-in:
o FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) stock for all printed materials
o Post-consumer-recycled paper for all institutional materials
o Application of soy based inks for printing
o Use of non-petroleum energy printers
6. How do you define "carbon footprint"? What size carbon footprint will you make in terms of future goals for Pureology?
We are diligently working toward reducing our carbon footprint and are investigating the potential of renewable energy such as wind energy. Also, starting in 2010 we are going to expand our offering of sustainable and environmentally friendly salon tools. What's more, we're introducing sustainable potato starch in salon tools, utilizing sustainable bamboo in salon towels, and launching a LEED salon program to encourage salons to help foster a sustainable future too.
7. What measures is Pureology taking to green up its business landscape in terms of internal practices?
In 2009 Pureology formed an exclusive global partnership with Green Cross International to help foster a sustainable future starting with the salon community. Pureology is committed to expanding the Green Cross International partnership (known as Global Green in the USA). We are focusing on water conservation because of the world’s escalating crisis in water shortage and because water is central to the operations of a salon and to personal hair care/shampooing.
To assist our efforts, we have launched a sustainable website that contains valuable information and our sustainability roadmap. Our preliminary initiatives include:
o Launch of annual trade advertising campaign to raise awareness on water conservation
o Drive fundraising by urging individuals and salons to become PureGreen Individual Members and PureGreen Eco-Conscious Salon Members.
o Build awareness through supplementary content on Pureology.com
