The hairdressing industry generates what Wollongong hairdresser Isobel Foye describes as "unique" waste.
On top of hair, there are various chemicals and metals used for treatments, which can easily end up going down the sink and into waterways.
"We're producing high loads of these things, and we use a lot of water and electricity," Ms Foye said.
"So it's been a big problem … what do you do with all this stuff?
"Sometimes we can feel helpless in the way the world is moving … when we were in lockdown, it was a great thing to focus my energy on and still feel like I was contributing to the world in a positive way."
Her business is now one of only six salons in the world to reach B Corp Certification — which measures a company’s social and environmental impact.
How the verification works
B Corp verifies social and environmental standards through a process that takes most small businesses eight months to complete.
"It's pretty huge because it goes through every aspect of customer service, staff, environmental impact, governance and you upload evidence for everything you say you're doing," Ms Foye said.
"There was stuff we were already doing, but it gives you an opportunity to see where you can improve with international standards of ethics and sustainability."
As part of the changes, Ms Foye switched to a B Corp-certified bank and now offers allowances to staff who travel to work via public transport or carpooling.
She said the business already runs off carbon neutral electricity and water saving shower heads help cut water usage by 60 per cent.
A stand against 'greenwashing'
At a time where consumers want to support an environmentally-aware businesses, Ms Foye said business owners should transparently prove their credentials.
"Greenwashing [deceptively marketing a company as environmentally-friendly] is huge because consumers want to make better choices and spend their money in a way that's making a better decision for the world," she said.
"But anyone can put 'organic' on anything and there's nothing you have to do to market it that way.
"B Corp goes through your business and through your supply chain and cross references it through two different assessors.
"It's also an online process with 200 questions and then there's an interview — it's so in depth, there's no way you can fake it."
One million kilograms of foil a year
According to Sustainable Salons Australia, the hairdressing industry produces 1 million kilograms of foil a year.
The organisation has been instrumental in diverting a significant amount of that away from landfill and into recycling, as well as helping salons recycle other toxic materials.
"We were the first ever recycler of human hair, and now we have transformed this resource material into closed-loop products such as hair booms and hair mats which soak up oil spills, and hair fertiliser," founder Paul Frasca said.
He has also worked closely with Ms Foye's salon.
"She has been a leader in salon sustainability since our conception, and hers was one of the first salons to join the Sustainable Salons program over eight years ago," he said.
