Giving out metal straws, donating to animal shelters and making their own cleaning products. If you’ve thought about it, the Roca Verde team are doing it! They’re the salon with big goals and the drive to achieve them!
Self-described as, “Random, young, dry and fun!” This salon is one to watch, with a passionate team of 10 who are consistently giving back to the environment. Sara Briscoe leads these superheroes, and on a sunny Wednesday afternoon we caught up with her to find out what makes Roca Verde tick.
She told us that the best thing about her salon was the closeness of her team, “We’re all about being ride or die teammates, and we have each others backs no matter what!”
“Our salon has a really great vibe!” Says Sara. It’s this unique salon environment that she thinks makes Roca Verde special.
We think that what makes the Roca Verde energy so exciting is their no-nonsense attitude towards the environment!
“We are really into sustainability in the salon. We’re now more educated than ever in how damaging our industry is to the environment, so we want to do our bit to give back!”
It’s for these reasons that Sara wanted to become involved with Sustainable Salons. “We wanted to be a part of Sustainable Salons before it came to the Sunshine Coast and were so happy when it did!” She tells us.
But this wasn’t always the case. Sara tells us that the brand Roca Verde uses, De Lorenzo, and their philosophy first brought her attention to the environment and sustainability. “Apart from De Lorenzo, I have also always tried to do the right thing in my home life. So it seemed only right for me to shift these practices to my business as well.”
Over the past 5-6 years, Sara and her team have committed themselves to becoming more environmentally sustainable. “Sustainability is so important to our clients! They love it. They get really excited when you talk to them about how SSA recycles waste. They’re most shocked and interested in how hair clippings and colour are repurposed.” She says, “I think it makes them feel better about supporting us.”
Before becoming a part of the SSA community Sara tells us that, “We couldn’t even get access to a recycling bin! And it was so frustrating to send our waste to landfill because we actually give a shit! Getting 95% of our waste recycled was a big step. And I think that more salons should jump on board and reduce the yucky footprint that the hair and beauty industry is leaving on our planet!”
For the extra 5% that Sustainable Salons doesn’t recycle, which is mostly made up of food scraps, Sara and her team have added a compost bin to their kitchen!
Apart from partnering with us, Roca Verde has come up with a host of extra ways to protect our planet. “We recently renovated the salon and replaced all of our lighting with LED globes, and we conserve water by using Eco Heads on our shower basins!”
Not only this, but this green-minded team has re-imagined client gift-packs! “We have now swapped plastic coconut waters with ones that come in paper and we give them crisps from bulk packets rather than individually wrapped serves.”
The Roca Verde team are acutely aware that the key to long-term sustainability is through reducing the waste that they produce! Not only do they use products bought in bulk packets, but they also give their clients reusable, metal straws!
“Another thing is that we use biodegradable gloves and towels. And, even though the towels are disposable, we re-use them. We even give them to our clients and donate them to our local animal shelter!”
It’s this kind of creative thinking that makes the Roca Verde team stand out!
Sara Briscoe and her staff even make their own cleaning products to reduce plastic waste! Talk about green-goals!
Sara hopes to one day have her salon eliminate plastic altogether. “It’s a big goal, and one that’s really difficult in the salon industry because it’s hard to get rid of plastic packaging for products like peroxide.”
She says, “Maybe in the future we could find glass containers for things like that, or at least get refillable containers.”
In the meantime, Roca Verde is in the process of letting their clients refill their shampoo and conditioner bottles from the salon’s larger containers.
“It’s all about reusing rather than rebuying.”
“We hope to let our clients bring in their empty shampoo bottles and recycle them through us to get a discount on their next purchase.” She tells us.
With a creative-thinker like Sara leading them, we’re looking to Roca Verde for the latest sustainable ideas for running greener salons!
Sustainable Salons Australia provides the most comprehensive waste free systems to the professional hairdressing industry. We collect and recycle 95% of a salon’s waste and reward the salon for their recycling efforts!
Contact us here if you’d like to become a member of Sustainable Salons Australia.
