With a motto like ‘Engage, Inspire, Connect and Laugh’ you can sure bet that Koto Hair is all about bringing the best to their community! From donations to their local kindergartens to making their own coffee scrubs, Koto Hair is full to overflowing with innovative ideas!
Kristy Bautista leads this Malvern based super salon, and tells us that she thinks, “Sustainability is the only way forward, to help reduce, reuse and recycle our way to a better future and planet!”
That’s why she and the Koto Hair team are constantly looking out for new ways to make the salon more environmentally friendly.
“Being an eco-friendly salon has always been a must for us right from the start. But I’m always looking for more. More ways to reduce waste, more ways to recycle and more ways to simply live and work in a sustainable environment!”
Kristy’s most recent innovative idea was to start making her own coffee scrubs! Since teaming up with Sustainable Salons, she realised that the salon’s biggest contribution to landfill was coffee grounds.
“Not bad, I know!” She comments, but she still wanted to do better. So she has teamed up with a qualified aromatherapist to help to develop signature Koto coffee scrubs!
When she’s not cutting hair or making coffee scrubs, Kristy and her team are sorting cardboard boxes and packing paper to be donated to their local kindergartens. Talk about giving back to their community!
“Mine and my sister’s children have been attending day-care for many years so donating items for their art projects is a great initiative for both us and them. We get to reduce our waste and the items get a second life!”
It’s because of great initiatives like this that Koto Hair is famous for being proud supporters of local charities and school fundraisers in their community! Not only do they donate art materials, but Kristy also tells us, “We donate our time each year to local primary schools setting up hair braiding stalls to help them raise money at annual school fairs. We also donate vouchers and hair care for auctions and charity events!”
Its no wonder Koto Hair is the go-to salon for families!
One of the reasons this salon is so successful is because of their dedicated staff. Kristy describes them as a, “Fun, friendly and dynamic team. We’re always up for a laugh and never take ourselves too seriously!”
It’s this light atmosphere that makes for a great salon experience! The Koto Hair team pride themselves on being, “Creative, innovative and ambitious!” Says Kristy, “We’re always on the lookout for new ways to better care for our clients.”
Kristy explains that’s why she was eager to jump on board with Sustainable Salons. “We were ready and waiting as soon as Sustainable Salons launched in Melbourne!” She says.
“Our clients love hearing about how, by partnering with Sustainable Salons, they’re helping to feed homeless people. It’s a big win!”
Kristy and her team have loved being able to educate their community, not just in creating more eco-friendly salons, but in their own homes as well! “There’s not enough education around how to efficiently recycle our co-mingled house waste,” she tells us. So she has taken it upon herself to educate her clients as best she can.
In every workplace, there’s always that one person who takes it upon themselves to organise the recycling. For Koto Hair, that person is Bille. “When she’s not upstairs giving our guests gorgeous eyelash extensions, she’s downstairs making sure every last piece of rubbish is in the correct recycling bin. Right down to every paper straw or candy wrapper!”
“If you’re going to do something, you should do it well!” Says Kristy.
Despite Koto Hair’s extra efforts to make their salon as green as possible, Kristy plans to go one up yet again by adding a compost bin to the kitchen. This will drastically reduce their landfill waste!
We just love her work ethic and fresh ideas! Keep ‘em coming!
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.
