BC goes Green

1. Discover the miracle of ‘Wash Berries’: Being allergy-free these berries...aka 'Soap Nuts' are highly effective and very gentle at the same time. You can use them to wash clothes, as a liquid soap, for cleaning/shining ornaments and even as a general household cleaner. The team at Blue Cactus Hairdressing are now ‘Wash Berry’ converts! These 100% natural, environmentally friendly, bio-degradable and economical gems have provided an effective alternative to our regular detergent. And did we mention they are a fruit that grow on trees? Wash Berries have been used for laundry and cleaning in India for hundreds of years. The nut itself is a dried fruit of the Ritha tree and is a 100% substitute to normal detergents. There are SO many reasons that we love these Wash berries as they offer so many benefits for ourselves and the environment. They are a renewable source and easily grown (through your very own ‘Soap Nut’ tree!), and contain only 100% natural ingredients. We also save on water and energy – you can skip the rinse cycle when using these beauties! To add to the “Green Factor’, they of course are 100% bio-degradable, have recyclable packing and are not tested on animals.

The berries encompass everything that we at Blue Cactus value – being clean, green and super easy to use, we know we’ve met our match! Visit www.soapnuts.co.nz for more information or to purchase your own...

2. The Blue 'Green' Cactus Quiz: How GREEN are YOU really?!
Since launching our ‘Green’ campaign over a year ago, we now understand that in order to become truly green, you must apply the same philosophies throughout all aspects of your life. This insight inspired us to have a closer look at ourselves; we talk the talk at Blue Cactus, but do we all walk the ‘greenie’ walk at home?

We have created an online QUIZ, to help you to discover.. ‘just how Green are you really’? This 3min quiz provides a closer look your day to day life choices and decisions that will hopefully give some insight in the many ‘green’ opportunities that there are!

3. Giving Something Back: We believe that part of being a true “Green” business, we not only must implement new initiatives internally, but also look at how we can contribute to the wider community. This Green Initiative is one that will focus on the needs in our community and society, and how we can offer our support. We will determine who we support through an approximate 2 month cycle – and research carefully about where there needs to be more awareness and ongoing support. Through our ‘hAirpoints’ loyalty programme, our clients will have the opportunity to redeem their points to make an instant donation to the current cause. We will offer a progress report and regular information updating our clients on the situation. It is our belief that every small contribution, builds up to a big difference!

4. Environmentally Friendly Hairdryer: Another little step that will make a big difference! We are excited to announce our latest ‘Green’ Initiative, the New Parlux 3800 is the latest Eco-Friendly ionic and ceramic hairdryer. It features low environmental impact, whilst still retaining the characteristics that distinguish the highest quality. This energy saving, ozone friendly dryer is made from recyclable materials! With the latest technology you can be assured that your hair will dry faster, meaning less heat damage, less consumed energy and a happy environment with no harmful emissions from this ozone friendly model.

5. Eco-Friendly Stationery: With such a large team and many clients, we go through a lot of pens, paper and ink! We identified this as an area where we felt we could turn ‘ Green’. This led us to discover ‘VOW products’ – Value our World – Environmentally friendly office products. Our new pens are made from recycled car headlights! Our printers are filled with ink cartridges that have already been recycled and can continue to be recycled. We are proud to be a part of a product company that are just as passionate about the environment and making a positive change as we are.
We all know little things can make a big difference. If we all pull together those little things can add up pretty quickly too. Blue Cactus is committed to making the extra effort required to ensure those little things are taken care of - by making a smaller impact on our world and contributing to sustainable living every day.

6. Using non-ammonia hair colour: Blue Cactus now uses a new, no-ammonia professional colour range from L’Oreal professional called INOA. It contains a breakthrough oil-based delivery system - meaning optimal colour results while respecting the natural protective layer of the hair. Plus, it doesn’t have that horrible ammonia smell and is much gentler on your scalp – no wonder it’s so popular!   Ammonia is known to be toxic to aquatic organisms, so the team at Blue Cactus feel that changing to INOA is a positive step in their commitment to environmental care.

7. Pureology home care: Now clients can take home care products that are as great for the environment as for their personal hair types! Blue Cactus now stocks Pureology - a new hair-care range containing 100% Vegan formulas and Zero Sulfate shampoos for colour-treated hair. Not only are these products completely naturally-based and gentle, they deliver such superior performance they actually guarantee a longer lasting colour! Now Blue Cactus clients can feel even better about looking gorgeous.

8. Commitment to recycling: Blue Cactus is making some big changes in their commitment to recycling… using recycled paper retail bags, recycled stationary where-ever possible, and introducing an in-salon system for all their used paper, cardboard, plastic & ‘other’ recyclables.

9. Powerful power saving. Hairdressing is a power-hungry industry and with so many clients enjoying luscious hair treatments and hot washes at the basin, followed by gorgeous hair sculpting with blow-driers and hot tongs– it’s no wonder Blue Cactus see this as a great opportunity to make a difference. To combat their consumption, Blue Cactus has a detailed action plan for increasing their power-savings and consciousness - including upgrading to lower energy rating light bulbs, and turning off all power points (including things on stand-by) at the end of each day.

10. Green purchasing choices: Conscious purchasing is important for anyone wanting to make a lower impact on our environment. Blue Cactus is committed to doing just that –choosing to change their purchasing habits to ensure they use environmentally friendly cleaning products, and look for products with packaging that is either recycled or biodegradable.

11. Pioneering water reduction: In an effort to reduce water consumption, Blue Cactus is adopting an innovative approach to laundry that makes them one of the true pioneers of environmentally-friendly salons. Easydry is a one-use, recycleable towel. Made entirely of natural products from certified renewable sources, trees are planted for every one harvested. Using Easydry towels means Blue Cactus clients can enjoy knowing each towel is completely fresh and hygienic every time they visit, while also supporting the environment and helping stop deforestation. Water and washing powder are no longer necessary as each towel is thrown away after each client visit… and being biodegradable, the towels go straight into the appropriate Blue Cactus recycling bin. While other hairdressing salons use huge volumes of water and detergent every day, at Blue Cactus it just seems to keep feeling better to look good.

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