The Arrowtown Hair Company punches above its weight particularly when it comes to protecting the environment.

Owner Rhys Jeffery, together with manager Amelia Griffiths and senior stylists Jen Matiu and Jackie Moore, are committed to sustainability both personally and in the salon.

“We are trying to be as sustainable as possible in everything we do,” says Amelia. “A key difference is that we no longer use tin foil for colouring hair. It was a breakthrough for us when the new ‘papernotfoil’ product came on the market because of our concern about the impact waste foil was having.”

Papernotfoil is marketed as a revolutionary alternative to using aluminium foil for hair foils, at the same time eliminating one of the biggest waster producers in the beauty industry.

“An average salon apparently uses 1.5km of tin foil a month which is enough to wrap around the earth once a year,” says Amelia.” We love using papernotfoil because its reusable, recyclable and biodegradable and we have massively cut down on waste since we began using it. Clients like the product better as well because its more comfortable and provides a more relaxing experience.”

Amelia says their sustainable approach means they stock products which reinforce the salon’s philosophy.

“We use EVO hair products because they respect the environment and endeavour to use vegan and gluten free ingredients. This makes them chemical free and there is no animal testing while all the packaging is 100% recyclable.”

The salon plans to become part of Sustainable Salons NZ which provides collection for salon waste, including hair.

“The Australian based company has recently set up in New Zealand and as soon as the collection service is available in our area we will be joining up,” she says. “It is a fantastic venture and again underlines our efforts to be as environmentally conscious as possible.”