Green Tips From Anne Veck, Last Year’s #SBAward’s Green Salon Winner
It’s no secret that Anne Veck cares about what happens in the world around us, and last year we also caught up with her to talk about her collection TOXIC. Shot in a scrapyard, its sole purpose was to raise awareness to the damage that modern society is doing to the environment. Last year, Anne Veck Oxford also scooped our Green Salon award, so we thought that we’d share a bit of her green passion with you as to inspire your applications to the #SBAwards Green Salon category.
Have you always been ethically minded?
I’ve always thought that running a business should be done fairly and transparently. More recently, maybe over the last 10 years, I’ve realised that business also has a responsibility to be more sustainable. Looking back further into my personal life, I only bought a car when my first daughter was three, (I had to, I almost killed both of us on the bike) and now that they have both left home we will again be a one car family. As much as I can, I take public transport or use my bike and I’m a great fan of upcycling…everything both at home and in the salons. We have reduced the amount of meat we eat (although going completely veggie or vegan is a little step too far for us right now.
What made you decide to shoot the TOXIC collection?
I shot it in a scrap yard. The intention is to shock and to bring to the attention of the hairdressing industry how destructive the fashion world is to people and the planet. Each image illustrates a theme, e.g. the cotton industry, ghost fishing, over use of plastic, pollution of our rivers by chemical discharges. To achieve the looks I incorporated waste materials including daubing the hair with paint, melting plastic into the hair and plaiting the hair with wire. Have you always been ethically minded? I’ve always thought that running a business should be done fairly and transparently. More recently, maybe over the last 10 years, I’ve realised that business also has a responsibility to be more sustainable. Looking back further into my personal life, I only bought a car when my first daughter was three, (I had to, I almost killed both of us on the bike) and now that they have both left home we will again be a one car family. As much as I can, I take public transport or use my bike and I’m a great fan of upcycling…everything both at home and in the salons. We have reduced the amount of meat we eat (although going completely veggie or vegan is a little step too far for us right now!)
How did your passion for the environment grow?
When I met my partner Keith, he was working for an environmental charity, so we used to do lots of voluntary work in nature reserves. Then recently I have became much more aware of how wasteful our society is, how we consume all the time but are not happier for it. I watched a very good documentary called The True Cost and decided I don’t really want to be part of the incredibly destructive polluting fashion industry that hairdressing is part of. A top brand might spend £10,000,000 on a 10-minute show at Fashion Week; money which could be better spent producing the goods ethically. I wonder if any of the workers making top brands’ clothes in Asia even earn £10,000 in a year?
Explain why you find hairdressing is a good channel to encourage people to be more aware of their environment?
We have our client’s attention for at least 45 minutes in the chair, so it is the perfect platform to spread the message. Clients can understand from their own experience how much water we use, how much energy is consumed and what chemicals are used in the products we use to give them beautiful hair. And because hairdressing is a visual industry with such strong media support, it provides great avenues to express your views through photo shoots, video, award entries and so on.
If you’re feeling inspired and think that your salon is a green pioneer, then enter the Salon Business Awards 2020 here.
