A HAIR SALON in the city centre has been named as one of five finalists across the country for an industry award for green business practices.
Muse Hairdressing, on Winchester Street, received the news on Friday, June 16 that it is the only business in Wiltshire to be shortlisted for the Sustainability Hero category of Creative HEAD’s Most Wanted Awards.
Lois Mant, 39, has been a hairdresser for more than 20 years and opened the salon in October 2020, nine days before the first covid lockdown.
She has taken sustainable business practices seriously since Muse’s beginning and said she is very pleased to see the business’ efforts recognised.
SEE ALSO: Downton Band hosting reunion concert for former members to celebrate 150 years
Lois said: “It’s one of the biggest award ceremonies within the hairdressing industry.
“We entered it last year but didn’t get shortlisted, so it’s the first time we’ve made it through to the finals.”
Maintaining environmentally conscious business practices hasn’t been easy. Muse Hairdressing is the first business Lois has ever run.
In addition to learning how to handle the routine and logistics of day-to-day business, she added for herself the extra burden of ensuring everything was sustainable.
Lois said: “We literally do everything that we possibly can to be sustainable, but since we last entered, we’ve become carbon neutral, so anything that we can’t control then we offset, like the team’s travel to work and then just our real attention to detail.
"We use the recycling companies that recycle hair and things, which is amazing, but we also make sure all of our coffee is locally sourced, the team’s pensions are in an ethical fund, our banking is ethical, our electric, our phones, every little detail that we can do is sustainable.
“There’s obviously a huge dedication to- one, doing the research to find out all of the information and make sure you doing the best, and the cost that comes with it as well.”
The overall winner among the five finalists will be announced at Most Wanted’s award ceremony at the Tate Modern in London on Monday, September 4.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here