Sustainable Beauty

The cosmetic industry is sometimes accused of being wasteful and detrimental to health in the name of youth and beauty. So it’s refreshing to find people in these businesses with a heart for our planet and humanity’s well-being. Even better, there are now more local, sustainable choices for people who once felt they had no choice but to sift through drugstore shelves for products from New York or Australia or visit a distant ‘organic’ salon for just the right shade of Rock ‘n’ Roll Red. Julie Farley, owner of Spokane’s The Make-up Studio, created Project Share Beauty and found a way to put beauty care in the hands of the disadvantaged in Spokane, while keeping unwanted cosmetics out of the waste stream. For years, she’s taught professional makeup application and self-application, and initially told students to throw away products they couldn’t or wouldn’t use. One day things changed when a client suggested she collect unused products and donate them to women who truly needed them.” Farley learned that food stamps didn’t cover personal hygiene products or makeup, and how these items could greatly benefit these women’s confidence and success at reintegrating into the workforce. It spoke to her heart. In fall 2009, she put the word out about a need for new or gently used makeup and product samples, including complimentary hotel soaps, shampoos and lotions. Donations poured in. “It’s amazing to see how giving this community is,” says Farley. “I’ve always wanted to volunteer my time, but as a business owner, I found it difficult; now I’m not only doing what I’ve always wanted to do but other salon owners have volunteered to be collection sites so hopefully it’s fulfilling that need in them as well.” Volunteers sort and sanitize donated products, and then they’re boxed up and sent to charities like Our Sister’s Closet, Transitions, and Hope House. Project Beauty Share now regularly receives overstock from businesses like Victoria’s Secret and Northwest Beauty Salon, which is important since “anything with a wand can’t be reused.” Recently 200 units of unused sunscreen packages came through, which helped out greatly, says Farley. Also in high demand are items like razors and deodorant. Project Beauty is also organizing “Can You Spare a Square” TP Drive Sept. 11, since food stamps also don’t cover toilet paper. Another local beauty locale with a focus on sustainability is Green Salon & Day Spa in downtown Spokane, where owners Annie Grieve, Heidi Crow, and Cheryl Lystad focus on ensuring clients look their best while minimizing toxic chemicals and recycling as much as possible.” “All three of us have committed to stewardship and caring for our environment, and for each other,” says Grieve. With the tagline “A Beautiful Choice,” Green Salon and Day Spa is one of a few unique choices when it comes to salons in Spokane “…with a distinct ‘green’ appeal.” The professional, licensed and dedicated staff is continually educated to keep up to date with the growing wealth of holistic treatments and product knowledge. After working in the personal care and beauty arenas for years, Grieve, Lystad and Crow agreed that salons and day spas can create less waste and operate cleaner. After three years of talking and planning, they opened the salon’s doors in August 2009. During renovation of their location at 227 W. Riverside, they used Metro Paint, a recycled paint from Eco Depot. For flooring, they used a LEED-certified Shaw laminate, and installed compact fluorescent lighting wherever possible.” They also make regular trips to Earthworks with recycling tubs full of basically everything used in their salon, including non-shine cardboard from hair color boxes and 100 percent aluminum tubes that once held hair color. The salon offers a “Refilling Program” on USpa products, which encourages clients to simply bring their own bottles and tubes back to get refilled and participate as much as possible in sustainable networking with local groups/projects such as Dirty Martinis for Clean Water, and Sustainable September, for which they will be the “day-of-the-event ticket sales” site. “We try to be as actively involved in recycling programs as possible, and are committed to making our community and environment a better place,” Grieve said. The Inland Northwest also now has a natural cosmetics manufacturer: Zaki Organics, which had its start when severe allergies made Amber Doyle’s eyes so swollen she couldn’t go anywhere without sunglasses. She decided to look closer at the beauty products she had been applying. What she found alarmed her —mercury in mascara, synthetic estrogens (linked to breast cancer) in lotion, lead in lipstick, just to name a few. “Once you find out what’s actually in these products and how they’re potentially harming you, it’s hard to go back,” says Doyle. “You have to be pro-active, especially when it comes to your kids.” Her next step was to don a lab coat, and try her hand at mixing up her own products. That was one year ago. Since then, she has created and is selling her personal care product line from her home and web site. Customers regularly share their stories with Doyle and thank her for creating products that are pure without synthetic additives or preservatives and which actually give the results they’ve been searching for. Zaki Organics features seven organic skincare and home products including skin serum, hair oil, body oil, salt scrub, eye make-up remover, lip balm and air cleaner. In the works are hand cleaner, toner and foaming cleanser, as well as more scents in the body oils. Only certified organic or “wild harvested” (medicinal, edible or ornamental “wild” plants) ingredients are used in Zaki’s products, including botanicals, plant and essential oils. Any preservatives used are also natural.  “I want people to know what they’re putting on their skin is ultimately going into their bodies…that they have healthy choices that don’t necessarily cost more,” Doyle said.