DS Minutes April 2009 — Green Teens

Sustainable Sincerity

Our upcoming Green Scene ("Mayan Marvel," September 2010) contains helpful tips on how to detect greenwashing when perusing "organic" product labels. That's when companies try to unjustifiably tout a product's environmental virtues.

As John Vater, co-ower of Spa Adriana in Huntington, New York, warns, "The big print giveth and the small print taketh away."

Here's some information about avoiding this pitfall:

Read labels with a discriminating eye.
John and his wife, co-owner Adriana Vater, caution spa professionals against taking a product label at face value. "If the packaging claims it doesn't contain something, you should ask yourself what's there to do that ingredient's job," Adriana says. "Every component of a product has a purpose, and sometimes a so-called 'green' ingredient is just as offensive as the original."
Educate yourself.
The Vaters say it's important to develop an understanding of how product ingredients work. "With today's Internet access, you can quickly look up the chemical composition of any item," John says.

It's not always easy going green. How do you ensure that your spa's environmental initiatives result in real, positive change? Send your ideas to Katie O'Reilly, associate editor, at koreilly@creativeage.com.

[ close ]

Green Teens

Like most parents of teen daughters, Judi Shils took note when her preteen experimented with lip gloss and mascara. What bothered Shils was not so much her daughter’s interest in cosmetics, but the toxic ingredients found in many of the products. She decided to launch a campaign organized by teens to educate others about the dangerous ingredients found in popular cosmetic brands. This group formed a coalition called Teens for Safe Cosmetics (www.teensforsafecosmetics.org). A year later, Shils’ dedication to the cause paid off with the passage of the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2005. Armed with knowledge and passion, these teens are also committed to educating their peers about safe products and the importance of environmental responsibility throughout the beauty industry.

Teens for Safe Cosmetics is working with the Green Spa Network (www.greenspanetwork.org) to help business owners promote natural beauty products, and environmentally-responsible services and programs for teens. In part, Teens for Safe Cosmetics helps spas promote teen events that feature organic products and treatments. Green-conscious teens who frequent spas have become an especially influential group, according to Shils. “We can bring change to the market from the top down,” she says. “If these girls have discretionary income, it’s a good place to start. Then it trickles down and becomes mainstream.”

Expect green-conscious teens to be acutely aware of what your spa is and isn’t doing to protect the environment and promote natural beauty products. They know which ingredients to stay away from and will notice when a facility is wasting resources needlessly. On the other hand, green-friendly spas should focus on marketing themselves to teens. “Once teens understand it, that’s where they want to go,” Shils says. “If you’re the first green spa on the block, they’ll come to you.”

Green Teens

Sponsored Links