Organic Care Systems: Ethical hair products for Earth Day

Award-winning hair company OCS, recently name-checked in Vogue, New York Times, Wall St Journal and the Observer magazine, and winner of a Celebs on Sunday Beauty Survey award, are the perfect product choice for Earth Day. As well as using certified organic ingredients and carrying the Choose Cruelty Free bunny logo, they have implemented a number of clever green initiatives.

Factory

* Now uses shredding from the office as packaging material. They also shred cardboard boxes and use them instead of bubble wrap.
* IBCs (containers for bulk product such as peroxide) are now being removed by an interested party instead of being sent to landfill.

Offices

* Installed motion sensors on the corridor lights to reduce electrical usage.
* Windows in reception have been glazed with a film which filters the light and reduces heat loss in winter and negates the need for cooling in summer.
* Replaced the printers with more efficient ones with energy saving functions to save electricity. They now all have compatible consumables as well, so reducing consumable waste.

Whole company

* An incentivised ‘Leave Your Car At Home’ scheme has been launched for all staff. Points can be earned each day for walking, cycling, jogging, using public transport or car pooling. The points can then be converted into gift vouchers of varying values for certain stores / experiences.
* Training has been given to all staff in waste recognition and a suggestion scheme for improvements has been launched. The ‘Leave Your Car At Home’ scheme came through the suggestion box.
* Installed water saving Hippo bags in the toilet cisterns.
* The company which supplies the printers sponsors a tree planting for every 100,000 prints we make, through the Future-Forests programme.

But don’t just choose them because they’re green, choose them because they perform brilliantly! OCS is a UK-based company (the country’s largest own-brand manufacturer of hair products) and the range includes ammonia-free colour, shampoos, conditioners, treatments and styling products, which contain Soil Association and ECOCERT Organic Certified ingredients.

The brand has never tested on animals and the raw materials they use meet the strict criteria set by Choose Cruelty Free. Parabens and other nasties are excluded in favour of ingredients with natural, hard working properties, such as sunflower oil (a natural UV inhibitor), Fennel Seed (conditioner); White Willow Bark (conditioner and antiseptic properties); Sea Mayweed (antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and soothing properties); Geranium Oil (anti-inflammatory properties); Bergamot Fruit oil (Antiseptic properties); Comfrey (conditioner, soothing, moisturising); and Wheat (conditioner, strengthens and protects hair) among others. OCS is the salon professional brand to choose for top quality products with a clear conscience.

For more information on Earth Day visit http://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2011

For more information on Choose Cruelty Free visit http://www.choosecrueltyfree.org.au/

To find your nearest OCS salon/stockist, call 01590 613 490 or see www.organiccoloursystems.com