MAN—the business of men’s grooming—is for barbers, hair stylists, skincare specialists, barber supply store owners and other beauty industry professionals that provide men’s grooming services or retail men’s grooming products.
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26 I M A N I S P R I N G 2 0 1 7 Indeed, our collective awareness has been raised regarding environmental responsibility, and companies that don't refl ect their involvement in some way may fi nd themselves losing business to competitors who have embraced the green movement. How to start? If you want to let clients know that your men's salon or barbershop honors Mother Earth, your best conduits are through products and messaging. PRODUCTS: Greener Options Whether you've dedicated your business to the use of nature- derived products or have yet to explore this arena, there's no denying the public's increasing demand for items whose sourcing and manufacture have had little to no negative impact upon the environment. In a 2015 Cone Communications/Ebiquity Global CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) study reported by Sustainable Brands (sustainablebrands.com), a network of 348,000 sustainable business leaders from around the world, 84 percent of the 10,000 global consumers surveyed reported seeking out "responsible" products whenever possible. Moreover, 81 percent said that a lack of availability was the only reason they did not purchase more of them. As the agreed-upon trailblazer in bringing the subject of sustainable products into the modern beauty/grooming industry, Aveda, founded in 1978, has spent many years building consumer loyalty around its nature-based lines and high-profi le environmental advocacy. Today, the company is well-positioned to meet the growing demand for products that support a commitment to sustainability. "As a large buyer of organic essential oils—more than 90 percent of the essential oils used in Aveda's aromas are certifi ed organic—we have noticed that demand for these sustainably produced materials is increasing," reports Dave Rapaport, vice president, Earth and Community Care for Aveda. You might ask, "But isn't that demand mostly in skin, bath and body care, mostly in spas and mostly for women?" Not anymore, says Rapaport. "I have developed products for men for years and have seen now more than ever how aware and conscious they are of their physical appearance. They have fi nally caught on to what women have known for years: Take care of your skin and you will reap the rewards." "But they don't want to use just any product," Rapaport continues. "Just like women, they want a product they can trust, with ingredients they recognize and a formula that works for them." One of the ways we've seen purchase decisions change is in how consumers now examine products before buying. "Horst [Rechelbacher, founder of Aveda] did a great job of pioneering the category, but back then we weren't ingredient gurus," says Orrell. "We weren't label-readers. We'd look at the front panel of a bottle, take the cap off, smell it, put the cap back on, then turn the bottle over to look at the price sticker on the bottom. The last thing on our mind was reading ingredient data." By the time NEUMA was brought to market in 2010, the public's interest in product ingredient safety and responsibility was well established. "We set out to create a brand that would perform at a professional level but be free of ingredients that were suspected of contributing to human or environmental health problems," Orrell says. "Our product line is cruelty-free, made with vegan formulas and free of a lot of the materials we like to call 'no-nos', such as carcinogens, skin sensitizers and neurotoxins." NEUMA also ruled out glutens, GMOs and synthetic fragrance when creating its formulas. "There's no health benefi t or true olfactory experience from synthetic fragrance because our brains can't interpret it," explains Orrell. "Synthetic fragrance can, however, give us headaches, migraines, scalp problems and allergic reactions." Can "natural" products really perform as well as others? They can, insist their manufacturers, but it takes ingenuity to coax cleansing, exfoliating, conditioning, healing, managing or styling functions out of a haircare product without relying on long-established standby ingredients—some of which are those so-called "no-nos." The secret is in looking for botanical replacements that, in the correct proportion, produce similar effects. "Whenever possible we look to the environment to help power our high-performing products," says Rapaport. "One of the most important roles that Aveda has played in the beauty industry has been to establish that you can get high-performance products made with naturally derived ingredients. Our scientists continue to have great expertise in identifying naturally occurring botanical compounds that can be functional ingredients in our products." Still, it can be a hard sell in the men's market, where natural ingredient-based products may be regarded as too "fl owery" or "weak" to do the job. In the end, the proof is in the pudding, say manufacturers. "I was giving a presentation in Texas, and had to fi nd something that I knew a Texan audience would relate to—because, of course, Texas is typically not the place to talk about 'vegan,' unless you're in Austin," Orrell relates. "So I basically summed up my presentation by saying, 'Look, we found a way to make tofu taste like tenderloin.' I got a very receptive response to that!" MARKETING: Walk the Talk The average consumer today wants to know—in fact, feels they have a right to know—where businesses stand when it comes to doing the right thing. About 90 percent of global consumers in the above-cited CSR survey reported that they are likely to make decisions about patronizing 84 percent of the 10,000 global consumers surveyed reported seeking out "responsible" products whenever possible. "Men today want a product they can trust, with ingredients they recognize." ROMOLOTAVANI