Sally Beauty bans plastic bags in a bid to reduce its environmental impact

Sally Beauty is upping its sustainability efforts as it heads into 2020.

Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. has rolled out an environmentally-focused initiative, 'SBH Going Green,' in a bid to boost the eco-friendly credentials of its stores, supply chain and headquarters.

Plastic bags will no longer be used in stores as of next year, the company has announced, with shoppers instead given the option of paying to use bags made from paper or other recycled materials. The company estimates that the move will eliminate more than 104 million plastic bags per year from ending up in landfills.

Styrofoam is also on the hit list, with the group promising to eradicate it from its operations, while a cardboard recycling program is being launched in an effort to recycle between five to seven tons of cardboard per year. An energy management pilot program that was rolled out in 64 stores this year will also be extended to additional locations, having yielded a 34% reduction in energy at each store.

"Sally Beauty is committed to a top-down transformation," said Aaron Alt, president of Sally Beauty Supply, in a statement. "Making our operations more sustainable helps our communities and our business." He added: "Our customer base wants to see a more environmentally-friendly Sally, and we're proud of the plan we've developed to get us there."

The brand is not the only key beauty player doubling down on waste: Dove recently announced plans to replace its plastic bottles with recycled ones and reduce its virgin plastic use by more than 20,500 tonnes per year, while the L'Occitane Group has teamed up with the sustainable plastic innovator Loop Industries to incorporate Loop PET plastic (which is 100% sustainable) into its product packaging from the year 2022.