Grooming Going Green
The green movement is one of the biggest changes in the grooming industry since the invention of the grooming van. Pet owners who look for natural and Eco-friendly products for themselves are looking for natural and Eco-friendly products for their pets. As a result, groomers are responding by making their operations more environmentally friendly and offering their clients natural options. Being able to comfortably say that you are able to provide a full line of services with a green ethic is an advantage.
Cats just cats grooming wanted to get away from chemicals in part because I did not want to put pesticides down the drain. A lot of what is available, botanically based, still has a lot of difficult to pronounce chemicals in them. You have to search to find the best products and systems. I use biodegradable shampoos; I have a hydro-surge recirculating bathing system to conserve water and shampoo. I reuse and recycle all the shampoo containers. I donated dog hair to clean up oil spills in the Gulf. Some customers take their dogs hair with them after the groom. If you put it around your garden it deters deer from snacking on the plants. It also helps make excellent mulch.
Most customers do not ask for green products, but most are pleased that it is what I am using to groom their pets. I source products from multiple suppliers to ensure the products I purchase meet my criteria.
Mobile grooming is innately a green way of doing things. It saves you gas instead of you driving to the groomer then back home and then later driving back to the groomer and then back home again. One trip to the customer is all it takes.
My disinfectants are biodegradable. High quality options save time and money. Reading labels requires education, as a product might contain laurel sulfate and dimethicone for example. They could have said it contains oils from coconut and silicon derived from sand. By finding suppliers or manufacturers that can be trusted makes it easier to find the best products in sufficient quantities to have the desired effect on the pets’ skin and coat.
Many groomers may initially make their business more natural and Eco-friendly to ensure the health of their clients’ pets and conserve resources. It might garner appreciation and loyalty from new or existing customers. It might just be that sometimes it pays to do the right thing.