Alan Howard’s Jon Littler meets Marc Carey to discuss why they support recycle My Salon

[Jonathan Littler]

Hi, my name is Jonathan Littler. I work for Alan Howard and I'm the managing director.

[Marc Carey]

Brilliant and you've been there a while haven't you, 31 years or so? Oh, well are we allowed to say that?

[JL]

Yeah, check it out on LinkedIn. I feel like I've been with the business forever because my dad founded the business so I've grown up with it, even before I officially started he had me in the warehouse splitting down packs and doing all the bits and pieces.

[MC]

So this is obviously a great scheme we're talking about today, Recycle My Salon, but you must have seen a lot of changes in the industry over the years?

[JL]

Oh, absolutely. I mean not just the brands but even salons, things have changed dramatically.

[MC]

So Alan Howard is a wholesaler but you also have your own stores as well, is that right? Tell us a little bit about the business.

[JL]

Well, wholesaler is one word but I suppose we are a professional distributor, so we have many angles. It's all about supporting salons and hairdressers to develop and grow their businesses. So yes, we provide products and stock but we also provide education and everything else to help support the businesses to grow and offer a great service. We have a large number of salespeople, BDMs we call them, and a big education team to help develop and support salon businesses to grow. So it's a lot more than just wholesale business, it's a full service that we offer.

[MC]

That's interesting that you mentioned BDM because sales across all industries has moved more into that business development role. So, rather than the salesperson approach of just bringing you the best goods, there's that element of helping the client and the customer to develop their business like you say through education and training.

[JL]

It's become a full service. You have to be able to offer so much more than just being a salesperson, if all you're doing is going in there solely to sell a product then that's very one-sided.

[MC]

So, in terms of Recycle My Salon, how did you find out about this scheme initially, was it through industry partners?

[JL]

I'm actually on the council of the HBSA so I was introduced to this quite early on and I absolutely loved the idea. The more I heard about it, the more involved I got,  I got myself on the subcommittee and everything else. So it was something that I became very passionate about because I saw this as something that can make a real difference. Whereas with a lot of things that you do you don't necessarily know what the outcome will be, whereas this is something that I just thought we have to do. I was committed 110% to make sure that we could get this scheme off the ground.

[MC]

I think one of the key things about this is the simplicity. We've talked a lot about the effects of COVID and how businesses have had to find other ways to keep their businesses afloat, so you end up working on the business. You've got to start to look at all of the avenues and the effects of your business across the board. You can start to address some of your sustainability issues or start thinking about a low carbon agenda, keeping it simple and accessible. I would imagine at grassroots level that's what they need, isn't it?

[JL]

Absolutely. As soon as things become complicated that's generally when they don't work. So I'm a big believer in keeping things simple, it's the key to making things work.

[MC]

In terms of within your own business, have you started to see the trend changing towards a more sustainable market? Or has it always been there but just not at the top of the agenda?

[JL]

Absolutely, we're learning more and more from what's on the TV, what's on the news, and it's becoming very important on everybody's agenda. We're all so much more aware of the need to change. Although, I think sometimes the messages can be quite blurry. People are putting out strong claims and messages but you have to sometimes read through what it is they are saying to find out if it is better for the planet and as green as they're trying to say it is. I think that's the hardest thing at the moment because sometimes the extra effort can involve, for example, more driving which gives off more carbon, so you've got to actually weigh up all the pros and cons.

[MC]

Yeah, I think that's been one of the key issues, hasn't it? There's been so much greenwash over the years, where people have seen opportunities but they've not thought the process through in the right way and then the net benefits have been negated by some element that they've missed. That's what I think is key, the idea that this is authentic. I mean, the industry and members of the industry coming together, competition aside, to do the right thing, it's quite impressive, isn't it?

[JL]

Yeah, it makes me proud to be part of this industry. The fact that everybody has come together for the greater good of the industry and the world.

[MC]

We get so many mixed messages because of social media, the internet, David Attenborough on the telly every five minutes saying how bad everything's going. We need some positive outputs as well, don't we?

[JL]

Yeah, absolutely. I think this is a really strong positive message and, like you said before, it's very simple.

[MC]

That's one of the key things here, that positive proactive approach. So, the key to making a difference around sustainability is of course recycling. What else do you think might be on the horizon?

[JL]

Good question, you've caught me out a bit there. I mean, there's an awful lot of ingredients within products that are becoming higher up on people's agenda, making sure the ingredients are sustainable and aren't harming the environment. That all comes under sustainability, so I think that is what's driving a lot of the changes at the moment.

[MC]

Is it the younger consumer that's still coming through and therefore they have a slightly different agenda to previous generations or is it quite a mixed bag?

[JL]

I think it's a mixed bag as everybody's becoming more educated. In regards to the vegan side and animal byproducts that has been driven by the younger generation but I think that everybody is becoming more socially aware of their impact on the environment. I think we're all conscious about the energy we use in our homes and with our cars and things like that.

[MC]

I'm not trying to play devil's advocate here but in terms of offering greener services and products, there must be a marketing benefit to that? I know that's not the primary cause but it must attract an audience of sorts.

[JL]

Oh, absolutely and I think it's because of that demand. We're all trying to do the right thing but ultimately that demand for greener products and services is forcing large companies to address these issues and change, otherwise they'll get left behind. It's because of it being consumer-driven that's leading to the greener products and services being provided.

[MC]

So I guess initiatives are evolving from top-down and from grassroots.

[JL]

Yeah, I think I was naive in the past in understanding what actually happened to the aluminium that came from the colour tubes and foil. I just presumed that the aluminium foil went through the recycling process. I didn't realise that it was picked out because it couldn't be recycled and then ended up being incinerated or going to landfill. So I think it's all about being educated and understanding the recycling process. It was quite frightening to realise how many millions or billions of colour tubes throughout the world end up in landfill. I learnt that 75% of the world's aluminium that's ever been manufactured is still in circulation today. Some that aluminium that isn't getting recycled is because of the colour tubes in hairdressing and the foil that we use. You know, we have to get volume to make it viable for somebody to actually recycle it, now this is probably one of the key things. Having all the major manufacturers and distributors supporting it means that we'll get the volume to make it viable. I think that has been my driving force behind it, without the support of everybody then it just won't work. This to me, as I say, has become quite a passion because I can see that it is going to make a real difference. One of the keys to making this a success is making it affordable so that it's accessible to every salon and hairdresser, it's accessible to everybody and that's why everybody should support it.