Fair Hair Care on how to create an ethical, sustainable hair extensions brand
The company describes itself as “on a mission to inspire consumers of hair extensions to purchase and make informed choices and influence brands to do better".
It is making moves to establish a hair extensions certification award, and it comes at a time when the consumer demand for truly representative multicultural beauty is on the rise.
The organisation has released a Q&A with co-founder Christina Adesina on its campaign and how it relates to the wider, global hair care industry.
What lead you to set up Fair Hair Care?
My sister and I both found it difficult to identify good quality hair. We tried and tested different hair stockists which claimed to have 100% ‘human hair’, as we only looked to purchase extensions that had longevity.
Once I washed and treated the hair, however, it didn’t respond how ‘human hair’ would. This happened on numerous occasions with different hair stockists.
Through our own research, we discovered that there’s no platform to regulate the quality of human hair or a platform for consumers to voice their opinions on their experience with human hair extensions. So in our frustration as a consumer Fair Hair Care was born.
Is sustainability good for hair businesses or is it a compromise?
If business trading human hair extensions are looking to grow expand and become a household name then sustainability is very important.
If the hair supply stops due to unstainable methods of sourcing then quality could suffer and in turn this will have a massive effect on their reputation and business. So, it is not a compromise, it is a necessity.
How important is sustainability to consumers?
At this point in time most consumers place emphasis on quality than sustainability in regards to the hair industry.
However, if they received information that the human hair supply chain will stop due to unsustainable methods or practices then I am sure this will be a massive concern to them and consumers may start buying human hair extensions from sustainable sources.
Just as we had bad farming methods and unsustainable practices we now have the option to buy free range alternatives. So, part of our job as an organisation is to educate consumers to be better informed when making purchase decisions.
What does a brand have to do to get the Fair Hair Care mark?
We are putting together an advisory board and a governing body to help us put together a robust assessment criterion for hair brands to be awarded our hair strand mark.
Consumers can also use our platform to voice any concerns over the awarded mark and help us to influence brands to do better.
What is next for Fair Hair Care?
Fair Hair Care will be touring the country and given presentations globally campaigning for fairer trade within the human hair extension. We know we can influence brands by the numbers so we are encouraging all consumers to sign up to our community.
Fair Hair Care hopes its community of brands will become industry leaders, showing other companies how to offer hair extensions in a transparent way.
More information on the campaign and how to join can be found here.
