Luxury beauty salon VaVaVoom kicked off a recycling campaign this month that encourages its upscale customers to clean up the environment. The initiative aims to plant new recycling habits in ladies (and men) that don’t typically touch trash.
VaVaVoom set up collection points for used lotions, potions and cosmetic cases at the Bahrain City Centre where customers can drop glass, metal and plastic containers.
During the campaign, different in-store and online marketing messages will explain the energy savings connected with recycled packaging. For example, recycling one perfume bottle saves enough energy to light a classroom for 10 hours; a lipstick tube defers up to 100 watts of power consumption; and the energy saved from a recycled mascara kit would be enough to juice your iPod for hours.
“We couldn’t have thought of a better initiative to reward our customers for the ten great years of business we’ve had in Bahrain. We’re thrilled to launch this campaign and even more excited to see the results such a green program will have in our community,” said Daniel Ritchie, VaVaVoom Vice President.
“Every VaVaVoom customer wants to look good. Now we want them to feel great too, by showing the positive effects that recycling can have on our daily lives in Bahrain,” Ritchie told TradeArabia, “Our ‘Look Good and Feel Great’ campaign lets people easily participate in a recycling initiative that contributes to a better environment.”
Participating customers will receive 10% off discount vouchers that can be redeemed in stores for a limited time. In fact, the campaign is also active for a limited time, ending on August 31. Maybe VaVaVoom will extend the program for the longterm as cosmetic biggies MAC, Lush, Kiehl’s and Aveda do. (Check the link here for details of their own recycling rewards programs).
Recycling is new to Bahrain. A scheme to reduce domestic garbage and save energy was launched in selected areas of the Northern Governorate last year. Households were provided with color-coded rubbish bags for segregating different types of debris, which are collected by the Bahrain Recycling Plant, under an agreement with the Northern Municipality. The second phase of the project will involve setting up recycling bins in schools and markets across all areas.
“We are planning to encourage recycling and turn it from just a concept into a lifestyle,” said municipality director-general Yousif Al Ghatam, who is also National Cleaning Committee chairman.
Speaking to Gulf News, Al Ghatam said the initiative targets homes because they are the biggest waste producers, with an estimated 75% of that waste being potentially recyclable.
“Home waste in Bahrain reveal an alarming figure with 287,205 tons in 2007 increasing to 402,241 tons in 2009 – an increase of 29 per cent. People can imagine where that number must reach today by just adding another 20 per cent to the 2009 figure,” he explained. “The average solid waste per person is 1.5kg a day and that’s high compared to Oman, where it is 0.6kg to 0.9kg, and Germany where it is 1.1kg.”
VaVaVoom was first created in Kuwait in 2003. Now operating 26 stores across the Middle East, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, the company is well-positioned to spread it’s green message.
Image of spa treatment from Shutterstock
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Apparently, the recycling movement is growing from the bottom up and not from the top down, which is ok IF there is enough time, but the Earth is already in crisis with the massive rains and flooding in some areas and drought and wildfires in others. Yet, the governments are far more concerned with “growing the economy” even as it dumps growing tone of pollution around the World.