The world environment- What we are doing as a clinic to be responsible

June 5th was the official ‘World Environment Day’, but here at Serenity we wholeheartedly believe that the world environment should come first every day. Month on month we see heightened exposure of environmental issues and the impact that our lifestyles are having throughout the world. Combine that with almost daily news reports and social media exposure highlighting the devastating impact that pollution, temperature & acidity increases are having on our oceans & other ecosystems.

It breaks our hearts when we see the amount of packaging used throughout the running of the business, so we wanted to share with you some of the conscious changes we have passionately implemented during the last eight years in order to try and reduce our carbon footprint and protect the world environment.

One of our earliest investments was back in 2016 when we became the second business in Leeds to register with 1% For The Planet - a global movement which encourages businesses and individuals to donate 1% of their gross annual income to help support world environmental solutions all over the world. After careful consideration and input from speaking with our patients we chose to support Rainforest Concern who work alongside indigenous people to protect threatened natural habitats and the biodiversity that they contain.

In 2017 we finally got our first clinic which mean we could start stocking medical grade skincare and without a question of a doubt it had to be AlumierMD. Not only were we won over by their clean science approach to great skincare, but their policy against animal testing, recyclable packaging and their efforts to support less fortunate people in the world completely won our hearts. During our incredible two year journey with AlumierMD so far we have struggled to keep our shelves stocked, even more exciting is that we have been invited to become ambassadors of the brand. Obviously we said yes.

So far during 2019 we have been able to introduce:

• Biodegradable latex free gloves for use during treatments, the first clinic that we know of to do this.
• Environmentally friendly bamboo tissues, toilet rolls and surface wipes from ‘Who Gives A Crap’. The biodegradable surface wipes used alongside our BioD multi-surface sanitiser will allow us to ditch our previous non-recyclable sanitising wipes. Bamboo 
• Reusable organic bamboo cotton pads for use during AlumierMD chemical peel treatments instead of the disposable gauze we were using. As with all of our laundry, these will be boil washed to ensure the same level of hygiene is maintained during treatments.
• Fully biodegradable bamboo facial cleansing wipes for makeup removal.
• Street collection of business recycling waste by the council in the city centre is non-existent, so we take all glass, cardboard and recyclable plastic waste to be recycled where possible.

This year we have also been working closely alongside independent, Hull based company BioD who specialise in using plant based ingredients to make ethical, eco-friendly, cruelty free, biodegradable and hypoallergenic cleaning products all made here in the UK. All of the cleaning products we will use in the clinic and at home from now on are safe, healthy and kinder to the environment. The BioD range is extensive and made without using GMO’s, bleach/chlorine, triclosan, synthetic fragrances, phthalates, phosphates, E.D.T.A, enzymes, lanolin, optical brighteners, urea, tallow & petroleum-derived additives to name but a few, making all products 100% hypoallergenic. Please consider switching to environmentally friendly products in your life if you don't already, find out more information from their website (This month while stocks last we have BioD samples for you to try for yourself).

We all have the luxury of choice in this world, unlike our plant and animal friends. At Serenity we are taking take that choice and making the most environmentally and health conscious decisions that we can, putting them before profit. Who knows what changes we will make in the future but we can assure you they will only have the interests of the world environment at heart.