Making waves for sustainability: local salon recognised as one of Britain’s most eco-conscious salons at the Pro Hair Awards 2025
En Route is a small hairdressing salon in School Lane, Wakefield, but you wouldn’t know it given the huge waves they are making in sustainability within the hairdressing business sector of over 45,000 salons in the UK but also in Wakefield itself with public events. They are celebrating being one of six finalists in the sustainability category (the only one from ‘The North’!), at the Pro Hair Awards 2025.
Award winning En Route has been a leading industry voice on sustainability for the past 5 years, with Melenie a sustainability ambassador for Schwarzkopf Professional, but it is with a latest initiative that started in Wakefield that they have finalised for Pro Hair Awards 2025 (winners to be revealed at the awards in September).
En Route to Sustainability is a new initiative designed by Melenie Tudor and Shannon Giblin, it is both public and salon business facing and through engaging and encouraging workshops shows a few easy steps to being greener, saving the planet a little footprint at a time. Their work impressed judges, not least with their sustainable practices within the salon, their recycling, their use of hair clippings in the local allotment or re-filling stations in their salon but mostly with the bid they won with Wakefield First for their En Route To Sustainability initiative.
“We are showing that you don’t have to be a huge business, or manufacturer, to make a difference, we are no Greta Thunburg but we are doing our bit in our corner of the world, we are really walking the walk in our industry; with what we are doing in the salon; what we demand of our product suppliers and what we have done in collaboration with Wakefield First. Everything we are about is making it simple, taking the fear out of sustainability and encouraging everyone to do what they can.” Melenie Tudor.
The salon has amassed a clutch of industry recognitions and awards for their work, the latest being for their standout entry detailing their green initiatives, from in-salon practices and partnerships with sustainable product brands to the tangible positive impact on both the environment and the client experience.
Reflecting on this latest recognition, Melenie Tudor, owner of En Route Hair & Beauty, said, “We’re thrilled to reach the final 6 of this industry awards run by Professional Hairdresser (the only salon in the final six from the north of England) and are hoping to bring another award home in September but whatever the result, we are showing that sustainability isn’t just a buzzword for us, it’s a core value and a fundamental part of our business. I’m immensely proud of our team and the strides we’ve made this year towards becoming a truly environmentally conscious salon.”
Award successes so far for 2024/2025:
- Salon Business Green Salon of the Year 2023 & 2024 - winner
- British Hairdressing Business Awards Sustainable Salon of the Year 2024/5 - winner
- British Hairdressing Business Awards Sustainable Salon of the Year 2025/6 – finalist (March 2026)
- Salon Awards Most Sustainable Salon 2025 - finalist (awards 1st November 2025)
- Pro Hair Awards Sustainable Salon of the Year 2025 – finalist (25th September 2025)