The Les Nouvelles Esthetiques annual eco-issue is focused on all aspects of Green thinking and sustainable development within the spa industry.
There have been nature lovers, environmentalists and people concerned with ideas of fair trade and sustainability who have been voicing their concerns for more than 40 years. However, most of us look at these issues and concepts of becoming green because of the growing necessity to do so, fueled by the demands of a clientele savvy enough to know that this is the future. Consequently, if we are going to support local and global efforts to become green, we need to start by greening the spa industry. Because of their inherent international culture of commodities, products and services, spas can be at the forefront of demonstrating and modeling green for its clientele.
The term “green” has come to mean any number of things and people rarely ask the essential questions about what exactly a company means when they describe an offering as “green.”
Green means “that which supports and sustains life.” It begs questions such as: How is this product produced? What is the origin of its raw materials? How does the extraction or creation of the material and product impact the quality of air, land and water? What is the impact on all life forms, plants, animals and humans in and around the places where the materials are extracted or created? How are the workers involved in the growing or production of the consumed materials and products treated? What are their working conditions like? Are they compensated fairly? What amount and type of energy is needed to procure, create and ship the commodity?
We explore a number of these concepts in this issue of Les Nouvelles Esthetiques, and assist our spas in their purchase decisions with the Natural & Organic Directory 2011.
While not to be forgotten our exploration of the magnificent recently opened spas in South Africa, new product launches, and industry updates in spa news, new course information and more.
Enjoy the read
Dr Nadine de Freitas
(Managing Editor – Les Nouvelles Esthetiques)
