An impoverished community in El Salvador now has access to fresh water thanks to every stylist and salon owner who has joined the Sustain Beauty Co (SBCo) community. The champion of a more sustainable approach in beauty, SBCo  has teamed up with The Thirst Project, a student-driven organization determined to improve access to fresh water for communities all over the world. The first joint project, completed in January 2022, was to build a well for a village where the only water available previously was a fifteen minute walk away and infested with parasites.

“Being part of SBCo immediately makes a difference as all the product we supply helps reduce the carbon footprint of every service,” says Valorie Tate, founder of Sustain Beauty Co.  “But we are also a community that gives back. Every time someone buys an ECOHEADS showerhead they not only save water in the salon, they are also contributing towards helping the millions of children and families around the world who have no access to safe drinking water. They are saving water to give water.”

In 2020-21 alone, three adults from the tiny El Salvadorian settlement died with kidney failure. Many more, including young children, are ill, but hopes are high that clean water will help the villagers thrive, giving tremendous spin-off benefits like improved education in young women which is proven to boost local economies.

“Every investment made when choosing our sustainable products makes a difference to someone in a developing country,” adds Tate.

For each ECOHEADS showerhead or Ping color mixer sold, SBCo invests enough to ensure drinking water for someone for a year, while buying a subscription to Scrummi sustainable towels or the foil-alternative Paper Not Foil provides enough to give water for life.

“Working with this village to do something as simple as give access to clean water, which underpins prosperity in so many ways, is incredibly rewarding and is one of the SBCo community’s fundamental principles,” says Tate. “We feel fortunate to be able to give back and help balance out the equity portion of sustainability and are grateful to have so many passionate artists along with us for this journey.”

The next project is expected to go into production at the end of 2022 and the Sustain Beauty Co team hope to bring some of their community on location in El Salvador to see it in person, pending international travel restrictions. For more information on the Save Water, Give Water program, visit https://sustainbeauty.co/thirst-project/