Easydry, inventor of the eco-towel, has triumphed at one of the world’s most prestigious awards ceremonies, the British Hairdressing Business Awards (27 September) winning Innovation of the Year for its one-use-only, biodegradable towel.

Easydry, which launched in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year, beat off extremely tough competition from some major players as the judges recognised its revolutionary impact on towel use in salons. Over the past three years, since Easydry first appeared at Salon International in London, hundreds of salons around the world have thrown out their tatty, expensive and labour-intensive cotton towels and converted to the highly absorbent, hygienic and convenient Easydry system.

Easydry is the brainchild of Anne Butterly from Dundalk in Ireland. She invented the towel five years ago and has since slowly built Easydry into an international business. The Easydry towel, which is highly absorbent, biodegradable and recyclable, allows hair and beauty salons to switch over to top-quality disposables without putting a burden on the environment or increasing their costs. Until now, salons had no choice but to wash hundreds of towels at high temperatures on a daily basis to ensure they reached the necessary hygiene standards – an expensive and labour-intensive process. Easydry also guarantees clients a spotlessly clean towel very visit.

In the past year, sales have rocketed by 300 per cent despite the economic issues that have beset all industries, while in June, Easydry opened its division in Australia. The Easdry towel is unique because it is available in jet black (non toxic, non-hazardous dye) as well as in white, and all its packaging is biodegradable and carries the ok compost mark.

This is the second award the company has won this year. In March, it won best renewable and environmental business at the Louth County Enterprise Awards in Ireland.

“I recognised that hairdressing and beauty would really benefit from a soft, robust and absorbent disposable towel that would free it from the tyranny of washing and drying hundreds of towels each week,” said Ms Butterly. “But I also realised that we couldn’t be reckless with the environment. Our towel had to be robust but we couldn’t use any plastic, because it had to biodegrade or be recyclable, otherwise we’d just be creating another plastic bag disaster.”

At the same time as Easydry salons have helped the environment by stopping the daily grind of washing and drying towels that use so much electricity, water and chemicals, they have also helped reduce demand for cotton, which is the biggest user of pesticides in the world. According to the Pesticide Action Network, each year cotton producers around the world use nearly $2.6 billion worth of pesticides — more than 10% of the world’s pesticides and nearly 25% of the world’s insecticides.

Easydry is a totally natural product made from certified sustainable forests and it is 100 per cent recyclable and biodegradable, breaking down within three months in compost conditions.

“We believe that the Easydry recyclable towels are the best innovation to hit the salon industry in years. The impact on the environment is massive – as Easydry towels are 100% recyclable with no plastic. They save water, electricity, time, labour, space and they are cost effective.  They tick all the boxes,” said Paul Foote and Paula Kelly, owners of award-winning, Sublime Hairdressing, Brisbane.

“We use Easydry towels on our beds for beauty services. We no longer have to wash a cotton towel, which saves us time. They also save us water and electricity, making them really cost-effective. And as they are 100% bio-degradable with no plastic we are doing our bit for the environment too,” adds Ali Hammoud, Director, Ella Rouge, Sydney.

Buy Easydry Towels in the www.prohairstylist.com.au Shop

(right to left) Jayne Lewis-Orr, publisher of Hairdressers Journal, Anne Butterly, inventor and managing director of Easydry, Gerard Butterly, operations director, Easydry, Su Clark, communications director, Easydry and British TV personality Michael Underwood.