Truefitt & Hill, the oldest barbershop in the world as verified by the Guinness Book of World Records, is very proud to announce that the company has been declared the first male grooming establishment in the world to receive the Carbon Neutral Gold Standard. While Truefitt & Hill has long been an innovator in its field, from establishing the first women’s hairdressing salon to spreading the concept of luxury male grooming across the many countries of the world, this step towards a better world continues that sense of modernity and change.
Established in 1805 and featured in the literary works of Dickens and Thackeray, Truefitt has been part of the fabric of British style and society for over two centuries and has a proud record of not only being involved in a multitude of charities, but indeed establishing a number of charitable organisations throughout its rich history.
However, Truefitt’s considerable 214 years of tradition and heritage does not stop the company from looking ahead to shape a better world for the generations to come.
Working closely with the UN Climate Neutral Now Initiative, Truefitt & Hill has managed to achieve carbon neutral status, cancelling 4 CERs, the equivalent of 34 tonnes of CO2. The project, founded by the United Nations in 2015, has helped Truefitt & Hill to offset its carbon footprint with the system of verified carbon credits, 90% of which has gone into supporting a reforestation initiative in South America. The scheme, which will last for 100 years, covers 22,000 hectares of forest land in Uruguay, and is verified by the Rainforest Alliance as well as the Forest Stewardship Council, which ensures fair wages and working conditions, further adding value and increasing the social benefits of the project to the local communities.
With more attention than ever focused on our collective effort to combat climate change, we hope that Truefitt & Hill’s endeavours will encourage others and demonstrate that even the most historical of brands can change its working methods to protect the environment. ‘Our planet needs every ounce of help it can get’ – said Joanna Broughton, Truefitt & Hill’s Director - ‘We do not need a handful of people engaging perfectly in combating climate change, we need millions of us, in fact every one of us, engaging in any way we can, no matter how imperfectly we do it. No company or brand is too small to make a change. I think that Truefitt & Hill is a perfect example of this attitude.’
With greater emphasis than ever on the necessity for all businesses to think about their impact on the planet, being a leader in all things stylish and grooming-focused is no longer enough; Truefitt is proud to collaborate with a host of initiatives, amongst them, men’s physical and mental health charities, Children in Need Foundation, Help For Heroes, as well as its recent engagement with The Elephant Family Foundation, a charity which aims for the protection of the natural habitat of Asian elephants and the improvement of the lives of local communities.
Of course, while Truefitt & Hill can be relied upon to continue to keep the well-groomed gentlemen of St James’s and beyond in polished form, the company can do so safe in the knowledge that it is helping not just 21st century man, but the 21st century planet, as well as ensuring that the better world will be there for 22nd century man and beyond.