Planet Green™, a Discovery Communications Inc. company, is the first and only 24-hour eco-lifestyle television network. It was launched in June 2008 and reaches 50 million homes. One of the programs on Planet Green ™ is called “Wa$ted!” This eye-opening half-hour reality series makes shrinking your ecological footprint appealing and virtually effortless. Wa$ted! attacks a spectrum of environmentally unfriendly households and businesses across the nation, auditing their waste, energy, water and transportation consumption. Each episode unearths dozens of eco-horrors that are killing both the environment and the home or business owner’s bank account.

The episode that aired on June 24th, 2009 concerned the Selah Salon in White Plains, New York that is located in a historic bank building with 20-foot ceilings that has environmental challenges that no business could imagine. Toxic chemicals are part of the process as well as inefficient and ineffective high wattage lighting and the constant use of hot water which translates into huge utility expenses. The salon was in desperate need of both new, energy efficient, lighting and an eco-friendly makeover.

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tv/wasted/wasted-episode-hairy-problem.html

In order to help with the salon lighting issues, the staff of Wa$ted! contacted Eco-Lite Products, LLC, the manufacturers of Minardi Color Perfect Lighting, and asked if they would visit the salon and help transform the dark (almost “cave-like") energy wasting space into a bright, vibrant eco-friendly salon.

Eco-Lite Products co-President Howard Gurock, along with style icon Carmine Minardi of the world-renowned Minardi Salon in New York City, went to the salon and assessed the situation. Due to the fact that the salon was in a historic bank building with 20’ceilings a custom salon lighting solution had to be developed.

Gurock and Minardi gave their recommendations to the Wa$ted! staff as well as to the owners of the salon. The staff of Wa$ted! decided upon a “Go Green Solution” to fix the salon lighting problem and decided upon installing Minardi Color Perfect Lighting with its blend of LED and Ceramic Metal Halide lighting fixtures.
This, they felt, would create the right balance of light for the colorists and stylists due to the fact that Minardi Color Perfect Lighting is more powerful than halogen and incandescent lighting but uses only a fraction of the energy and heat which would drastically reduce the salons electric bills.

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/fashion-beauty/green-plan-wasted-salon.html

Eco-Lite Products, which manufactures Minardi Color Perfect Lighting at their facility in Tappan, New York, used the energy efficient 22W Minardi task lights that are placed directly over the stylists chair so that the stylists and colorists would have the perfect amount of light power, tone and color. The task lights were attached to custom made curved 10’ extension poles that extended out from the salon walls high above the chairs so that the historic ceiling would not have to be disturbed. The task lights were then attached to standard track lighting so that they could be moved in the future if the placement of the chairs/stations were changed. A Minardi mirror light that uses LED’s and draws under 10W of power was also created. The mirror light removes shadows, circles under the eyes and unflattering lines that customers often see when they look in the mirror at salons that have poor lighting and also provides a warm glow so that customers look healthy and beautiful.

The result was incredible. The show’s hosts commented on how much energy was saved by installing Minardi Color Perfect Lighting which helped to reduce the carbon footprint of the salon. Jackie Shkreli, one of the owners of Selah Salon, when asked about the lighting said “We are so excited about our new lights from Eco-Lite! Since they were installed, our electric bill has decreased by 30%! Not only have these fantastic lights saved us money, but we can FINALLY see true results immediately upon completion with our clients. Thank You So Much!”

“All of us at Eco-Lite Products, along with Beth and Carmine Minardi, were extremely proud to have been chosen to provide the “green” lighting solution for the Selah Salon” said Gurock. Gurock added that “Channels like Planet Green™ and shows like Wa$ted! are incredibly important … they help to educate the public about the availability of “green” alternatives that do not force individuals or businesses to choose between quality and energy efficiency. This is especially true when it comes to the advances in lighting that enable our Minardi Color Perfect Lighting to be the perfect choice for salons looking to improve their lighting while simultaneously saving money.”

Minardi Color Perfect Lighting fixtures provide the perfect balance of color, brilliance, power and tone for colorists and stylists to excel at their craft. Since its introduction in January of this year, salons across the country are raving about this eco-friendly lighting and designers are regularly specifying Minardi Color Perfect Lighting in their salon lighting designs.

Minardi Color Perfect Lighting, which won the prestigious International Beauty Industry Innovator Award at the 2009 America’s Beauty Show ®, is the end product of countless hours of design and testing that resulted in salon lighting that solves the lighting problems that have plagued salons for decades.

The latest edition of CUTS™, the monthly e-newsletter from Minardi Color Perfect Lighting, is available for viewing at: http://budurl.com/CutsNewsletter.

To learn more about Eco-Lite products, visit http://www.eco-lite.com/