'125 Successful Ways' to Launch Sustainable Journey during Earth Month

One of the most downloaded sustainability resources of 2023 has been updated and re-released for Earth Month this April. The extended Sustainable Salon Checklist, curated by Sustain Beauty Co (SBCo) and featuring suggestions from hundreds of beauty artists, owners and providers, now offers 125 tips and ideas to help businesses move towards greater sustainability, plus another 18 bonus tips on how to communicate your eco-efforts to guests and team.

Earth Month began as Earth Day in 1970 and has since grown into a global event, prompting many to start questioning the impact of their day-to-day choices but also whether their businesses are appealing to the eco-conscious new generation.

“Beauty businesses are increasingly feeling pressure from growing numbers of more eco-minded clients,” said Valorie Tate of SBCo. “But, understandably, they are also concerned about investing both money, resources, and sometimes emotional effort, to make changes. So the SBCo community has helped develop the Sustainable Salon Checklist to show it is possible to begin reducing your impact with simple, free or affordable changes. Sustainability is about building a stronger, better business for all your people.”

The free to download Sustainable Salon Checklist is packed with suggestions that range from team initiatives, energy conservation, approaches to building and operations, waste solutions, wiser water use, ethical purchasing to communications and community-building. However, the two biggest changes any salon can make to reduce their impact on the planet and to protect their business remain better waste management and water conservation.

“The best outcome from our first edition was that so many salons and stylists realized how sustainability and profitability are intrinsically linked,” added Tate. “Simple changes like installing water-conserving ECOHEADS nozzles at the basin not only impress stylists and guests with softer water, it can slash water and energy use by as much as 65%, which comes right back to the bottom-line. So many of the suggestions are really cost effective.

“Meanwhile, understanding how to recycle effectively will divert hundreds of pounds of salon waste ending up in landfill, but stopping the waste before it needs to be recycled is where it’s at and that means even more savings.”

 The Sustainable Salon Checklist is available to download for free on the Sustain Beauty Co website.