MENU
SEARCHWhile research proves that an overwhelming majority of clients would be impressed to learn about a salon's environmental efforts, stylists still hesitate to talk them up. Sustain Beauty Co's Valorie Tate offers five simple steps to get the sustainability conversation flowing.
At 56%, more than half of your clients would be impressed to learn about your sustainability efforts.
sustain Beauty Co
Introducing change isn’t a walk in the park; it often takes time, energy and sometimes investment, which is why it’s often easier not to rock the boat. Yet tens of thousands of salons are still actively taking steps towards sustainability, even (or maybe especially) during tough times. Clients, when they realize and understand, are almost 100% behind changes that benefit the planet.
So why does it seem like a culture of silence continues to prevail? If the outcomes are positive, why are stylists not shouting about it from the rooftops? It’s difficult to understand why, especially when Valorie Tate and her colleagues at Sustain Beauty Co (who are addicted to finding out what people think) found when they asked more than 1,000 beauty clients that over half (56%) would be impressed if they knew their salon was edging towards sustainability. Only 4% would not.
“Telling your clients about your efforts strikes me as a perfect marketing message, but we’ve found that only 42% of stylists are really comfortable talking about sustainability,” says Tate, founder of SBCo and renowned sustainability advocate. “They feel they don’t have time and are worried they might offend someone or have too little knowledge to go into more depth.”
Fortunately, Tate has a strategy for those salons and stylists keen to showcase their investment in becoming more sustainable. It centers on five easy tactics.
“Keep it simple and uncomplicated, and focus on what we know resonates with clients such as natural products, water conservation and recycling,” says Tate. “Agree a shared message for a set amount of time then move on to something new.”
Valorie Tate, founder of Sustain Beauty Co, offers five tips for talking to your clients about your environmental activities.
#1 - Simplify: Focus on one tangible thing and come up with one or two sentences to explain it, making sure it doesn’t dominate the conversation.
#2 - Plan Ahead: Once you know what you want to say, practice saying it out loud and consider where the conversation might go afterwards.
#3 - Lead with Marketing: Let your marketing do the heavy lifting, planting the seed with clever posts, emails or in-salon messaging. This makes it easier for individual stylists to open the conversation. Just make sure everyone knows what messages are out there.
#4 - Delegate: Lean on your teammates by queuing up your front desk and assistants so they can jump in and help with conversations at opportune moments.
#5 - Start Slow: Focus on the actions you are taking rather than getting bogged down in the more complicated concepts surrounding sustainability.
For further details check out SBCo’s Green Fee report: https://sustainbeauty.co/pages/salon-green-fee-study
About SBCo: Sustain Beauty Co was born with the mission to help identify authentic, credible and environmentally responsible brands that put stylists at the forefront of their purpose. All Sustain Beauty Co products must: 1) Reduce the footprint of consumables in our industry. 2) Empower artists to create beauty responsibly.3) Protect the stylist and the environment equally. 4) Come from ethical sources and responsible manufacturing facilities.
In Kati Whitledge's latest blog, she shares how salons have moved away from dress codes and embraced appearance standards. But by removing strict dress codes, some businesses may have unintentionally lowered their appearance standards. Whitledge helps you explain to your team why an appearance standard is important and how to smoothly implement a new appearance policy.
The Small Business Health Care Tax Credit is a non-refundable tax credit for for-profit businesses that provides a financial incentive for eligible employers who offer health insurance coverage to their employees. Leticia Skrabut, Esq., walks you through how to claim that credit.
Developing strong work habits early in one's career supports long-term success in the salon industry. Jesse Linares offers new stylists his top five tips.
Most salon owners have no idea what these numbers are. You can hit record sales and still have a profit problem. The difference comes down to four numbers almost nobody was taught to track.
Sponsored by Strata Salon Systems™
A five-area audit every owner-dependent salon needs to run. You built something that looks successful. Now find out if it can survive without you.
Sponsored by Strata Salon Systems™
Every month you put off fixing the problem, it gets bigger, more expensive, and harder to solve.
Sponsored by Strata Salon Systems™
At Janet St. Paul Studio for Hair and Beauty, Director of Operations Natasha McMillen helps bring her wife Janet St. Paul's vision to life, elevating every system from education to operations.
Expand your color service menu with the Pinstripe technique. Brooks and Brooks' Marlon Hawkins walks you through the technique.
The strongest salons, spas, and med spas know which numbers tell the real story of their business. In this practical guide, Phorest breaks down the five essential KPIs every business should track to improve retention, boost revenue, and make smarter decisions with confidence.
Sponsored by Phorest
At Bella Style Salon in Slidell, Louisiana, Director of Operations Angela Meyer tackles inventory, team management, and guest relations. Read all about her in our latest Meet the Manager.
Starting at Impressions front desk in 2006 when he was 19 years old, General Manager Paul Petrowsky is a seasoned professional who owner Sarah Taylor says is responsible for much of her own success.
Planning is in full swing for the most anticipated events and promotions for the 2026 holidays. As owners share their favorite ways to celebrate, they prove that a carefully planned event can also build culture, increase client loyalty, boost sales, and set a business up for a successful 2027.
When things run amok at Mane Attraction Salon, Owners Chris and Jenny Knudsen say General Manager Sami Hernandez is their go-to resource and ultimate sounding board. Meet Sami in this installment of Meet the Manager.
Pagoda, a new AI-native operating system for scheduling, payments, patient records, marketing, and client communications, launches at Skinovatio Medical Spa in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
At a panel discussion hosted by L’Oréal Professionnel in Paris in early July, French Philosopher Sophie Galabru explored the cultural shift where women are increasingly choosing natural, personalized color results over traditional grey coverage. In an exclusive interview with SALON TODAY, Galabru and L’Oréal Professionnel Colorist Pierrick Beringer discuss this shift and how salons and colorists respond.
At Salon Blonde, Director of Operations treats the staff as the salon's most important guests, while her wonderful 'nerdy' side, loves data, systems, and numbers. Find out how she makes Salon Blonde tick.
In an exclusive interview with SALON TODAY, Salon Owner Salvatore Minardi reflects on his past 18 months as Intercoiffure America Canada's World Talent Exchange Ambassador and how his experiences will help encourage cultural and artistic exchange and support greater engagement between ICA and the global organization Intercoiffure Mondial.
