In a survey examining attitudes toward controversial “green fees” — surcharges added to salon tickets to offset sustainable business costs — a third of the beauty professionals polled were opposed to adopting the practice, though many salon clients said they would willingly pay such a charge.
“Many feared it would alienate their clients,” says Valorie Tate, founder of Sustain Beauty Co., which conducted the snapshot survey.
“Yet when we surveyed salon clients, they were overwhelmingly in favor of the idea and suggested they would pay on average 20 percent more than the average salon is charging. Interestingly, that support did not wane even in lower income groups.”
The snapshot survey was part of a series conducted by the eco-friendly beauty product and equipment platform, aiming to glean a better understanding of opinions toward sustainability in the industry.
The majority of salon professionals and business owners polled do not charge a green fee. Almost 23 percent of respondents said they do include a sustainability surcharge, with the average at $3 per visit and the highest reported at $10.
“Inevitably, there were regional differences, with more beauty businesses in Great Lakes and in the Rocky Mountains charging a green fee,” Tate says, “but overall the main opposition was around whether the cost to the business should be absorbed rather than added as a separate fee.”
The study identified three common hurdles leading to the opposition: concern about lack of transparency, preconceived ideas about clients’ attitudes, and a belief that additional costs should be absorbed by the business rather than spread out among clientele.
Tate says that one of the biggest obstacles for salons to adopt more sustainable practices “is a concern it will drive up costs that will then be transferred to the client,” says Tate, who noted that many eco-friendly programs reduce costs in the long run.
The most common reason for the fee was to cover recycling costs. Nearly 80 percent of those who charge “green fees” do so for recycling, while 30 percent also listed carbon offsetting.
According to the company’s Sustainability in the Beauty Industry 2024 survey, 70 percent of consumers were willing to pay a premium for sustainable salon services.
When asked to name the most important change the beauty industry must make immediately, 40 percent of respondents said waste control, followed by 35 percent who focused on chemical and color disposal.