Why Sustainable Salons Make More Money

July 11, 2025

Why Sustainable Salons Make More Money

How Going Green Will Increase Salon Profits

I won Best Sustainable Salon 2025 at the UK’s Hair Awards last month, and someone standing next to me asked:
“I think a more environmental direction suits my salon’s demographic, but doesn’t it cost more?”

I’ve heard this concern many times. Many salon owners worry that taking the sustainable route will increase their costs. So, I decided to work it out—and the results may surprise you.

Step 1: Set Your Green Initiatives Budget (Green Levy)

Start by calculating how many appointments your salon has each year. This gives you your Green Initiatives Budget, or Green Levy. I’m a member of the salon recycling service Green Salon Collective, which recommends a £1 green levy per booking.

Charging this levy is essential if you want to become more sustainable. For environmentally conscious clients, it can be a unique selling point (USP). If your clients aren’t yet eco-focused, you can simply include the levy in your next annual price increase.

For example, an average UK salon with eight bookings a day would generate around £2,000 annually ($2,600 or €2,340) through the green levy. Let’s call this Salon X.

Step 2: Start With Free Green Wins

Even without the green levy, Salon X can take meaningful steps that cost nothing. And remember—every green initiative is Instagram-worthy content. Free marketing like this helps attract conscious, younger clients. Here are some no-cost ideas:

Take an energy efficiency survey.
Use flowers and foliage from your garden.
Ask staff to wear natural fibre clothing to work.
Delete 10 photos from your cloud storage or feed each day.
Open windows instead of using air conditioning.

You and your team probably have even more ideas—just start writing them down and putting them into action. These are great steps to begin with while building your green levy fund. After six months, you’ll be ready to invest.

Step 3: Make Low-Cost Changes That Save Big

Some small investments save more than they cost. For instance:

Switching just 10 light bulbs to LEDs could save as much as your entire green levy income.
Installing a water-saving shower head could save you £100 per year.
Switching to environmentally friendly product lines can also be more cost-effective.
I use INsight, which is significantly cheaper than my previous brand—and increases my retail profit margin.

So yes, going green can actually make you more money.

Step 4: Invest in Bigger, Long-Term Sustainability

Some initiatives do have upfront costs, which is exactly what the green levy is meant to cover.
The biggest cost? Recycling your salon’s hair, foils, and paper—this alone accounts for around 65% of the green levy for Salon X.

But here’s the thing: by 2027, recycling will be a legal requirement for all salons in the UK. So why wait?

Other higher-cost green changes include:

Buying recyclable technical capes (which offset costs in laundry and staff time)
Installing shop front blinds
Improving insulation
Transitioning to electric vehicles
Investing in solar panels

For example, a salon in North-West England spent £15,000 to install solar panels. They expect the investment to pay off in 7 years. Over the panels’ 25-year lifetime, they estimate electricity savings of nearly 250% above their original investment.

Plan Your Salon’s Sustainability Journey

Every salon is at a different point in its sustainability journey. That’s why I’m developing a tool to help owners plan their green investment roadmap.

Based on my calculations, if Salon X implements the green levy and just 20 small eco changes in its first six months, it could still have over £700 ($900 / €800) available by the end of Year One for further investment.

Alternatively, the salon could save this green surplus and build toward bigger expenses year by year.

If you’re interested in planning your sustainability journey at your own pace, Graham Pollard offers a Sustainable Salon Inspector service that provides practical tools to help you get started. For more information, you can reach out via Instagram at @Atelier29.london.