SUSTAINABLE SALON SPOTLIGHT: Love + Roots

Love + Roots in Austin, Texas, is a full-service salon with a strong inclusivity culture that is focused on creating sustainable beauty practices in an environment that is “healthy and supportive for our team as well as our guests.”

Located in a cool, up-and-coming area of Austin in a stand-alone, remodeled, 1920s home, Love + Roots is led by equal co-owners stylist Jessica Chapman and esthetician Kali Rambo, who met while working in separate suites before deciding to build their collaborative dream team together.

SUSTAINABILITY JOURNEY

Kali: “To be honest, sustainability was not our initial focus. It grew over time, through our relationships with our friends and community. With all that’s happened in the world in the past two years, however, it became the heart of who we are—along with our shift to be more inclusive, regardless of gender, color, shape, age, anything. We open our arms to take best care of our world, our team, our guests.”

Jessica: “I didn’t grow up professionally with a background of caring about the environment. But the longer I did hair and the more I learned, especially as an owner over the past six years, I came to question and think about what we can and should do to impact the big picture of our world and our business in so many ways. It’s very eye-opening how we can make a difference in people’s lives by not only the services we deliver, but through the product, packaging and partnerships we choose.”

“In addition to working with R+Co as our products partner, we are a Green Circle salon, and recycle 90-95% of the materials we use in the salon—from hair clippings to foil to our backbar shampoo bottles.”

Kali: “We did create a very transparent green fee, that we list on our receipts and via signage and communicated to guests. We felt it was important for clients to participate in and be aware of our actions.”

Jessica: “Sustainability practices are more important to people than we realized. Our guests and team love that it’s part of our salon and who we are. We have attractive, clearly labeled bins front and center throughout the salon. Everything has its place. It’s second nature for our team and obvious to our guests.”

LOVE + ROOTS + R+CO

Love + Roots owners decided to add R+Co in 2020 after searching and researching during the shutdown. They recently shifted to exclusively carrying R+Co and R+Co BLEU.

• “We support R+Co fully because they support us and our intention,” Jessica says.

• “It took us a few steps to get there,” adds Kali. “Starting a new business can be overwhelming. We wanted everything to be perfect from day one, and it wasn’t. It took us awhile to find hair products that aligned with us and what we want to offer and promote—both in terms of quality and values.”

• We discovered the R+Co collection, and then really fell in love with R+Co BLEU, and it represents sustainable luxury. We choose to offer both lines because that fits with our inclusivity model—we have products that we can sell to everyone, at different price points.

• Many guests choose favorites from both lines. “We have product and packaging options to match what matters most to them.”

• “I am surprised by the number of guests who visit our least expensive service providers but then order nothing but R+Co BLEU products,” Jessica says. “And sometimes, it’s just the opposite. To me, this speaks to the high standards of the ingredients, fragrance, performance, packaging and overall experience. It also reinforces that timeless lesson of not making assumptions or decisions for your clients about their purchasing power or preferences.”

• “We love that between offering R+Co and R+Co BLEU, we have a full range of hair care options that serve and appeal to basically everyone,” Jessica says.

• “Our guests and our team are passionate about R+Co products and every part of the R+Co BLEU story, all the way down to the little seed card that comes with each shipment and grows into wildflowers,” Kali says.

• “We make it easy for our guests to purchase whatever R+Co products they want, whenever they want,” Jessica says. “They can purchase through our online store or by text. We also have QR codes placed around the salon. If we are out of stock of anything, they can go directly to the R+Co site via our R+Co Love affiliate link. We are in the process of adding customized QR codes to each of our retail bottles as well, so guests can easily reorder directly from home.”

• “Whenever we do ship products, we use compostable packaging, further supporting our sustainability values."

BOTTOM LINE = REWARDING

At the end of the day, the Love + Roots partners agree, “It’s a beautiful thing when you see how all these positive choices come together and everyone—from the community to your team to your brand partners—get involved. “It becomes evident that we truly are all sustaining each other,” Kali says.