The Green Salon Methodology
Want to really make a difference when you shop?
The Green Salon Rating System shows you how…
Green Salon’s mission is to promote the greenest brands out there.
That’s why we’ve created our rating system so that you, the consumer, can find which brands are the greenest of green.
We analyse brands based on publicly available information to find the brands that are focused on minimising their impact on the planet - or actively repairing it.
Sadly, however, there is still a lot of greenwashing about.
A 2020 Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) survey found 40% of brands appeared to be making claims about sustainability that could be considered misleading.
Our rating system sorts out the leaders from the laggards - so you don’t have to!
Our Rating System
Top of Class
80% +
These brands are star performers. Their innovation and commitment makes them real change makers and leaders in the sustainability field. And they communicate clearly on their website.
Great Work
65-79%
These brands impress us. They’ve made great strides to prioritise sustainability and circularity in their business model whilst taking care to openly inform consumers about these measures.
On Their Way
50-64%
These brands are catching up. They are taking bold steps to embed sustainability into most areas of their business but are missing some information on their websites.
Small Steps
35-49%
Brands in this category have taken important steps in some areas of their business to reduce their impact and manage their supply chain but they need more information on their websites.
Needs Improvement
<35%
These brands are not there yet. They give some information about what they’re doing to reduce their impact, but are not assessing their business from their headquarters to their supply chain.
Find out how your favourite brands score…
Our Sustainability Criteria
In consultation with sustainability experts, we’ve identified 70+ criteria which are the hallmarks of a truly sustainable business in the 2020s.
These criteria come under 4 themes, each of which is connected to the other, and each of which, we believe, needs to be addressed by sustainable businesses if we are to turn the tide on the ecological crisis.
The best of our green brands we’ve assessed are decarbonising as fast as they can, regenerating the soil, oceans and forests and creating circular systems that turn trash into treasure.
Those that score less well need to up their game by setting out more facts on their websites and aiming higher with their sustainability goals.
If you’re interested in learning more about the criteria we use to assess brands to establish their score on the Green Salon sustainability scale,
take a look at our methodology page. And for an even more in-depth guide check out Our Ratings Guide.
Our affiliate policy
Green Salon has affiliate links with many of the brands on the Green Salon Directory, on our social media, blogs and reports. An affiliate link pays Green Salon a small commission if you buy anything from a website through that link. It does not affect the price you pay as a consumer, or your consumer rights. This is in order to make an income from the brands that feature on the Directory so that we can continue to spend time researching sustainable brands to find out how sustainable they really are. And share that information with you, the consumer.
We do not make inclusion on the Directory conditional on an affiliate partnership as we know that some sustainable companies are not yet profitable enough to offer those links. Where we do have an affiliate link, we make this clear by placing a * or a ❀ mark next to the brand, across our website and our social media platforms.
