The Collaborative meets on a quarterly basis and also has active subcommittees (policy advocacy, outreach/education, industry advocacy and research) to share information, strategize and engage in coordinated activities to support its mission.

Policy Advocacy
•    April 2009 publication of Overexposed & Underinformed: Dismantling Barriers to Health and Safety in California Nail Salons.

• Ensuring effective implementation of California’s Safe Cosmetics Act

•    Coordinating legislative hearings on nail salon worker health and safety issues with elected officials
•    Co-sponsoring SB 549 to collect language, gender, and ethnicity data from cosmetology, nail and hair salon licensees
•    Successfully advocating to the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology (BBC) to translate materials into Vietnamese and to create improvements in their regulatory and punitive procedures
•    Working with Cal/OSHA and HESIS on a nail salon workplace health and safety guidance document
•    Working with Cal/OSHA to pilot consultation site visits to salons in the Bay Area
•    Created a policy report to share important policy recommendations to improve the health and safety of nail and cosmetology communities
•    Advocating for safer workplace standards with California agencies such as Cal-OSHA.

Outreach and Education
•    Creating Nail Salon Owner & Worker Advisory Committees in Northern and Southern California to provide guidance and accountability in the Collaborative’s work
•    Directly engaging nail salon workers and owners in identifying issues of concern and developing solutions to support the nail salon workforce and small businesses
•    Organizing environmental health outreach forums for the nail salon community
•    Outreaching to and partnering with various cosmetology and beauty care sectors (including African American and Latino salons
•    Co-hosted community forums throughout California
•    Speaking publically about the Collaborative’s work at community and conference presentations
•    Publishing the article “The US Nail Salon Industry:  Booming Business, Growing Concern” with the National Healthy Nail Salon Alliance in Women & Environments Magazine (www.weimag.com)
•    Worked with California’s Senate Office of Research on a policy report entitled “Pedicures at the What Price”
•    Partnering to launch the National Healthy Nail Salon Alliance to advance similar work on a national level.

Research
•    Hosting a national research convening in April 2009 to create and publish a research agenda for the nail salon and cosmetology sectors
•    Publishing a research convening summary report in Summer 2009
•    Providing leadership to state and national efforts working to advance a healthy nail salon agenda, comprehensive chemical policy reform, and other environmental health initiatives.

Nail Salon Site Visit July 14, 2008. Photographer: Wendy Chang