The interior design world is shifting to more sustainable practices, but change is coming in fits and starts. To get perspective on how to navigate client conversations on the topic, we spoke with three interior designers with successful strategies.

The Experts
As a brand ambassador for the Sustainable Furnishings Council and a LEED-accredited professional, Maryland designer Laura Hodges is a familiar name in the world of Earth-friendly interiors. Her clients know sustainability will be part of her process, but it doesn’t dominate their conversations.

Similarly, New York–based designer Emily C. Butler doesn’t market herself as sustainable, and clients rarely ask about it. Yet it’s part and parcel of her designer identity, as co-founder of eco-friendly furniture brand Ziggy, and she is known for reusing and refreshing antiques in her interiors.

Meanwhile, Lucy Penfield, the founder of Minneapolis firm Lucy Interior Design, has focused on wellness and sustainability as president of the Minnesota chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers. Penfield deepened her commitment to green design by becoming a member of the Sustainable Furnishings Council and gaining a Healthier Materials and Sustainable Building certificate through Parsons, which may explain why she has more direct conversations with her clients on the subject.

All three pros have found effective ways to discuss sustainability—both overtly and covertly—with their clients. Here are their go-to methods.

Start the conversation before you meet
While neither Penfield nor Butler markets her interior design business as sustainable, Hodges conveys her focus on eco-friendly design prominently on her website. “We have it on our profile page,” she says. “That way, prospective clients see that it is part of our ethos. They know that [sustainable design] is part of what we do.”

Read the Room
Penfield talks about sustainability early with all of her clients, but how that conversation develops depends on the vibe. “We definitely take the temperature, have that discovery conversation and weigh out the importance of sustainability [to them],” she says.

Discover their why
All three designers note that sustainability is rarely a client’s first priority, so it is important to know what they do value, and whether that intersects with environmental consciousness. “What we do as designers is highly personal. We have to get to know our clients and understand what’s important to them,” says Hodges. Penfield notes that she asks if the space is a forever home or a home they’re investing in for resale, which dictates whether or not longevity of the pieces she’s procuring will resonate with clients. Understanding these personal plans and preferences can help steer how you discuss sustainability with your clients.

Keep it realistic
If you have a client who is acutely interested in eco-friendly interior design, you may want to tell them that it is always something of a compromise. “We are not 100 percent sustainable,” says Hodges. “Nobody’s doing it all the way, because we are at the whim of the industry, of people who make things and render services. We just make every effort to be as sustainable as possible. And that’s how I always explain it [to clients].”

Emphasize longevity
Penfield notes that whether she’s looking at mechanicals or materials, she’s always thinking about the lifespan of what she specifies—and often the most sustainable choice is also the most long-lasting. “If I know that it’s going to provide a better long-term choice for the life of the product or the life of the house or the next owner, I will show them these materials and explain why they might be beneficial,” she says.

Focus on not wasting stuff …
Butler says she rarely talks to her clients about sustainability as a stand-alone concept, but the idea of avoiding landfill-bound purchases comes up early. “When prospective clients speak with referrals, they often point out that we’re trying not to be wasteful,” she says. “I think people are aware of the waste from previous iterations of their homes. Now, when they’re hiring a designer, they are [usually] decorating to stay—they want to do it once and do it well.”

… and not wasting money
“Not being wasteful with things also equates to not being wasteful with money, which resonates with clients,” says Butler. “You are behaving as a fiduciary to their home budget.” So the conversation about buying something secondhand versus new is not just about diverting furniture away from landfills—it is also about getting a better value for her client’s budget.

Gently point out health concerns
When making the case for certain materials, Hodges will point out their health and wellness value. “Nobody’s going to want toxic chemicals in their home, if they can avoid it,” she says. “And anything that’s healthy for us is by default going to be better for the environment, and the other way around.” When Penfield’s clients request something that she finds questionable from a health perspective, she says, “I send links to help them be informed. Then it’s not just me or the architect or the contractor saying, ‘It’s wise to do this’; they see scientific research.”

Highlight the value of shopping local
Even if sustainability does not take first priority with a client, many people want to support their community. “We’re always encouraging clients to choose local, whether it’s supporting local businesses or buying domestic products, because they do not have to travel so far,” says Penfield. Hodges pairs her enthusiasm for locally made goods with an emphasis that her clients are getting something one-of-a-kind, instead of focusing on the carbon footprint of far-flung goods.

Give them something to brag about
Hodges says commercial clients are often more inclined to choose a material or furnishing because of the eco bona fides. “Sustainability is more valuable to commercial clients, because they can put a plaque on the wall or put it on Instagram and use it as part of their brand image,” she says.

Don’t push too hard
“I bring sustainability to the forefront at the initial discussion, but it’s not necessary to keep pounding it in,” says Penfield. “My clients know I know where to look for these materials or who to count on.” Likewise, Hodges says she rarely talks specifically about the subject to her clients—she’s just showing them green options to choose from.

Make it a two-way conversation
If you are venturing into talking to your clients about sustainability, make sure you’re not talking at them. “The conversation [about sustainability should be] an open dialogue. It’s [about] listening and [asking] lots of questions,” says Penfield. “It can be delicate because we all come from different places.”

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Laura Fenton is a writer with a special interest in the intersection between homes and sustainability, and is the author of the Living Small newsletter and two interior design books, The Little Book of Living Small and The Bunk Bed Book. She has written about home and design for nearly 20 years, and her work has appeared in many outlets, including Better Homes & Gardens, House Beautiful, Real Simple, and The Washington Post, as well as online publications and regional design magazines.