Starbucks just made a change that thousands of employees have been demanding
StarbucksStarbucks' employees can now wear grey and muted blue shirts.Starbucks baristas can now wear dark jeans and dye their hair any color.
On Monday, the coffee giant announced it was changing its dress code. Under the new policy, employees are allowed to wear shirt colors outside of solid black or white, as well as dark wash jeans. Beanies, fedoras, and "other suitable hats" - not bucket hats, sports caps, berets, or cowboy hats - are also permitted.
Perhaps most notable, however, is that Starbucks workers are now allowed to "make a statement with hair color," according to the company's press release, as long as dyed hair is permanent or semi-permanent (some temporary dyes, hair chalk, or glitter could be a food safety issue).
Starbucks employees quickly took to social media to celebrate the change.
GOTTA STRIP THE COLOR FROM MY HAIR SO I CAN GO BACK TO PINK HAIR THANK YOU STARBUCKS- Dia (@TravCity_) July 25, 2016
Employees have been complaining about the coffee giant's hair policy for quite some time.
"Starbucks is place where partners are unique and should be able to show their true selves," reads a petition to change Starbucks' hair color policy on Coworker.org. "How are they going to do it if they can't color their hair how they want? Sometimes color shows the person's true self."
The petition, which was posted last year, received nearly 15,000 signatures.
StarbucksAn example of appropriate dyed hair, according to Starbucks' look book.
The new dress code certainly isn't a free-for-all. Permitted clothing colors are still subdued, and the chain's "no list" remains extensive. Banned items include brightly colored shirts (including certain plaids and floral prints), hoodies, socks with "distracting" graphics, and UGG boots.
However, as with Starbucks lifting its ban on visible tattoos in 2014, the shift allows for a wider range of options and hair colors, a convenient way keep up with the times and boost employee morale. Now, most of Starbucks' most hated dress code requirements, such as no nail polish and minimal jewelry, can be tied to food safety issues - not a supposedly creative chain trying to blunt employees' freedom of expression.