FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                  
Contact:  Diane Daly, 703/269-5338
May 12, 2010                                                                                      
ddaly@ratnerco.com

RATNER COMPANIES, THE LARGEST FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED CHAIN OF SALONS IN THE WORLD, PARENT COMPANY OF HAIR CUTTERY, BUBBLES, SALON CIELO, SALON PLAZA AND CIBU BRANDS TEAMS UP WITH FEDERAL EXPRESS TO DONATE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF POUNDS OF HAIR TO CLEAN UP THE GULF OIL SPILL
Thousands of pounds of hair clippings to be donated to “Matter of Trust” to make hairbooms and hairmats to soak up the oil.

Vienna, VA – Ratner Companies, parent company of close to 1,000 Hair Cuttery, Bubbles and Salon Cielo salons, is devoted to its partnership with “Matter of Trust,” an environmental non-profit organization to clean up the Gulf oil spill. Ratner is collecting tens of thousands of pounds of hair by the truckloads from their salons across the country. Ratner is taking the largest initiative on a national basis by relying on all of their family owned salons to contribute to this vital cause.

“We at Ratner Companies are continuing our passionate efforts to protect the environment by being part of this nation-wide effort to help contain this devastating oil spill,” said Dennis Ratner, Founder and CEO of Ratner Companies. ”Our caring stylists and clients are committed to making a difference in their communities and have shown an overwhelming amount of support for our hair collection program,” said Ratner. “The hair we collect will be used to make thousands and thousands of hairmats and hairbooms and will mitigate the damage created by this terrible eco-disaster.”

Because it is imperative to get the collected hair to the areas along the Gulf Coast as quickly as possible, Ratner Companies has partnered with Federal Express to ship the hair to Matter of Trust. . “We are thrilled to team with Federal Express, the most trusted shipping service in the world, to get the hair to the areas in need in the quickest, most efficient way possible,” said Ratner. “Federal Express is a socially conscious company and is as committed to the environment as we are,” said Ratner. “Partnering with them was a natural fit."

About Ratner Companies:

Ratner Companies is the largest family-owned and operated chain of hair salons in the country, operating salons under the names Hair Cuttery, BUBBLES, Salon Cielo, ColorWorks and Salon Plaza, and product line Cibu, each designed to meet the varied needs and personalities of an ever increasing client base. Co-founded in 1974 by Dennis Ratner, a licensed stylist who grew up working in his father’s Washington, DC salon, and fellow stylist Ann Ratner, the company has more than 12,000 stylists in nearly 1,000 salons across 16 states. www.ratnerco.com

About Federal Express:

Federal Express provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. We offer integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world's most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 275,000 employees and contractors to remain absolutely, positively focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities.

About Matter of Trust:

Matter of Trust is an environmental non-profit that helps clean up oil spills by using donated hair to create hairbooms and hairmats that contain and soak up the oil from large oil spills. www.matteroftrust.org