Garbo’s Hair have found a way to recycle most of the hair that is cut in salon to help clean up the environment.
In association with Matter of Trust Charity all hair that is over one inch in length when cut is collected and sent away to the charity to be made into Hair Mats.
Matter of Trust Charity was founded in 1998 in San Fransisco, USA
Clean Wave Program History
In 1999, Lisa Gautier, Matter of Trust founder and President, began a partnership with Phil McCrory, a hair stylist and inventor from Alabama. Years earlier, Phil had been washing an oily head of hair while watching CNN coverage of otters covered in petrol during the famous Exxon Valdez accident in Alaska. It occurred to him that he was cutting fibre that could be used to soak up oil spills…
The reason we shampoo our hair is because hair collects oil and dirt. Matter of Trust then came up with the idea of making hair mats to collect oil from oil spills.
Conventionally, oil spills were cleaned up by using petroleum-based polypropylene products. We don’t need to drill for oil to clean up oil, when there is so much natural, obsorbent fibre available.
Their goals are to help clean polluted water, to divert useful fibres from the waste stream, to provide recycling education and create green jobs. They accept donations of hair, fur, wool, fleece… clippings from individuals, salons, groomers, farmers… They then sort these into useful stockpiles by length and manufacture felted mat products that soak up petrochemicals in storm-drains, wells, filtration systems, rivers, oceans…
Who needs hair mats?
Oil gets into our waterways from spills, leaky vehicles, chemicals dumped into storm drains, accidents, etc.
Some business like harbours, cities, airports etc purchase hair mats to help with spills.
These mats are very sturdy and can be driven over by trucks and ski equipment. They can survive the elements and are hydrophobic.
