Now that’s thinking with your head.
Salons all over the country are collecting hair clippings and sending them down south to use in oil booms that protect the Gulf Coast.
Some 400,000 pounds of human hair and animal fur collected by charity groups will be stuffed into nylon stockings and placed in the ocean between the oil slick and the shore, says Matter of Trust.
Hair is among the best natural materials for soaking up oil, experts say, and hair-filled nylons are a low-cost way to keep a barrier between the oil slick and the shore.
Swing Salon signed on.
“It’s a great way to help us deal with our waste,” said East Village salon owner Caroline Holley. “A lot of people are very interested because it’s such a quirky thing.”
“We pay the shipping, but it’s a small price to pay for what it does,” she added. “The hair is never thrown away. That, to me, is very exciting. It’s a cradle-to-cradle solution.”
Holley said customers are deciding to cut their hair even shorter when they hear what will happen with the clippings.
Christina Choe, 26, had 8 inches cut off at Swing Salon Friday and was glad to see her hair go to a good cause.
“I wanted a salon that would donate to Matter of Trust,” she said. “I just wanted to do what I could. I don’t get my hair cut very often, but I wanted to donate.”