At Green Salon Collective, your salon's discarded hair strands get a new lease of life! Instead of contributing to landfill waste, we reuse them in over 10 different ways, from composting to enrich soils with their natural nitrogen, to working with artists who turn hair into unique dresses. Every cut made in your salon contributes to a healthier planet through hair recycling, reducing waste and creating positive environmental impacts.
Here’s how we recycle hair in ten remarkable ways...
1. Composting & Gardening
Hair is packed with nitrogen, making it an excellent fertiliser for compost. Whether used in local gardens or industrial composting, hair helps to enrich the soil, promoting plant growth and reducing the need for chemical fertilisers.
2. Waterway Cleanups
Hair is a natural adsorbent of oil and pollutants, making it incredibly useful in environmental cleanups. We use hair to create booms and mats that help clean up oil spills and polluted rivers across the UK and Ireland, contributing to cleaner, healthier waterways.
3. Hair Mats
Our specialised machinery felts hair into mats, which can be placed over storm drains or used in water pollution cleanups. These mats absorb contaminants and prevent harmful substances from reaching our oceans and rivers.
4. Regenerative Bio-Manufacturing
In partnership with Biohm, a regenerative biomaterial manufacturer, we combine hair with their unique 'orb' binding material to create particleboard-like sheets and 3D moulded objects. This innovative process turns hair into valuable materials for use in construction and design.
5. Wool Alternatives
In collaboration with Natural Fibre Co., we’re developing sustainable wool alternatives. By blending waste hair with wool, we create yarns, ropes, and twines that offer eco-friendly alternatives to petroleum-based materials.
6. Potting Felt
We're experimenting with 'potting felt', a houseplant product made from recycled salon hair. This felt helps retain moisture, deter pests, and release nitrogen back into the soil, promoting healthy plant growth while cutting down on water use.
7. Hair Rope
Did you know that even short hair can be braided together to create a rope? From lobster pots to park swings, hair rope can be a durable and interesting replacement to plastic rope.
8. Architecture
Working with the architecture firm Pareid, we explore innovative uses of hair in building materials. By showcasing hair visibly in structures, we challenge the perception of waste, demonstrating that hair can be a valuable resource in sustainable architecture.
9. Wigs
Longer hair from salons is repurposed into wigs, providing a new use for hair that would otherwise be discarded. This initiative ensures that even salon waste contributes positively to those in need.
10. Art & Fashion
In collaboration with designers and dressmakers, we transform hair into fashion items, including dresses. Our work has been featured in museums across the UK and Europe, highlighting how hair recycling can inspire art and creativity.
Want to Start Hair Recycling?
By partnering with Green Salon Collective, you can make your salon more sustainable and ensure that no hair is wasted. Ready to start with hair recycling in your salon? Contact us today to learn more about our hair recycling services and how you can join the movement towards a greener future! Book a call here to start hair recycling!