This is old news now, but I feel compelled to celebrate the concept that salons can contribute to cleaning up waste, not just produce it. I was called by my friend Laura, a hairstylist who now works in San Francisco. She alerted me to the fact that hair was being collected for making hair mats to help clean up the Cosco Busan oil spill in the San Francisco Bay. We started immediately sweeping hair into bags and sending it off to the Matter of Trust organization. Lisa Gaultier heads up this small nonprofit, and previously made these hair mat made from human hair and mushrooms. The hair absorbs the oil, and the mushrooms will soak up oil and make for non toxic compost.
Brilliant. It's people like this that use their minds for great things, that inspire me. How else can hair salons clean up their act and produce less waste? How can we become less toxic and still colour hair? Is it possible? What about the foils from weaving hair? It wasn't until maybe three years ago, that I realized it was better to dump excess color into garbage, rather than the drain?
The topic is large and painful to ponder, but how can I move this into action? I would love to learn about any movement, organization, etc. that is educating hairdressers, passing legislation, offering workshops etc. about helping hair salons become Green and increase the awareness of their impact on the environment.
I guess the simple question is what am I doing in my everyday life at the salon to contribute to the idea of less is more when it comes to our planet.