Earth Week is coming up very quickly. April 20-24th. And this year we are bringing something special to your attention. Are you in need of a hair cut? Because nearly 100 Paul Mitchel Schools across the U.S. are participating in a hair donation for a special cause. Come in to one of these locations and get your hair cut for just $10-$15. Your hair, along with all the other hair they collect, will be donated to a non-profit organization called Matter of Trust.

Matter of Trust uses recycled hair to make products used to soak up spilled oil. They have been doing this for 7 years now and will take human hair of any type. Straight, curly, processed or not. Some of their products include these mats. [picture above] Which were used onshore in San Francisco after the container ship Cosco-Busan collided with a pylon of the Bay Bridge in 2007 and spilled thousands of gallons of bunker fuel. Another product they call "booms," which are made by stuffing hair clippings into donated nylon stockings and are used to help ring spills into a confined area.

But Matter of Trust doesn't just want your hair. They are looking for innovative ideas on how to perfect their production processes. Currently they use clothes dryers to matte the hair. There are special machines available, but they are extremely expensive and come with no resources for repairs and replacement parts. So if the machine breaks, its useless. So, if you have special knowledge or possible ideas on hot to matte large quantities of hair, they'd love to hear from you!

Matter of Trust Facts:

  • It takes about a pound of recycled hair to make a hair mat that's a foot square and half an inch thick.
  • A square foot mat can soak up a quart of oil. And can be rung out and reused 100 times.
  • Each of the Paul Mitchell Schools can yield as much as 5 pounds of hair a day.

To learn more please visit: http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2009/04/16/recycled-hair-made-into-mats

Paul Mitchel Schools: http://www.paulmitchelltheschool.com/pmsp/

Matter of Trust: http://www.matteroftrust.org/