Barnet cut or beautified recently?
Recently, at 100 Ways in 100 Days we met the inspirational Fry Taylor of the Green Salon Collective, the hairdressers that are going green. We were shocked when he revealed the scale of waste from UK hairdressers and barbers. It’s enough to make your hair stand on end.
Toxic hair colour chemicals are routinely poured down the sink, while contaminated foils and colour tubes end up in normal rubbish. And the plastic and paper used in the salon environment are used and scrapped on an industrial scale.
Enter the green hair heroes
The Green Salon Collective ‘recycles the unrecyclable’, turning trash into treasure. Profits go to food poverty, haircuts for the homeless and rewilding charities. We were so impressed we have dedicated one of our 100 ‘Ways’ to it. They are all quick, achievable ways of helping save the planet, without it being hard work. In this case booking your next appointment with a member salon (or persuading that wonderful stylist you’ve been going to for years to sign up too).
Recycling the unrecyclable – astonishing solutions
The Collective’s most remarkable service is hair recycling. It is gathered up, then sent for a wide variety of transformative uses and products including the manufacture of eco-friendly building materials such as insulation panels – and even rope.
But most amazingly of all are the locks that end up as the key component in ‘hair booms’. These can miraculously absorb oil from spills in oceans and waterways.
To see just how this works, check out Fry’s incredible video. Hair booms been used right around the country as hairdressers, wildlife volunteers and environmental supporters have sprung into action when disaster has struck.
So, next time you’re off for a colour or a trim, don’t forget to look up your local Green Salon Collective – and help the planet stay as beautiful as your hair.
