![]() McCrory set out to learn everything he could about oil remediation, and eventually came up with the Hairmat - a product made solely from would-be-wasted hair that could be used in oil-polluted aquatic zones anywhere. If you’ve ever gone a bit too long between shampoos, it might be no surprise to learn that hair can generally soak up about five times its weight in oil. But research shows that natural sorbents, like hair and fur, can be even more powerful than these commercial products. When an accidental spill occurs, synthetic sorbents - materials engineered to attract oil and repel water - are typically the first line of defense. Human hair and animal fur are quite effective at soaking up oil. It turns out McCrory was on to something. It occurred to him that the reason we shampoo our hair is because it collects oil, and he wondered if the clippings that accrued on the floor of his salon every day could be used to help clean up the catastrophe zone. In 1989, Phil McCrory - a hairstylist in Huntsville, Alabama - was shampooing a client’s hair when he saw the Exxon Valdez oil spill being reported on CNN. ![]() Once you learn about how they do it, you’ll see shedding in a whole new light. Clean Wave is one of Matter of Trust’s upcycling initiatives, and it’s made quite the splash in sustainable solutions for ocean clean up. Gautier works in the ‘Eco-Industrial Hub’ in San Francisco, surrounded by people felting hair and fur into rug-like squares that would ultimately help remove petrochemicals from our waterways by absorbing oil from oil spills. Have you ever looked at a fur ball that accumulated after giving your pet a nice brush and wondered, “Could this help reduce oil pollution?” Yeah, neither have we, but Lisa Gautier, founder and president of Matter of Trust, sure has. This is a great project for kids of all ages to participate in-get a group of friends, co-workers, church members, or even scouts together to shop and donate as a fun and meaningful way to help others.See our privacy statement to find out how we collect and use your data, to contact us with privacy questions or to exercise your personal data rights. ![]()
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