By Wally Kennedy
Globe Staff Writer
JOPLIN, Mo. —
It makes sense.
You wash your hair when it gets oily. So why not use your hair to collect oil?
That premise is behind a nationwide movement to collect human and animal hair clippings, and stuff them in old nylons to create oil-adhering hair booms to fight the oil spill on the Gulf Coast.
Hair that was clipped Thursday from the heads of patrons at Hairbenders, 2201 S. Main St., is headed for the Gulf Coast.
As her hair fell to the floor, Adrianne White, of Olathe, Kan., said: “I think it’s a good idea for the salon to be involved in this project. It’s a nice gesture.”
White’s hair clippings and those of other patrons are being shipped by the salon to a Gulf Coast warehouse operated by Matter of Trust, a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco.
According to the group’s website at www.matteroftrust.org: “Thousands of pounds of hair and nylons are coming in by UPS and FedEx from every state in the United States, and from Canada, Brazil, France and the United Kingdom. Booms are being made all along the Gulf Coast near beaches and marshes.”
Kevin Lane, with Hairbenders, said: “They have found that if you collect hair clippings and stuff it in old nylons, it’s highly effective in removing oil from water.
“We first heard about it yesterday (Wednesday), and we started yesterday. I think we are going to need a lot of hair. This is generating a lot of excitement. Everyone is jumping on board. It’s spring. It’s time for a good shearing.”
To promote the effort, Hairbenders has reduced the price of a haircut by $5.
The concept for the boom was developed by Phil McCrory, a hair stylist in Alabama, who realized that hair is an abundant and efficient material for sopping up spilled oil. The booms are placed on beaches, and wave action causes the oil to interact with the hair. The oil is reclaimed by squeezing it out of the boom, which is reused to collect more spilled oil.
The effort got a big boost Thursday when Hanesbrands Inc., based in Winston-Salem, N.C., said it was donating 50,000 pairs of pantyhose to make the booms. Matter of Trust will get 37,500 pairs of pantyhose from Hanesbrands.
Get clipped
There are more than 370,000 hair salons in the United States. Each collects about a pound of sheared hair per day, according to the website www.matteroftrust.org.
