Startup to weave human hair into clothing

The startup, Human Material Loop, is launching a project to recycle human hair swept off the floors of salons and barbershops into fabric for clothes, curtains, carpets and furniture. The brand is working to weave the wasted hair into clothing.

According to a report by Green Circle Salons, a waste management firm, a whopping 32 tons of hair per day is thrown out by the United States and Canada. “I’ve always had a fascination with human hair,” said Zsofia Kollar, a material designer based in Amsterdam, “because it’s so precious as long as it’s on your head, but once it’s cut, it’s so repulsive to many people.”

The designer, Kollar, is a member of a batch of environmentalists and entrepreneurs who are actively looking for ways to recycle human hair. Traditionally, the wig industry is using long strands of cut hair but more lately nonprofits are turning short strands of hair into fertilizer, to clean up oil spills or using in beauty products by breaking it down into its essential amino acids.

Marc André Meyers, a material scientist at the University of California at San Diego, said “We are moving into a world where sustainability is becoming an important concern. So we try to use materials from nature … and there’s a big push for natural fibers.”