Summary

Matter of Trust is a unique nonprofit operating out of the San Francisco Bay area with goals to help clean polluted waters around the world using waste materials like hair, and other fibers that have particular properties. Oil spills around the world are a huge environmental catastrophe for waterways and the fragile ecosystems around the area. Traditionally, oil spills have been to use mats made from polypropylene, which is a non-biodegradable plastic, which in turns ends up in landfills. In contrast, Matter of Trust found that human and pet hair have the unique property of being able to absorb up to five times their weight in oil. (Source) The nonprofit makes mats and booms out of the donated hair/natural fibers, and these are then used to effectively soak up oils or other environmental pollutants in storm drains, filtration systems, rivers, oceans etc. The mats and booms are more cost-effective and less harmful to the environment than some conventional cleanup materials.  The nonprofit accepts donations of hair, fur, wool, fleece, clippings from individuals, salons, groomers, farmers, and sorts them into useful stockpiles by length. These are then felted into hair mats and hair scrims that soak up petrochemicals. Donations of shorter hair might be used to remediate soils, stabilizing erosion areas and boosting plant growth. (Source)

Story

Lisa Gautier, Founder of Matter of Trust founder and President, began a partnership with Phil McCrory, a hair stylist and inventor from Alabama. As a hair stylist, it occurred to McCory, while watching TV coverage of otters covered in petrol during the famous Exxon Valdez accident in Alaska, that hair could be used to soak up oil spills. (Source) Together, they realized that there are over 2500 oil spills a year on average but there are also over 370,000 hair salons in the US and over 200,000 pet groomers who each cut on average two pounds (one kilo) of hair/fur per day. They decided that these fibers can be felted into mats or stuffed into recycled burlap sacks or pantyhose in order to make environmentally friendly booms and waddles which soak up oil, and Matter of Trust was created from that initial idea.

Pic credit: Matter of Trust (top and right)