Natural Resources
Human hair — “Waste” or “Useful Resource”?
In a country where so many have so little, things that seem worthless can actually be valuable, such as human hair.
The pandemic has adversely affected everyone during both the waves so far. The intense lockdown had seriously disrupted the economic activity and put a halt on business aspirations of MSMEs which are considered the backbone of the national economic structure.
With partial lifting of lockdown to resume business activities on weekdays, I got a chance to get my hair cut and went to the salon which had been closed for a while. The owner of shop was excited to welcome the customers and extend his services. There was a huge amount of hair lying on the floor when I reached the shop and the cleaning staff was collecting them to throw in the dustbin.
Out of curiosity, I asked the owner of the shop, ‘Why do you not use this huge chunk of hair to provide as a raw material to the wig producer?’ Throwing them in the dustbin is adversely impacting the environment and sustainability. He told me that providing the hair as raw material is not a lucrative deal for him since it does not fetch a hefty amount.
On the contrary, West has ever-growing, multibillion-euro industry leading all the way to high-end hair salons and specialist wig shops. The top importers of human hair are the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, France, China and South Korea.
This conversation made me realize how to optimize the sustainability of the salon business and environment which goes hand-in-hand. If we take the bulwark steps to improve this overall business cycle, there will be an enormous increase in the turnover of the salon owners selling this by-product to the wig producers and on the other hand, our environment will be saved.
- We need to consider variations e.g. women vs. men hair, long vs. short hair, and black vs. grey hair. It is acknowledged that there will be various dimensions to this sale of the hair as well such as woman hair will fetch more money while grey & white hair fetches just a third of the price however, this first step will be harbinger for the salons owners.
- This activity will stimulate the additional source of income to barbers and result into increased savings which can be used at the time of uncertain circumstances like current pandemic in a country like India.
- India, with a population of more than a billion, creates plastic and paper waste on an unimaginable scale. The government does what it can to collect it, but such is the scale that much household waste goes straight to landfill, or is burnt.
- Dumping of hair will result into accumulation of large amounts of solids in the waste streams and choke the drainage systems, posing a multifaced problem. Waste management has incurred an augmented costs which could have been utilized for more productive results. We have now understood the importance of recycling the country’s waste in a more environmentally friendly way.
As a potential material resource, human hair has the advantage that it is completely biodegradable, renewable, and available in every locality. From wigs to weaves and hair extension, the market for human hair is vast and currently untapped due to lack of knowledge and advertisement. Promoting this sale of hair to wig producers will have dual benefit of augmenting source of barber’s income and improving environmental sustainability.