We are supporting leading architects, Deborah Lopez and Hadin Charbel from Pareid, in their development of hair-based architectural and building materials. They will be experimenting with our felting machine as well as helping to produce prototypes for our Potting Felt study.  

We are collaborating with Natural Fibre Co, a British mill supported by the Rural Development Programme for England, on a project to upscale the use of hair in yarn and rope. We are currently trialing a 'chunky' yarn comprised of salon hair waste blended with near-waste wool.

We are collaborating with Biohm on an exploratory study to trial human hair waste in both their "orb" and "mycelium" processes to produce an alternative wood-based sheet material (pictured) or other 3D objects. We are also exploring the possibilities for creating products specifically for the hair and beauty industry. 

One of the ways that we reuse and recycle hair is through supporting artists interested in waste and hair, by giving them hair waste and allowing them to turn it into something totally new. One of our partners who we are planning to work with to create a whole dress covered in waste salon hair is Jenni Dutton, an artist working in Somerset.

As part of our research and development work, we often work with artists and designers to find new ways to utilise waste human hair. One designer that we've been working with is Alix Bizet, who has been using GSC's very own felting machine as part of her process to make a material out of hair.

We are collaborating with Denise to explore the effectiveness of using Mirror Talkers to get conversations going between hairdressers and their clients around sustainable haircare.

We are collaborating with Relic to bring new recycled plastic products to market for the hair and beauty industry using plastic waste generated by the same industry. We are also commissioning Relic to produce a limited series of 100% recycled pots for an upcoming R&D event.

We consult with Raechel on our Disposable Salon Towels project. Raechel was integral to initiating this investigation and she also collaborated on our Accreditation process. 

We are collaborating with Ryan on a number of hair felt projects. Ryan is replicating our Potting Felt project to ensure our data is robust. 

We are collaborating with Professor Williams to co-create an assignment for students to propose opportunities for developing a circular economy for hair or other salon waste streams in the UK.

We are collaborating with Eoin on our Disposable Salon Towels project. Eoin is carrying out Life Cycle Assessments for various salon towel types and visiting GSC member salons in order to better understand how these towels are actually being used, laundered and disposed of.