The Bare Hair Project is the name given to two pouffes made entirely out of recycled plastic and human hair. Designer Ola Giertz created the pouffes, using recycled PET bottles and hair from Studio Västra Sandgatan, a salon in Helsingborg, Sweden.
The Bare Hair Project is meant to serve as a reminder that what we consider "waste" is actually still reusable in many circumstances. Giertz points out that an average person's hair grows about 18cm a year; Sweden's 9 million people grow 1,620,000cm of hair, most of which is disposed of. While not everyone would be comfortable with sitting on cushions made of hair, the Bare Hair Project shows that something more needs to be done with this leftover hair aside from burning it.
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Recycled Materials
- Exploring innovative ways to reuse and repurpose materials like plastic bottles and hair in product design.
- Sustainable Design
- Creating eco-friendly products that promote waste reduction and resource conservation.
- Circular Economy
- Adopting a circular approach to production and consumption by finding new uses for waste materials.
Where This Applies
- Furniture
- Integrating recycled materials and sustainable design principles into the production of furniture and home decor.
- Beauty and Haircare
- Exploring opportunities to repurpose discarded hair in the beauty and haircare industry for innovative products like eco-friendly hair extensions or compostable packaging.
- Plastic Recycling
- Developing advanced recycling technologies and processes to transform plastic waste into valuable resources for various industries such as automotive, construction, or packaging.
