Paul Mitchell the School Wichita Helps Clean Up the Gulf Oil Spill
The nationwide network of Paul Mitchell cosmetology schools, including Paul Mitchell the School Wichita, has partnered with Matter of Trust (www.materoftrust.org) to help clean up the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (http://paulmitchell.edu/gulf-oil-spill).
- Wichita, KS (1888PressRelease) August 03, 2010 - Matter of Trust works on many ecological projects, including two that involve many of the Paul Mitchell Schools: the Gulf Oil Spill Hair Boom program and the Oil Spill Hair Mats program.
The hair boom program collects donated hair, which is then stuffed into recycled nylon tubes (booms) and put in water to absorb oil. Matter of Trust has 19 donated warehouses spread through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Florida that are receiving hair from donors all over the U.S., Canada, and beyond. Thousands of volunteer have signed up to host "Stocking Stuffers" and barbecue parties (or "Boom BQs") where they're making the booms. One staff member from Vanguard College of Cosmetology - A Paul Mitchell Partner School in Louisiana has even turned her house into a hair boom collection and production facility.
The hair mat program creates hair mats that work like hair booms to absorb oil. See how the mats are made here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwQOD_Ir2vQ.
Matter of Trust noticed that people shampoo their hair because hair collects oil. In fact, hair is very efficient at gathering and absorbing oil: skin oils from your face, oil pollution from air and water, and even oil from petroleum spills.
According to the EPA and the Smithsonian Institute:
• There are an average of 2,600 oil spills each year, translating into 726 million gallons of spilled oil.
• 363 million gallons of used motor oil are illegally dumped each year; 50% of all the oil in our waterways comes from illegal dumping.
• It takes just 1 quart of oil to contaminate 1 million gallons of drinking water.
• 300,000 pounds of hair are cut each day in the United States alone.
Matter of Trust notes that there are more than 370,000 hair salons in the U.S. and each collects about 1 pound of hair a day. Right now, most of it goes into the waste stream, but Matter of Trust suggests that it could be made into hair mats instead. Paul Mitchell Schools agree. The Academy at Austin - A Paul Mitchell Partner School in Texas and many other Paul Mitchell Schools are holding cut-a-thons to collect hair to donate to the cause.
"We are so proud, that whenever something like this happens, our entire organization just jumps right in," says Paul Mitchell Chairman and CEO John Paul DeJoria.
If you would like to be part of the effort to help clean up the Gulf oil spill, please visit your local Paul Mitchell School, the Paul Mitchell the School Wichita at http://school.paulmitchell.edu/wichita-ks to find out how they're involved and schedule a time to get a great haircut at a great price. You can also contribute directly to Matter of Trust by visiting http://matteroftrust.org/contribute.html.
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