{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Ready for a Carpet Made of Human Hair? This Entrepreneur Turns Salon Waste into Textiles","description":"What if one solution to fashion\u2019s waste problem is literally growing on our own heads? Every day, salons around the world toss out millions of pounds of freshly cut human hair \u2014 a clean, protein-rich, renewable resource that mostly ends up in landfills or incinerators. But what if that so-called waste could become the next sustainable textile? My guest on this episode, Zsofia Kollar, is the founder and CEO of Human Material Loop, a Netherlands-based startup turning salon hair waste into a high-performance fibre that behaves like wool \u2014 but with 43 times lower CO\u2082 emissions, 20 times less water use, and none of the animal cruelty or plastics. Their branded fiber, called Adara, is already being spun into things like carpets, curtains, and acoustic panels \u2014 and it\u2019s made from something we all grow ourselves. In this conversation, Zsofia and I talk about how she got the idea to build an entire materials company out of human hair, how her technology works, why hair is such a strong and versatile material, the \u201cick\u201d factor of human-derived fibres, and how she\u2019s scaling her model so that salons and HML benefit alike. If you think using human hair in textiles sounds strange, stick around \u2014 because by the end of this episode, you might just want a carpet made from your own cut-offs. I\u2019ll let Zsofia make the case. Discussed in this episode Washington Post coverage of Human Material Loop\u2019s work. Vogue and CNN have covered their work, too. Zoroastrians sometimes practice sky burial on a Tower of Silence, in which vultures are allowed to consume a recently deceased human. Our past episode on human composting with Recompose. Get to Know Zsofia Kollar Zsofia Kollar is a forward-thinking entrepreneur passionate about sustainable innovation. Science and design are crucial in the company\u2019s development. After her experience running an independent design studio, Zsofia was driven to reimagine waste management, focusing particularly on hair waste. Her goal is to foster collaboration and innovation for a more sustainable future. Human Material Loop demonstrates that sustainability and economic growth can coexist. Zsofia\u2019s dedication extends beyond her CEO role\u2014she\u2019s also a published author and university lecturer, inspiring others in design and sustainability. Her vision entails holistic sustainability, where science, design, and collaboration reshape waste management and drive innovation.  ","author_name":"Business for Good Podcast","author_url":"http:\/\/www.businessforgoodpodcast.com\/","html":"