4 months ago
Buffalo, N.Y. - Several local businesses are doing what they can to aid cleanup efforts in the Gulf of Mexico, following a massive oil spill there.
Choco-Logo Chocolatiers on Broadway in Buffalo is asking people to drop pairs of nylon pantyhose. The stockings are being sent to an organization in the Gulf, which uses them to make "hair booms". The nylons are stuffed with human hair or animal fur, as a natural way to soak up the oil. According to Liz Donner, Director of Marketing at Choco-Logo, one pound of human hair can soak up one gallon of oil.
"There's a group called Oiled Wildlife Rescue Volunteers and they are putting the booms together," said Donner.
Donner, who went to college in Louisiana - not too far from the spill, hopes to have at least one big box of nylon stockings to ship down south next week. They've also partnered with Fix Salon in Buffalo and Super Cuts in Orchard Park to collect hair for the booms. Donner says Choco-Logo will continue to collect the items for as long as it takes to clean up the mess.
"I vacationed as a young child down on the Gulf Coast and it's just so beautiful. It's sugar white sand and blue, blue water and the wildlife there is just incredible. So for them to be threatened like this, it's really upsetting to me."
Choco-Logo isn't alone in their fight. Chez Ann Salon has been collecting hair clippings from haircuts at both of its locations, as well. The hair is being boxed up and shipped to a nonprofit organization called, "A Matter of Trust"; another group that specializes in making hair booms.
Chez Ann Salon got involved in the effort about a week ago, after being contacted by Amanda Robinson, owner of New Age Salon in Buffalo.
"It brings out a sense of community," says James Hickey of Chez Ann in the City. "Not just here, but it's for the world, you know?And that's really neat ... that salons all over the country are doing this and that we're all helping out something that's more of a world-wide thing and it's pretty rewarding."
For more information on how you can help out, check out the following links:
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