01 — The garden
Post what you can use
Spitalfields City Farm posts how many Orange Bags it can use for compost and mulch. Nearby barbers can see exactly what's needed.
Haircare → soilcare · Whitechapel, London
Hair is a resource. Treat it like one.
Community gardens and farms say how much hair they can use. Local barbers and salons fill bright Orange Bags, and neighbours help carry them over. It is a simple way to give cut hair a useful local destination.
Gardens request hair for compost and mulch. Barbers let people know when an Orange Bag is ready, and local runners walk it over.
Whitechapel pilot target
25Orange Bags delivered
Whitechapel pilot target
25 Orange Bags delivered — starting from zero.
How one bag moves
How an Orange Bag gets from a barber to a garden
02 — The barber
Fill an Orange Bag
Mo sees the request, fills an Orange Bag with eligible untreated hair clippings and marks it ready for collection.
03 — The runner
Carry it to the garden
A nearby volunteer claims the collection, picks up the Orange Bag and delivers it to the garden that requested it.
The pilot · Whitechapel
Starting with one local route in Whitechapel
We start on Whitechapel Road, and we start with the garden. Spitalfields City Farm says how many bags it needs. Barbers let people know when a full Orange Bag is ready. A neighbour who is already nearby can then collect it and take it to the farm.
“We used to sweep it into the bin without thinking. Now the kids at the farm ask when the next bag's coming.”See the live board
Where this grows
Stage 1 · Now
The Whitechapel relay
A live Orange Bag board connecting requests from gardens with hair collected by local barbers and carried by volunteers.
Stage 2 · Next
Loops across London
Shared routes, partner profiles and trials of useful materials such as hydroponic pucks and felted mats.
Stage 3 · Later
A circular hub
A possible community space for sorting materials, working together and developing useful goods made from hair.
Who's in the loop?
Each person has a small, clear part to play, with the live board keeping everyone up to date.
1 · The garden
Sees: Which bags are ready, on the way or confirmed as received.
Does: Asks for bags and confirms they arrived.
Join as a garden2 · The barber
Sees: Which local gardens are asking for hair today.
Does: Fills an Orange Bag and lets runners know it is ready.
Join as a barber3 · The runner
Sees: Bags waiting nearby and where they're going.
Does: Chooses a nearby bag, walks it over and confirms the drop-off.
Join as a runnerCommon questions
Hair standards and how the collection works
What hair can you collect?+
For the pilot, we are collecting untreated hair only. That means no dye, bleach, perm, chemical straightening or synthetic extensions.
Why exclude dyed or chemically treated hair?+
We do not yet know what levels of residual colour, bleach or salon chemicals are safe for local composting. We are starting with untreated hair while we learn more.
How is it kept hygienic?+
Dry sweepings go straight from the shop floor into a sealed Orange Bag. No loose handling, no wet clippings, and gardens confirm the bag on arrival.
How long does a bag take to reach the garden?+
The pilot is designed around short local walks. Many Whitechapel handoffs should take around ten minutes, although timing will depend on who is available.
Do gardens have to accept every bag?+
No. A garden posts exactly how many bags it needs and confirms each one on arrival. Nothing is delivered unless it was asked for.
What do runners get?+
For now, runners are local volunteers choosing short journeys that fit around their day. Community credits and local partner perks are ideas for a later stage.
Want the full picture? See how your haircut becomes compost →