There have been a few reasons for my obsession to succeed in the creation of Hair Mud. One reason that continues to motivate me to push through the difficulties of launching new product is my love for the outdoors and my personal witnessing of its destruction:
When I was 15, my mom took me to the island of Maui to explore what was purported to be one of the best snorkelling locations in the world. For the first time in my life I opened my eyes in clear, bright water to witness a coral reef rich with colours of electric orange and deep reds, green seaweeds waving in the current and fish. So many fish, different sizes, different colours and patterns, big fish, little fish, schools of fish, all darting about, nibbling and chasing. Fish hiding in small rock caves, a squid in a mini squid cave, a rainbow of sea anemone, sea urchins… I had entered a new universe of sound, colour and life. Needless to say it had a lasting impression upon me.
30 years later (in 2016) I took my daughters to Maui, excited to share with them a firsthand experience of life under the sea. To my great disappointment we found only a dead reef. The sea was empty. Empty of coral, empty of seaweed, empty of all except something grey growing on the rocks and a few black fish. When we got back on the boat I exclaimed to our guide my disappointment in what I had seen. He sadly shared that he remembered how rich life used to be and how there was nothing left. But tourism must go on and it seemed that in our group there were few who had understood what they were missing. I cried under the water, again on the boat and again back at our hotel. And now, when I swim off the shores of enchanting Sicily, I cry while I swim, seeing how empty of life is the sea.
As our news' broadcasts sometimes remind us, we are participating in a host of activities which are contributing to the scarcity and destruction of our resources and beautiful places. The death of our corals and other sea life is a result of the growing acidity and increased temperatures in our oceans, caused by pollution. Out of the many pollutants contributing to this sad outcome, one is the production and use of chemical surfactants. During surfactant production other chemicals are used and are leaked into waterways, which lead to the ocean. When we bath, clean the house, or wash our cars, surfactants often reach our waterways and go into our oceans. Surfactants seem to be everywhere, they are in our household cleaners, hair and body cleansers, conditioners, lotions and cosmetics. I don’t expect we will discontinue our use of chemical surfactants in daily life, but I believe a reduction of their use could have significant positive effect on our environmental health.
Witnessing the result of pollution and climate change in Maui, hearing the news reports on the destruction of our planet and the pain and death we are causing to our wildlife is overwhelming. I have many times felt I wanted to do something to change our trajectory, but ended up feeling helpless in the face of big business and poor government regulation. Hair Mud is my vote, my effort to strengthen my political voice, to turn the tide of immediate reward at any cost. Hair Mud doesn’t answer all of our environmental needs or concerns. However, it does reduce our carbon footprint by using raw ingredients instead of refined, it is biodegradable and doesn’t require filtering through a grey or black water system to safely water plants or put out into a leach field. Plus, I’m committed to continuing to improve my production and delivery of Hair Mud to better protect our personal and environmental health. Hair Mud is my effort to take action in causing less harm.
Photo is borrowed from a UC Santa Barbara article.
