Garden Products Recycling Business Plan

Hair Recycling Technologies is a company dedicated to the recycling concepts of our society and providing organic products, which completely satisfies our customers. All of our products will be composed of human hair that will be gathered from suppliers in the Midwest.

The hair we collect will be marketed in two basic forms. First, the hair will be sanitized and mixed with other organic elements to form a superior soil enhancer and plant food. Secondly, the hair will be packaged alone to be sold as an animal deterrent.

Our soil enhancer/plant food will consist of human hair, organic elements, and potting soil. What is a soil enhancer? A soil enhancer is an organic based mixture that can be used in place of, or mixed with, the existing potting soil to increase the soil’s nitrogen content and enhance the nutrients present in the soil. Our enhancer is similar to fertilizers; however, it reacts differently from most fertilizers. Our enhancer is time released and will last over a long period of time, on average two to three months. The chemical reaction in present fertilizers takes place immediately and usually lasts no longer than three to four weeks. After three to four weeks, the customer must buy more fertilizer, costing both time and money.

Our animal deterrent consists of only sanitized hair. The strong human scent in hair, as shown by research, is what keeps the animals away. Not only does it deter animals, but it has the benefit of adding nutrients for soil feeding. The customer simply places the hair around the vegetation and the work is done. Our soil enhancer, of course may be used as an animal deterrent as well. However, our separately packaged deterrent product will contain a strong mix of human hair and can be placed in strategic locations where it would face the animal head on.

4.1 Initial Product Line

HRT’s goal is to carry many products in its line. However, initially the company will introduce three specific products: SMART SOIL, HARE AWAY, and Rose Food.

4.1.1 Smart Soil

The first product will be a soil enhancer/plant food, which we will call SMART SOIL. The SMART SOIL name was chosen because the name describes our product and its advantages. SMART SOIL is a superior enhancer because the hair in our mixture slowly releases its nutrients over a longer period of time than other organic products currently on the market. All the consumer needs to do is spread the mix in with their plants and SMART SOIL goes to work. The product alleviates the hassle of having to constantly fertilize the plants, so hence the name SMART SOIL.

The advantage of our product with respect to other organic soil enhancers currently on the market is that it uses an ingredient that is new and unique to the organic soil market. Human hair is 97% protein and contains 27 trace elements: The chemical constituents are as follows:

SMART SOIL will be an organic mix containing potting soil, recycled sanitized human hair, and other organic elements such as cottonseed meal and peat moss. SMART SOIL will be packaged in a plastic 3-pound bag.

SMART SOIL will be introduced as a soil enhancer and not as a fertilizer, due to strict EPA restrictions regarding listing product contents for fertilizers such as the amounts of Nitrogen, Potassium, and Potash. We feel that initially we can save money by labeling our product as a soil enhancer, thus avoiding an extra expense for lab work on our product. As the company and resources grows, we will introduce SMART SOIL as a fertilizer to compete in the fertilizer market and generate additional revenue.

4.1.2 Hare Away

The second product that HRT will carry is packaged recycled sanitized human hair. This product will be called HARE AWAY. It will be marketed specifically toward consumers who are having problems with animals such as deer and rabbits entering their garden. Because our simple sanitizing process will not eliminate the human smell contained on the hair follicle, HARE AWAY will be useful to deter animals and pests. The human hair in HARE AWAY will be chopped and shredded to very short lengths. This will improve its solvency as a nutrient, and make it more aesthetically pleasing to the buyer.

HARE AWAY will be sanitized and packaged in two different forms. First, it will be sold in a recycled, clear plastic bag containing a header label on the top describing the product and its beneficial uses. Secondly, the hair will be placed in a stocking type material and sold in a plastic packaging. This product will be for consumers who desire to hang the stocking from a tree or post near or around the garden. This will allow consumers to strategically place our product in areas that will keep animals at a distance from their garden.

4.1.3 Rose Food

The third product HRT will introduce will be a rose food. As discussed earlier, HRT will reproduce the recipe by William Stafford of Austin, Texas to market towards avid rose gardeners. The rose food will be introduced in three months from the start of operations. The delay will be due to the time it takes to compost the ingredients in our product. The recipe is as follows:

William Stafford’s Hair Recipe:
(Enough for 50 rose bushes.)

• 10 pounds of hair clippings (should be clipped to 3/4 in lengths to prevent matting).
• 20 pounds of cottonseed meal to help hold moisture and encourage rotting.
• 1 1/2 yards of leaf mold.

Mix the dry ingredients together; then wet down well. Keep in a compost pit 30 to 60 days, turning it until it is all rotted, then put about three quarts around each bush. Water frequently the first ten days and keep watering until results show.

Hair used alone will produce similar results, although at longer duration. Spread the hair around the surface as a mulch and water until it decays. Keep the hair on the surface since it is a good insulator for the roots of all tender plants in the severe cold.

William Stafford has many blue ribbons as proof it helps roses bloom longer in the winter.

Each of these products and all future products will be registered with the U.S. Trademark Department and will have the recycled label on the package to show the consumer that they are buying a recycled product. William Stafford’s hair recipe has no current copyrights or patents.

4.2 Future Products

Future products that HRT is looking forward to producing are the following:

Chemical conversion of human hair to be used as a food additive. The food industry commonly uses a food ingredient called L-cysteine Hydrochloride (HCL). The additive can be produced in two ways: synthetically, from non-organic bases such as petroleum or directly from human hair. It can be cheaper to use human hair, which contains up to 8 percent of the natural amino acid cysteine. Cysteine is used as a flavoring and a dough enhancer, but by the time it reaches our pizzas and snacks, the hair has been thoroughly processed and reduced to its chemical constituents. Currently, the supply of hair that is collected, cleaned, processed, and then chemically converted into L-cysteine is solely done in Far East factories.

SMART SOIL fertilizer, similar to our soil enhancer however, marketed as a fertilizer containing additional organic elements. Plant spikes similar to what is currently on the market, but will be manufactured with our human hair formula. A gardening kit marketed toward the pre-teen gardener to help them gain a better appreciation for his/her environment. Resale of hair to wig manufacturers who use real hair for its wigs. In addition, HRT will be researching the benefits of using animal hair in future products.