Hey everyone, Rob Greenfield here and
this is the off the grid, zero waste haircut. And beard cut.
That's right, no electricity.
No waste, but a nice clean (Bell sounds to suggest cleanliness) cut.
(Acoustic guitar music)
Now, a lot of you know me as a guy who
kind of lives off the land, or sort've an
earthy, simple living kind of guy.
But I still like to have a nice, clean
head of hair and beard.
I just don't like to have a big bushy beard.
This is about as long as I like to get.
So, I have a few tools for that,
whether I'm in the city or in the country- side.
Number one. An old school, vintage, manual trimmer.
And I've adapted a simple guard to have
the right length, and then, a scissors,
for working around the edge.
That's what I need to keep nice and trim.
Plus, one other thing, of course, a mirror.
I can do without, but this thing makes
things a lot easier.
So check these out. These are just like
the electrical ones that most men use today.
Except one big difference.
No electricity.
I just squeeze the handle and that does the work.
(clipping sounds)
Now most electricity, today, is made from fossil fuels.
This, on the other hand, is using an
alternative renewable energy.
Human energy!
And most electronics, today, they don't
last very long. They're designed for the dump. (Blows)
This thing, on the other hand, is
probably about 50 years old.
(clipping sounds)
Now, that's the off the grid part,
but where does zero waste come in?
Well, most people, when they cut their
hair, all of the hair goes to a landfill.
It goes to the garbage can and then the
garbage goes to the landfill.
There, it's designed to stay in the
landfill, not break down.
So, this stuff, here, can actually last
for decades or even longer.
Even if it does break down,
it doesn't become part of the earth.
It doesn't nourish the earth.
On the other hand, when I cut this hair, (clipping sounds)
and I let it fall to the ground,
it just goes back to the earth to actually
nourish the soil.
Plus, here, no clean up is even needed.
Not a broom, a dustpan, anything.
But if I'm in the city, what I can do is
just sweep up the hair and then put it
in the compost.
Me? I'd rather be free than in the landfill. (Clipping sounds)
It's really easy to never think about it
but in one lifetime, the average person
cuts their hair hundreds of times,
and each time they send a part of
themselves to the landfill.
Or back to the earth.
And, speaking of waste, disposable razors,
that's another thing, when you can use
thousands of those, or hundreds of those,
in a lifetime, with this, every single
time no garbage is created.
And if you think about it,
you can spend thousands of dollars
going to the barber over your lifetime.
Or you could put those thousands of
dollars into bettering your community.
And, sure, doing it on my own, I don't
always have a perfect cut.
Sometimes I make mistakes, but what's
important to you?
Looking perfect or looking out for the earth?
Now, last thing, what about fingernails?
That's another thing that we might not think about.
I have a standard nail clipper.
But same thing, I go outside, I clip away,
and those fingernails go back to the earth
just like the hair does. (Acoustic guitar music playing)
Now, a lot of us haven't really thought about these things before.
Maybe not once.
But these little things, they really do add up.
For better or worse, the question is,
which do you want?
Better or worse?
(Final strum of guitar)
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