Pollution Ponytail Holders- Water PH Experiment

For my PH natural dye project, I chose to dye hair scrunchies with turmeric using water from Prospect Park, Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Stuyvesant Park tap water, and Essentia brand bottles. I chose tumeric because it is a strong dye and I hoped that it would show good color differentiation between the waters of different PH levels. When dying my scrunchies, each color came out slightly different, as the PH of each water was slightly different and I was quite pleased with the results, however, as they dried they became relatively similar in color. Although the color difference isn’t super significant, I still think that this project could be a good way to spread awareness about water pollution. In theory, if this product were to be distributed in stores each package sold would donate part of the profits to help clean up polluted bodies of water. Having a cute appealing package with hair ties is something many people are drawn to. They will go to the store and see a pack of variant shaded hair ties and pick them up because they like the way they look. After picking them up, they will see that they are called “Pollution Ponytail Holders” which is a bold name for something that is supposed to be aesthetically pleasing so they will be curious and want to learn more. Then, they will turn the package around and see that each hair tie was dyed with water from different locations with different PH and pollution levels. There will be a key on the back correlating a number to a location and PH level. That number then correlates with the number tag sewn on to each hair tie, letting people know the location and water pollution of each one. This will better educate people that dont know that there is a difference in the different waters we are surrounded by, and that difference matters and can be important to our health. Once people purchase these ponytail holders they can wear them in their hair or on their wrist as an accessory, giving people the opportunity to notice them and compliment them on the beautiful colors. That will give the person a chance to explain the meaning behind the hair ties, possibly informing a new person on water pollution issues. The overall goal of these ponytail holders is to spread awareness in a useful, subtle, and reasonable way. Even if people are buying these hair ties solely for aesthetic or functional purposes, they are still donating money to a greater cause. If they do happen to buy them intentionally they are helping raise awareness, and maybe that person will join in on the effort to have clean water. I think that my Pollution Ponytail Holder Brand is a very unique idea that is also cute and useful, and I personally would buy them if I saw them on the shelf. Having a functional item that is working to raise awareness for water pollution and solve the problem at the same time is a great thing to have in stores!