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Companies that make and sell hair extensions and wigs have protested over allegations that the industry habitually uses unethically sourced human hair from Asia.
Media reports and online chat rooms have repeatedly suggested that vulnerable individuals in India, south-east Asia and inland China are being put under pressure to sell their hair. In the worst cases, hair is allegedly obtained by force.
However, companies in the sector say there is little basis for such allegations. One of the largest, the London-based hair extensions and wigs business Hairaisers, says it sources all its hair from willing Hindu devotees at the Tirupathi temple in India's Andhra Pradesh state. Up to 50,000 followers visit the temple every day, many of whom shave their hair in a religious ritual known as 'tonsuring'.
Hairaisers has undertaken to buy ten tonnes of hair every year from the temple. It says the temple uses the income from hair sales to invest in schools, hospitals and other community projects. 'We have gone to great levels to ensure that our 100 per cent human hair arrives from volunteers and that no unethical measures are forced upon the individuals,' said Ubaid Rehmann, director of Hairaisers.
The company, which sells 800 kilos of hair per month, says it uses independent agents in India to ensure ethical standards are met. Hair sourced from poor or sick people would be of low quality and 'is not the hair that Hairaisers wants or sells,' the company told EP.
Concerns have also been raised about labour violations in Chinese processing plants, where much of the hair in the £160million ($305m) export market is sorted, fumigated and weighed before shipping.
Hairaisers says it uses a 'reputable company' in China 'with skilled workers', although it has yet to develop systematic workplace monitoring.
Another large trader in the sector, UK-based Racoon International, said the main companies were suffering reputational damage because of occasional black market trading by disreputable agents in India.
Consumers typically pay £500 for a full head of human hair extensions and from £150 for a partial head.
Media reports and online chat rooms have repeatedly suggested that vulnerable individuals in India, south-east Asia and inland China are being put under pressure to sell their hair. In the worst cases, hair is allegedly obtained by force.
However, companies in the sector say there is little basis for such allegations. One of the largest, the London-based hair extensions and wigs business Hairaisers, says it sources all its hair from willing Hindu devotees at the Tirupathi temple in India's Andhra Pradesh state. Up to 50,000 followers visit the temple every day, many of whom shave their hair in a religious ritual known as 'tonsuring'.
Hairaisers has undertaken to buy ten tonnes of hair every year from the temple. It says the temple uses the income from hair sales to invest in schools, hospitals and other community projects. 'We have gone to great levels to ensure that our 100 per cent human hair arrives from volunteers and that no unethical measures are forced upon the individuals,' said Ubaid Rehmann, director of Hairaisers.
The company, which sells 800 kilos of hair per month, says it uses independent agents in India to ensure ethical standards are met. Hair sourced from poor or sick people would be of low quality and 'is not the hair that Hairaisers wants or sells,' the company told EP.
Concerns have also been raised about labour violations in Chinese processing plants, where much of the hair in the £160million ($305m) export market is sorted, fumigated and weighed before shipping.
Hairaisers says it uses a 'reputable company' in China 'with skilled workers', although it has yet to develop systematic workplace monitoring.
Another large trader in the sector, UK-based Racoon International, said the main companies were suffering reputational damage because of occasional black market trading by disreputable agents in India.
Consumers typically pay £500 for a full head of human hair extensions and from £150 for a partial head.
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