Creating zero waste in an unexpected place:
The hair care industry

Degrees podcast season 6, episode 2

Creating a green career out of thin air? That’s bananas! Literally. Ciara Imani May is the CEO of the company Rebundle, a hair extensions brand made out of the fiber found in banana trees. What started as a quest to live a zero waste lifestyle and find a career through which Imani May could live her values, has led to a consumer product that solves an environmental problem — and a health issue too.

In this episode of Degrees Season 6: How to Green Your Job, join us as we take a trip down memory lane with Ciara Imani May to understand how she came up with her plant-based idea and transformed it into a product that’s positively impacting people and the planet. And while entrepreneurship might not be the path for everyone, her story shows that being values-driven and persistent can help you be the green change you want to see.

Ciara Imani May is the founder of Rebundle, the first U.S.-made, plant-based hair extensions brand on a mission to provide more comfort and less waste through eco-friendly and non-toxic hair extensions. The idea for Rebundle sparked in 2019 when Ciara suffered from one too many itchy scalps from wearing braids made from plastic synthetic hair. In researching alternatives, Ciara came to understand that banana fibers could provide a sustainable option. That breakthrough led to Rebundle’s first product, braidbetter.

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