Did you know that your dog or cat’s fur is a renewable resource? No matter how often you groom your furry friend, their pesky hairs appear all over your furniture, in your car and on that nice black blazer you just had cleaned. Instead of wearing out your vacuum trying to fight your fur problem, here are three ingenious ways to harness the shedding power of your dog or cat.

Crafty Clothing and Accessories

In the market for a colorful clutch? Catty Shack Creations in Simpsonville, South Carolina, found a clever way to keep the mounds of fur from their grooming salon away from landfills. Founder Danelle German collects cat and dog fur and whips them up into purses.

Feeling crafty? Collect your pet’s fur and send it off to a company like VIP FIBERS INC. to be woven into yarn, which you can then knit into clothing. Pick up a copy of Knitting with Dog Hair to learn how to make your own sweater from Fluffy’s fur.

Soak up Spills

Consider donating your pet’s fur to be incorporated into a simple technology utilized to clean up oil spills. Matter of Trust is a nonprofit organization that utilizes both human hair and pet fur to sop up oil spills. The Hair for Oil Spills program collaborates with groomers to collect fur, but individuals can donate their pet’s fur, too. Check out the Matter of Trust site for donation details.

Grow Green with Composted Pet Fur

The general rule for composting is if it rots, it’s good to go, which makes pet fur a great addition to your compost heap. To prevent it from clumping, be sure to use small amounts at a time, and thoroughly mix the fur with your existing compost. Keep in mind that it will break down slower than food and yard scraps. Some gardeners also think that incorporating pet fur into your garden adds the scent of your pet, which deters wild critters. Another simple option? Collect small clumps of your pet’s fur and leave it in a basket on your porch or in piles near the base of trees. Birds will collect the discarded fur to build their nests.

Images: Ed Yourdon, The Moonstone Archive, tomnono, andy carter

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