Adding Value, Sustainability to the Supply Chain by Recycling the Unrecyclable
3 years ago - One of the most significant challenges that manufacturers and major brands face today is maintaining high sustainability standards across their entire supply and production chain. It's no new idea that consumer brands that have not embraced sustainability and CSR initiatives are at risk on many fronts, but integrating more environmentally sound and socially responsible processes requires sweeping infrastructure changes that many businesses may have difficulty implementing and sustaining.
Changing the Culture of Excess [Packaging]
3 years ago - Some time ago I was on a business trip, and an acquaintance presented me with a box of cookies as a welcome gift. It was beautifully presented, featuring a large and beautifully intricate bow. I thanked my companion and expressed that I would open it later. Later in my hotel room and hungry for a snack, I pulled at the bow to unravel a layer of ornamental wrapping swaddling a basket. The basket was cradling a box enveloped in paper, the box containing decorative packing confetti, which nested exactly three (3!) individually wrapped cookies encased in colored cellophane. The cookies were each a very small fraction of the overall size of the package — a handful of food product enveloped by layers upon layers of packaging with different material components.
Social Media an Invaluable Tool for Helping Conscious Consumers Live Even More Consciously
3 years ago - With hundreds of millions of individuals logging into social media accounts every day, using the medium as a platform for social change and activism is just common sense. Today, about 61 percent of consumers use social platforms to learn about sustainability issues. In this open forum-style digital environment, consumers are able to have open conversations about corporate social responsibility and other salient subjects in sustainability.
Will Consumers Pay to Recycle Their Waste?
3 years ago - Consumers are steadily becoming more conscious of environmental issues, and more eager to reduce waste at home and work — but are these enough to translate into action? Moreover, will consumers pay to live up to 'green' standards and aspirations in their lives? The success my company, TerraCycle, is seeing with our Zero Waste Box platform seems to indicate that many are willing.
Religious Fervour, 'Green Giants,' Heartfelt Communication Abound on #SB15London, Day 2
4 years ago - On Tuesday, BBMG co-founder Raphael Bemporad hosted the second morning's plenaries at SB '15 London. He began by highlighting the transitionary power of sustainable brands."As we begin the conversation today, I'd like us to think about the privileged position we occupy as a force for societal and market transformation," he said. "We are uniquely placed: We can harness the emotional power of brands to convey stories and to channel aspirations, but we also embody sustainability — we're system thinkers, we're innovators. When we bring these two things together, we have the power to shape culture and shape the market."
How Can Brands Bring Bio-Based Materials to Scale (and Should They)?
4 years ago - A large audience gathered at this SB '15 London breakout session Tuesday to (hopefully!) learn more about what appeared to be a very niche subject.A preliminary display of hands around the room confirmed the lack of experience around bio-materials, but also confirmed the enthusiasm to learn. Moderator Kathryn Sheridan provided expertise throughout and eased the audience through a range of background technical detail that many may have found daunting. However, the emphasis was kept firmly on the tie-up with brands and opportunities for the future, rather than an hour-long chemistry lesson.The session started with panel introductions:
7 Reasons Why Recycling Is Not a Waste: A Response to 'The Reign of Recycling'
4 years ago - Recycling in the United States is an economically unsustainable trend — or at least that's what New York Times writer John Tierney recently argued in his opinion piece, "The Reign of Recycling," published in the October 4th Sunday Review.
How Marketing and Social Action Can Bring Back Recycling
4 years ago - A cloud seems to be looming over the recycling industry today. No matter where you turn, the reigning attitude seems about the same — the future of recycling is in trouble.
'Human Resources,' Season 2 (or How TerraCycle Hopes to Pave the Way for 'Green' on Reality TV)
4 years ago - The television remains one of the most vital tools available to "green" marketers. From product placement to paid commercial spots, getting your product, service or mission featured on TV is an invaluable way to bring your company's messaging directly into people's living rooms. Unfortunately that precious ad space isn't cheap, and for smaller, purpose-driven companies such as TerraCycle, the costs are simply too high. Even so, that hasn't stopped us from trying to secure our own fair share of the TV spotlight.
Can a Book Help to Market Your Mission?
4 years ago - TerraCycle has always approached marketing in an unconventional way. We have to, really, considering the success of our business model is dependent on how engaged and motivated our consumers are. In a world with so many conflicts and globally relevant issues, getting people to realize the scope and scale of some of our most serious environmental issues is always an uphill battle.
Philips, Dell, ASU Discuss How to Fill Existing Gaps in Shift Toward Circular Business Models
4 years ago - This #SB15sd Wednesday afternoon session on the circular economy convened a frank and open discussion about what is working, and what isn't, when it comes to tweaking existing business ecosystems to accommodate circular models. Panelists compared notes on attempts to create new models, highlighted existing gaps, and discussed their visions for potential solutions.
How Do We Create the Sustainable Leaders That We Need? Start by Inspiring Kids to Recycle
4 years ago - Survey data indicates that, compared to older generations, younger generations are more supportive of environmental legislation and the notion that global climate change is the result of human activity, yet are simultaneously less likely to recycle or recognize the benefits of recycling. This is a disparity we should all be concerned with, as these are the individuals that will one day become our future social entrepreneurs, conscious consumers, and environmental activists.
This Year's Inspired Leadership Award Highlighting the New 'Breed of Leadership Business Needs'
4 years ago - Last week, seven young nominees were announced for the 2015 Inspired Leadership Award (ILA), an annual prize recognizing leaders with the potential to positively impact lives on a global scale for generations to come.
Bevy of Brands Partnering With NGOs to Fund Conservation During Earth Month
4 years ago - April is Earth Month, and brands are announcing programs to inspire participation in environmental activities and funding campaigns.
To Recycle or Not to Recycle: The Economics of Garbage
4 years ago - People are confused about recycling because they complain that the entire process – from labeling, to which bin is which, to what your municipality accepts - makes it difficult to determine a material's recyclability. This issue is especially common when consumers are dealing with some of the more complicated recyclable materials such as plastics, but the question persists: What exactly makes a material recyclable or not? Two very different lenses are often used to determine this: science and economics. Which of these factors is more relevant in revealing a material's chance of being recyclable? Or is it a combination of both?
Why Durable Bioplastics, Not Biodegradable, May Be the Answer
5 years ago - To conclude this series about bioplastics and the biodegradability (or lack thereof) of plastic products and packaging, I want to discuss the future of what I consider to be one of the only viable alternatives to plastics derived from non-renewable resources: durable bioplastics.
The Myth of Biodegradability in Plastic Consumer Products and Packaging
5 years ago - In my last post regarding the long-term viability of bio-based polymers, I touched on some of the primary concerns we face regarding the rise of plastics labeled as "biodegradable." It's an important component of this broad discussion, and one that has become increasingly relevant in an increasingly sustainability-driven product market.
P&G, Terracycle Challenging Canadians to Keep Home Care Waste Out of Landfills
5 years ago - A new initiative from Procter & Gamble's Febreze air freshener and TerraCycle is challenging Canadians across the nation to recycle everything from used air fresheners to Swiffer packaging for $5,000 in prize money, to be donated to the school or charity of the winner's choice. It's all part of Terracycle's new Air and Home Care Brigade, the company's latest collection program that aims to divert from landfills all packaging waste associated with home cleaning, enabling consumers to recycle previously non-recyclable material for the first time.
Garnier® And TerraCycle® Announce Winner Of Local Community Garden Made From Recycled Beauty Packaging
5 years ago - NEW YORK, July 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- After transforming over 1,500 pounds of recycled personal care waste into a one-of-a-kind Garnier Green Garden in Harlem and overhauling a garden at a special needs school in the Bronx, Garnier and TerraCycle took their eco efforts on the road with the "Where Should Our Garden Grow?" campaign to award one recipient with a new community garden. After a public voting period, The ReFresh Project of New Orleans has been named the winner.  
Recycle Across America, Participant Media Determined to Get Us to 'Recycle Right!'
5 years ago - Recycle Across America® (RAA), a nonprofit that has developed the first and only society-wide standardized labeling system for recycling bins to help eliminate the public confusion surrounding recycling, has joined forces with Participant Media on a social action campaign called Recycle Right!, focused on transforming recycling and improving the economics and prevalence of sustainable packaging and manufacturing.