From the Sustainability Dictionary: A term coined by William McDonaugh and Michael Braungart. The process of converting an industrial nutrient (material) into something of similar or greater value, in its second life. Aluminum and glass, for example, can usually be upcycled into the same quality of aluminum and glass as the original products.
Now Walmart will sell upcycled pet products made out of recycled plastic bags, PET bottles, and other materials, starting this month through a partnership with Worldwise. The new retail line will the end result of a closed-loop system that takes waste from Walmart’s stores and “upcycles” them into new pet products that retail in Walmart stores’ pet departments.
Sometimes the inspiration for a company comes from what’s right in front of you. In the case of Mike Gudgus, what was right in front of him was the town of Boise, Idaho, a major bicycling community, where it’s hard to find a place to recycled tires and inner tubes. Gudgus, who runs Inner Glow, [...]
Look out, it’s nearly the 40th anniversary of Earth Day (now a month-long affair) and companies everywhere will be grasping at tenuous links to the occasion, vying for the green in your pocketbook. And what are we doing? A green pop up shop , of course, at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, in the heart [...]
Let’s face it. Chances are pretty good you have an old t-shirt in your dresser that has seen better days, but for whatever reason, you just can’t seem to let it go. Whether it has sentimental value or is a one-of-a-kind vintage tee, if you can’t part with that shirt, a new company, that is [...]
Waste is a problem. We’ve been helping solve it, one piece at a time, via our collection brigades for years now. Literally billions of pieces, collected by millions of people each earning 2 cents donated to the charity of people’s choice. That translates into $100,000 a month in the US alone. And we’re currently in [...]
Waste. Every company creates it, in some form or another. For some materials, the path to recycling is clear – paper, plastics, and industry specific waste that has a known reuse within your sector or a related one. But what about the less obvious materials, the ones for which you have no feasible reuse, and [...]
Take a look at the tag of the clothes you just got for Christmas. Where were they made? Most likely, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, China or Peru. And? And with clothing manufacturing comes the scraps. The overage of a particular color fabric or button. The average factory produces 60,000 pounds of excess material each month–much of it [...]
The end of this year has been a return to our roots for TerraCycle in many ways. First with the opening of our first retail store a few blocks from where I first had a basement “office,” and now we’re going north to Canada–where I grew up and where we had our first major sales [...]
Opportunity Green is off to a roaring start with some of the most thoughtful and engaging speakers in green business today. We’ll have an interview with Proctor & Gamble’s Len Sauers, thoughts on Hopenhagen, the LED revolution, a host of other reports soon. But first things first: Most conferences come with a bag full of [...]
If you’re reading this, it’s pretty likely you recycle. You sort. You do your best (most of the time) But what about those plastic Scotch Tape dispensers you use? Most recyclers don’t take them. You don’t have much use for them, being empty. What do you do? Toss them in the recycle bin and hope [...]
Globalization has long gotten a bad rap. And for good reason. So many companies arrogantly decide that, one way or another, what they create will become what people desire, unaltered, in countries around the world. And in many cases, it’s worked, homogenizing cultures, at least on an aesthetic level, with no real benefit to the [...]
Look at the shirt you’re wearing now. What do you think happened with the material cut to make that shirt? Despite likely making every effort to be efficient in how much material is used, there is always extra. In some cases, one factory can produce 60,000 pounds of textile waste a week. Currently, nearly all [...]
One of the most exciting parts of the Dwell on Design event in June was the collaboration between eBay, ecofabulous, and Reclaimed Space. The 400 square foot prefab cabin, which was designed using high quality vintage, repurposed, and restyled items found on eBay was sold on the online auction site for $75,000, with a portion [...]
How Terracycle is partnering with name brands to upcycle everyday goods. Have you heard of a company called FAB? I’m guessing not, and at the same time, it’s a safe bet you’ve seen their products. And depending on how old you are, you have been running towards or running away from them for years. And [...]
What do Google, Ocean Spray and Walt Disney have in common? All were launched during recessions. Since the beginning of this recession, most headlines have been riddled with gloom, but tough economic times lend themselves to advantages many business leaders overlook. Last summer, as we were still headed into the worst quarters of this recession, [...]
Frito-Lay has announced plans to partner with ‘Upcycler’ Terracycle to give their chip bags a second life. Frito, which on Earth Day of 2008 unveiled a solar thermal generation facility at their manufacturing plant in Modesto, CA, with the capacity to power that entire plant, is making public its desire to reduce the environmental footprint [...]
TerraCycle is launching its new reality TV show, Garbage Moguls. Tune in on Earth Day to see the TerraCycle team upcycle trash into new products!
My book, Revolution in a Bottle, hit the streets this week. It is a quick read that is meant to flow more like a novel, less like a business book. It follows the story of TerraCycle from our beginnings in my dorm room, shoveling maggot filled organic waste to creating products we sold to Wal-Mart [...]
On this site, we often focus on what large multinational corporations, cleantech ventures, or even governments are doing. But sometimes, some of the most interesting and innovative projects happen on a much smaller scale. In almost every major metropolis, bike messengers have been institutions for a long time. However, in recent years – responding to [...]
Upcycling and clothes. A match made in heaven where a designer is let loose on vintage clothing.
(originally posted at Hudder.com) Huddler users asked Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle, all your trashy questions (ha ha) over the past few weeks, and Tom answered. In a nutshell, TerraCycle takes what others call trash, upcycles those materials, and turn them into brand-spanking new products. Who thought you could make a hot little [...]
Bought a Kraft food item? Hand over the packaging at a recycling point and you’ ll get cash…
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Bard College MBA in Sustainability
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[coming soon] The Green Beer Series 2012
San Diego: June 4-7
Sustainable Brands 2012: Join us as the Sustainability, Brand Strategy and Innovation Communities convene to shape the future. Discover and participate in the sustainable brand revolution by collaborating to shift consumer demand, drive heretical innovation, and evolve the business case. 20% Reader discount with code "nwtripsb12".
Webinar: June 5
Running an Effective Corporate Volunteer Program with AngelPoints: Key clients discuss how they put the AngelPoints Volunteering solution to work for them. Attend this webinar to learn best practices, tips & tricks - and how to get an effective volunteer program off the ground at your organization.
Seattle: June 11-12GRI Certified Training: Demand for sustainability experts is growing rapidly as companies look for proven professionals. For companies, GRI trained employees mean faster implementations and better use of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework. Join our partner ISOS group for this two day session. Early bird discounts apply!
Portland & Seattle: June 13 & 14
Sustainable Industries Economic Forum:
NYC: June 27-28Responsible Business Summit USA: Discover how to fully embed and integrate CSR in your organization. Learn how to collaborate with key stakeholders and establish competitive edge using proven CSR strategies. Hear best practices from GAP Inc, Timberland, Lockheed Martin, Life Technologies, Campbell Soup and many more.
Minneapolis: July 19-20GRI Certified Training: Demand for sustainability experts is growing rapidly as companies look for proven professionals. For companies, GRI trained employees mean faster implementations and better use of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework. Join our partner ISOS group for this two day session. Early bird discounts apply!
Boston: Sep 13-14GRI Certified Training: Demand for sustainability experts is growing rapidly as companies look for proven professionals. For companies, GRI trained employees mean faster implementations and better use of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework. Join our partner ISOS group for this two day session. Early bird discounts apply!
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