ikcdesign: Original (re)Design
http://www.etsy.com/listing/62006649/upcycled-checkbook-cover-made-from
I’ve run out of checks again so it’s time to order a new set. After wading through screens of puppies and fairies and Christmas designs, I finally decided to just reorder the argyle that I’m already using. I know; boring. I still can’t figure out what kind of person wants to have Christmas themed checks all year long, but I digress… As I was about to checkout the page suggested that I buy a matching leather checkbook cover. “Ooh…pretty”, I thought, but then I realized that it’s new and it’s leather. Neither of which are particularly environmentally-friendly, so I popped over to Etsy to see what I could find in the upcycled/recycled categories. In college I studied Japanese language and East Asian studies and have retained my love of all things Asian. I was so excited to find checkbook covers made from recycled book pages about Japan. There were so many interesting choices. One seller in particular had some very creatively recycled pages that I thought would make for a very stylish checkbook cover. They also recycled the tops from trophies and old album covers. The seller named ikc (original redesign) has a very catchy tagline “Old is the new New”. I love it! Here are few other really cool recycled homegoods by ikcdesign:
TerraCycle is working to make products from Trash: Join the Brigade
My mother called me last night to tell me about an interesting notice on the side of her Wheat Thins box. Apparently Wheat Thins has teamed up with Terracycle to recyle their packages. My mother proceeded to tell me a bit more about it and then sent me a link to read through today. Here’s what I found in their “About Us” page:
TerraCycle makes affordable, eco-friendly products from a wide range of different non-recyclable waste materials. With over 50 products available at major retailers like Walmart, Target, The Home Depot, OfficeMax, Petco and Whole Foods Market, TerraCycle is one of the fastest growing eco-friendly manufacturers in the world. Our hope is to eliminate the idea of waste by finding innovative, unique uses for materials others deem garbage.You can be a part of our eco-revolution, just sign up for one of our FREE Brigades or look for TerraCycle products at your local retailer.
Founded in 2001 by a 19 year old Princeton University freshman named Tom Szaky, TerraCycle started as an organic fertilizer company and has grown into a multi-category, eco-friendly powerhouse. Tom’s dream was to find way a new, more responsible way of doing doing business that would be good for the planet, good for people and good for the bottom line! TerraCycle has won many awards and accolades for its environmentally responsible business model from Inc. Magazine, Red Herring, The Home Depot, The Environmental Business Journal, The Social Venture Network, Zerofootprint and many other highly regarded organizations.
TerraCycle also runs free national collection programs that pay non-profits and schools TerraCycle has exclusive partnerships with major CPG companies such as Kraft Foods, Frito Lay (Pepsi), Stonyfield Farm, Mars Wrigley and many more. The partnerships create free collection programs that pay schools and non-profits nationwide to collect used packaging such as drink pouches, energy bar wrappers, yogurt cups, cookie wrappers, chip bags and more! The collected materials are upcycled into affordable, high quality products ranging from tote bags and purses to shower curtains and kites. In addition, TerraCycle works with these partners to find innovative uses for all of their waste streams and, by making products from these various waste streams, TerraCycle prevents 1000’s of tons of waste from going to landfills.
Intrigued I check out their products and noted that they are doing some of what I’ve seen on Etsy an other websites, just on a much larger scale. I signed up to be a member of the Brigade and have chosen to donate my earnings to the Nature Conservancy. I fully intend to volunteer clean-up after our pot-lucks at work and harass the poor women I work with to bring in their garbage so that I can get to work. Unfortunately you have to sign up for a Brigade and there must be open slots and so far the items that I collect most often, don’t have any openings. I’ll continue to look into this and let you know once I’m able to start recycling my garbage with Terracycle. This is a great idea though and I’m glad that we are beginning to see recyling and upcycling on a larger scale.
