Terracycle

When I think about good companies that have education, people and the environment in mind, one of the companies I think about first is Terracycle.

Terracycle creates amazing products from recycled goods. Terracycle began in 2001. Two Princeton University students (now co-founders of Terracycle) Tom Szaky and Jon Beyer, inspired by a worm box, set out to prove that a business could financially succeed while being ecologically and socially responsible. So far, so good.

The Terracycle Company first began the company selling eco-lawn and gardening products. The products were created out of recycled soda bottles, yogurts cups etc. The company continued by producing all natural cleaners in upcycled soda bottles. Naturally, the natural cleaning ingredients have never been tested on animals and are biodegradable. Much to my surprise I also noticed that Terracycle also carries a line of winter products: Terracycle Firestarters and Terracycle Firelogs, perfect for keeping you warm near the chimney in an eco-friendly way.

But, if you think the Terracycle Company is the only ones that benefits financially from this environmental thinking and production, think again. Terracycle provides fundraising opportunities for schools, churches, charities and other organizations. Schools can collect recyclable material Terracylce needs and in return Terracycle pays a percentage for these materials to the school or organization. There really is no downside to this innovative thinking that I can see.
Today the Terracycle Company has taken one more step in the green direction. It has created a line of eco-friendly school and office supplies. Believe it or not you can find them at Office Max. Some of the new products consist of: paper made from banana peels, pencil cases made from recycled juice pouches, colored pencils made from used newspapers, notebook made of recycled paper, metal ring and waste wrappers, binders made of recycled papers. Many of these products are made in the U.S. Some of these products, such as the binders, once worn and torn, can be returned to Terracycle to be upcycled again.

Via InventorSpot