No matter what kinds of beauty and personal care products you like to use, there’s a good chance you could also use some of those same products to do something good for the environment.
TerraCycle is a company that specializes in creating consumer products from post-consumer materials. Garnier, a brand owned by L’Oreal, is partnering with TerraCycle, who is collecting packaging from Garnier and Maybelline beauty products and recycling it, using it to create eco-friendly playgrounds all over the United States. If you use Colgate Wisp and Colgate Oral Care products, TerraCycle is also recycling packaging from those items and creating cool items out of them, like Colgate cosmetics cases, coin pouches, toothbrush cases, and a really nifty retro duffle bag.
1. Download and cut out the
bead template. Trace onto your candy wrapper with your marker and cut. Wipe away any marker left on the wrapper.
Tip: If you’re candy wrappers are too short for the template, you can always tape them together to make them longer.
2. Place the cut candy strip onto a flat surface with the printed side face down. Lay your toothpick on the widest end and roll it up.
3. Cut tiny little pieces of tape to about 0.5×0.25 inches. Use one of these pieces to secure the end of the rolled bead.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 to make as many beads as you’d like. Then use the beads to create your own jewelry. To make a simple necklace or bracelet, string the beads onto stretchy cord. Good lengths for a necklace and bracelet are 16 inches and 6 inches, respectively. You can also add little seed beads in between the wrapper beads for extra glitz or try your hand at a candy wrapper cuff style bracelet.
Looking for other things to do with your candy wrappers? Sign up for
TerraCycle’s candy-wrapper brigade. Collect and send in your wrappers, and earn money for your favorite nonprofit.
