Environmentalism and sustainability are now essential aspects of brand building, and in an increasingly competitive marketplace, effectively engaging consumers poses many challenges. For starters, the expanded retail landscape has altered the way consumers interact with products and services.  E-commerce sites, dynamic mobile apps, and text message ordering systems afford infinite possibilities for communicating sustainable initiatives and marketing; standing out from direct competitors and defining oneself as a leader in the category requires an extra level of value strategy.   Getting back to basics may help businesses and major brands better communicate their dedication to the circular economy, engaging the consumer through an invitation to participate. Through our partnerships at TerraCycle, we’ve seen several consumer product brands and businesses experience success with in-store recycling collections. Recycling is already one of the most accessible and easily understood aspects of environmental stewardship for the average consumer. Activating a promotion around recycling using a brick-and-mortar retail program, a time-tested mode of marketing, can offer benefit to sustainable brands on many fronts, and to lasting effect.   Drives Foot Traffic   One of the invaluable positives to an in-store recycling promotion is the foot traffic it generates. Though marketing experts like to attribute the burgeoning trend of e-commerce to millennial shopping behavior, the reality is that all generations of consumers find themselves taken with the convenience of shopping online. But brick-and-mortar retailers offer customers what online shopping can’t:  the opportunity to physically touch, feel and experience products for themselves.   The advantage created by making recycling the reason a customer enters a brick-and-mortar retail store is a two-fold: number one, you get them in the store and, number two, they have something to feel good about before they even buy anything. For example, just in time for Back-to-School 2016, TerraCycle activated the Binder Recycling Program with workplace supply leader Office Depot. Consumers are incentivized with $2 off of the purchase of any new binder and the opportunity to divert their old and used binders from the trash by dropping them off for recycling.   Creating in-store foot traffic around an empowering behavior like recycling inspires goodwill and positive feelings in the same environment where purchases occur, maximizing profit potential for each retail transaction.   Builds Brand Loyalty   We know that consumers are now more willing to pay more for sustainable products and services than ever before. But while cost, performance and credibility remain prohibitive factors standing between consumers and “doing the right thing,” creating and strengthening brand loyalty for these eco-conscious companies is essential for driving sales against well-established competitors. This is especially true for smaller, specialty brands like Earthborn Holistic, a premium pet food brand available in select stores. Presented for purchase alongside well-known dog food brands like Purina or Iams, Earthborn Holistic is faced with the tall order of offering the consumer a promise of value exceeding that of other pet foods.   Earthborn has chosen to provide customer-facing recycling boxes for its product packaging to communicate its commitment to sustainability to both retailers and customers. Retailers can promote themselves as a collection point for Earthborn packaging, and shipments of empty Earthborn bags sent to TerraCycle for processing earn them points which can be exchanged for cash donations to the local pet charity of their choice, or to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).   This type of sustainable marketing rewards the consumer by giving them the opportunity to invest in a charitable cause. Emotional and social value benefits are prevalent here, as the activation plays to emotional sensibilities and allows the consumer to make a social statement by favoring a brand dedicated to causes like recycling and the humane treatment of animals.     In-store recycling collections are a visual, tactile way to engage customers with the product you are trying to sell. Consumers are driven to purchase by a variety of factors, and it’s up to manufacturers and brands to figure out what those are, and market accordingly.

Bausch + Lomb is launching a program to encourage consumers to recycle its contact lenses. The recycling program, known as #ONEbyONE, allows patients to recycle their used Biotrue ONEday contact lenses and other Bausch + Lomb contact lenses and blister packs through a free program, developed by Bausch + Lomb, in partnership with TerraCycle, a leader in the collection and repurposing of hard-to-recycle post-consumer waste. “Bausch + Lomb is not only committed to providing patients with innovative vision care, but to practicing good stewardship within our business practices,” said Guy Guglielmino, head of marketing, vision care, Bausch + Lomb. “This includes working closely with companies, such as TerraCycle, who is making progress in the areas of recycling, reusing and reducing waste and energy consumption in hopes to better preserve our environment for future generations.” Bausch + Lomb is celebrating the launch of the #ONEbyONE recycling program with a consumer event on America Recycles Day, November 15, hosted by Biotrue ONEday. The event, which will be held at the Marshall B. Ketchum University’s Southern California College of Optometry (SCCO) in Anaheim, Calif., is dedicated to helping people end littering, improve recycling and beautify America’s communities, Bausch + Lomb said in a statement. The event will feature an educational and interactive experience for students and the surrounding community, giving them the chance to participate in the #ONEbyONE recycling program and celebrate America Recycles Day. “We’re proud to partner with a leader in the vision care industry such as Bausch + Lomb to provide consumers an opportunity to take a small step each day in hopes to one day leave a larger positive impact on the earth,” said Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle. “This is the first time we have recycled at a large-scale in this category and we hope the Bausch + Lomb #ONEbyONE program will inspire participation from current and future patients who previously have not had an option to recycle their contact lenses.”

Don't let the unseasonal heat wave fool you — winter is, eventually, coming. That means it's time to stock up on those hydrating and repairing products. One of the most effective ones out there? Sheet masks. But as we drench our faces in donkey milk or snail goop, we can forget one glaring issue: all the leftover waste. After a week of regular treatments, your garbage can can might look like Hannibal Lecter and Jason Voorhees went on a bender — full of crumpled eyeless and mouthless masks along with heaps of plastic packaging, which will all end up in a landfill. According to the EPA, Americans throw out, on average, 254 million tons of “municipal solid waste.” 30% of that is containers and packaging. On top of that, we have a “stagnant” 35% recycling rate — pretty much the worst compared to other industrialized nations — with a paltry 3% of that being plastic. And we just keep on consuming, including more and more beautifully packaged beauty products. The NPD Group found that U.S. sales of prestige facial masks increased 20% from September 2015 to August 2016. And that doesn’t even count the $1 sheet masks people snap up like candy (and maybe shouldn’t). Don’t get us wrong — we’d never try to shame you out of partaking in your weekly sheet masks. They've saved us from many a cold, dry winter or morning after a particularly rough night. But it never hurts to be more aware, right? So here are six points to consider before you stock up your winter sheet-mask reserves. Know that recycling options are limited. Most (if not all) local curbside recycling programs in the U.S. will not recycle complex number seven plastic, which includes mask pouches and backings. But check your sanitation department website to be sure. (And ignore the recycling triangle featuring Korean wording on K-beauty products. Those are specific to South Korea.) But TerraCycle, an innovative company that can recycle flexible plastic, offers a Zero Waste Box for bathroom products. Buy a cardboard bin ($95 or $186) to fill with all your previously non-recyclable empties, like sheet mask detritus, and return to TerraCycle with a prepaid UPS label.

It’s time to green up your post run freshening up routine! Tom’s of Maine leads the way in creating natural care and beauty products without causing you to worry about what you are putting on your body. One of the many reasons that I run is to get outside and to enjoy all of the beauty that the nature around me has to offer. When I go for a run in my town I run with mountains to one side of my and with the Connecticut River flowing by on the other side.  Just as this beautiful landscape reminds me about the importance of preserving the delicate environment around us I am also reminded of taking care of my body in the same way. That is one of the many reasons that I am very careful about what I choose to put into my body when I eat and also what I use to care for my body through beauty and freshening up routines. Tom’s of Maine has now introduced a new deodorant formula with new and improved scents,  that as always, is free of aluminum, artificial fragrances and petrochemicals. Tom’s of Maine has taken out the potentially harmful ingredients in exchange for natural and organic ingredients that are better for your skin and your body. Here are some of the many reasons I am switching to the new line of Tom’s of Maine Natural Deodorants. I hope that you will consider switching too!

• They now have 24 Hour long-lasting deodorants which are great because who wants to have to re-apply multiple times? The 24-hour odor protection uses odor-fighting hops and the mineral zinc and only natural fragrances!
• There are 5 new scents and one unscented deodorants
• Free of aluminum
• Free of  artificial fragrances
• Free of petrochemicals
• Fully recyclable packaging through local municipalities or the TerraCycle Tom’s of Maine Natural Care Brigade.
• No animal testing and no animal ingredients
• With every purchase, Tom’s of Maine gives 10% of profits back to helping people and the planet

Todos espaços de trabalho da TerraCycle foram mobiliados e decorados com materiais reciclados e supraciclados, e os resultados são incríveis, com ideias que podemos reproduzir em casa ou num espaço comercial.

Transcript: This National Recycling Week, locals are encourage to join the NESCAFE Dolce Gusto Recycling Program. Established in 2014 by the NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto team and recycling pioneers TerraCycle, the program turns used coffee, milk, tea and chocolate capsules into recycled materials that can be transformed into planter boxes, playground equipment and park benches. Spokesperson GEMMA KACZEREPA says the donation process is simple. *audio*

The Shoalhaven Mariners Junior Baseball Club and Ewing Electrical are taking part in TerraCycle’s nationwide program to promote the recycling of products many people just throw out. Toothpaste tubes and caps, toothbrushes, toothbrush and toothpaste tube outer packaging, floss containers, NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Capsules, all cosmetics packaging, hair care packaging and skin care packaging are all part of TerraCycle’s program. By collecting previously unrecyclable products and sending them to TerraCycle money will be given to the Mariners.

The coffee company's Dolce Gusto team has partnered with TerraCycle for the program, which will turn coffee, milk, tea, and chocolate capsules into planter boxes, playground equipment, and park benches TerraCycle extracts the coffee grounds and sends them to an industrial composting facility, while the plastic from each capsule is melted down and turned into pellets that can be used to make the recycled products.

Then I discovered TerraCycle. With a company tag line of "eliminating the idea of waste", I was immediately intrigued. TerraCycle is an innovative recycling company that has become a global leader in hard to recycle waste. In the spirit of Planet Arks National Recycling Week, I would definitely recommend jumping onto the TerraCycle website specific to your location (they operate in 21 countries!) and seeing what hard to recycle waste streams you can sign up to and start collecting for!