Do you know what’s in your deodorant? There is so much information on the internet about how harmful conventional deodorants are and why making the switch to a natural deodorant is the best option for you. My goal today is to inform you of all of the benefits of switching to a natural deodorant and which ingredient to avoid! Tom’s of Maine is a leading natural personal care brand that makes high quality natural toothpaste, mouthwash, dental floss, deodorant, bar soap and baby care products.  The people creating these products are distinguished dentists, scientists and herbal experts that are leaders in their fields. They are dedicated to developing a wide range of products and choices so that you can decide which products are best for your needs and values. Tom’s of Maine natural deodorant is also the best-selling natural deodorant and has been for decades, which tells you something (people are loving this product!) I was so thrilled to discover that they now have a deodorant formula with new and improved scents, and as always, is free of aluminum, artificial fragrances and petrochemicals. What can you expect from making the switch to a safer and natural deodorant from Tom’s of Maine? 24-hour odor protection using odor-fighting hops and the mineral zinc and only natural fragrances. Fully recyclable packaging through local municipalities or the TerraCycle Tom’s of Maine Natural Care Brigade. No animal testing and no animal ingredients! Plus with every purchase you make, Tom’s of Maine gives 10% of profits back to helping people and the planet. Make sure to connect with Tom’s of Maine on Twitter  , Facebook, Instagram and YouTube! 

Competitive school science fairs are a motif in the grade school education story. Often requiring a significant investment on the part of parents, the circumstances in which students must produce a contending project can create more stress than interest for the sciences and environmental studies. When the supposed purpose of these projects is to stoke young people’s fire for science and prepare them to be active participants in addressing present and future environmental issues, how can we update the traditional science project structure to better educate our future stewards? Essential to the current school science project model are in-classroom support from teachers and mentors and the empowerment of children and young adults with the knowledge that their impact on our eco-infrastructures is real and immediate. Administering a science project that addresses pressing environmental issues and identification of their challenges presents a hands-on stake in sustainability for students, inspiring problem-solving and an authentic picture of science’s role in it. This past June, I had the opportunity to judge on a panel for the Green Your School Fund, a science competition that primes for just that kind of innovation. Calling upon schools nationwide to come up with innovative projects that will help make their school and community more sustainable, TerraCycle brand partner Tom’s of Maine teamed up with Donors Choose to match all public cash donations during the process of each project, which each called for a list of resources and equipment ranging from a tablet for classroom use, plankton nets and compost bins to camcorders, light meters and more. The following schools are among the 10 finalists up for public vote through October, from which winners will be named to receive a cash prize allocation to further pursue and expand their science project. "How would you like to help us make our favorite summer swimming lake safe to swim in?" was a challenge posed at Pinewood Elementary in Jenison, Mich. Literally and figuratively “testing the waters,” this is a science project that gives young people an opportunity to make a difference in the community in which they live, and use multiple learning techniques including research, logical deduction, data collection and iterative learning. Another Michigan elementary school aims to educate its community on the effect of plastic pollution on water systems by quantifying exactly how far it has penetrated local rivers and lakes. Sport fishing is a significant revenue stream in the area and people eat the fish caught out of the local watershed, which is potentially full of microplastics. The elementary school group has been working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agency, The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and the NE Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiativeto answer the question, "Could we be eating our own plastic waste?" Meanwhile, a school in Memphis, Tenn. wants to increase the efficiency of time spent by its group of student energy auditors called the Green Team. So far, the Green Team has spent several hours this year doing an initial energy audit of all of the rooms in the school. This consisted of the students observing what they saw, taking the lighting levels, temperature, humidity, and giving recommendations on how to make the room more energy efficient, giving them a sense of authority and immersing them in the math and science of energy efficiency. Like “real-life” science and environmental efforts, experiments and tests on the scholastic level require resources such as equipment and funding. Programs that work this realistic challenge into the science project structure do students, teachers and future generations the added justice of equipping them with an understanding of the economics of sustainability. The schools and teachers committed to providing students with an innovative, useful immersion of concepts and methods that allow them to seek out and solve sustainability problems at a young age are often doing so with limited resources, demonstrating their own dedication to problem solving. Now more than ever, environmental science education is an integral part of planning for a more sustainable future, and school science projects need not be a waste of time (and materials!), but a touchstone for future stewards in making the world a greener place.

The Tom’s of Maine “Green Your School Fund” is investing in kids and asking for consumers’ help in determining the most creative environmental projects submitted by educators nationwide by voting daily on greenschoolfund.com through Oct. 17, 2016. More than 250 projects from 40 states were submitted and a panel of judges—musician and actor Kevin Jonas; enterprise editor and senior reporter at The Huffington Post, Kate Sheppard; CEO of TerraCycle, Tom Szaky; 2016 National Teacher of the Year, Jahana Hayes; and founder of the I am the Maven blog, Kerri Jablonski—chose the 10 most creative ideas as finalists. The project that receives the most votes will receive $25,000 in funding to turn their project into a reality. Second place and third place winners will receive $15,000 and $10,000 respectively and seven honorable mention projects will receive $2,000 each. The fund is also distributing more than $900,000 to classrooms across the country.

In my house it seems like back to school also means back to paying more attention to your personal hygiene. My 10-year old daughter actually asked me to "smell her breath" before heading off to school this morning. I about fell to the floor in shock.

The also brand ensures that the packaging for all of their products is 100% recyclable through the Tom’s of Maine Natural Care Recycling Program, sponsored by recycling company TerraCycle ®. Unrecyclable by curbside collection, consumers can bring their natural care waste to a designated public drop-off location, or ship directly.

More than 250 projects from 40 states were submitted and a panel of judges that include musician and actor Kevin Jonas; enterprise editor and senior reporter at The Huffington Post, Kate Sheppard; CEO of TerraCycle, Tom Szaky; 2016 National Teacher of the Year, Jahana Hayes; and founder of the I am the Maven blog, Kerri Jablonski, chose the ten most creative ideas as finalists. Now, communities across the country get to choose their favorite classroom lesson.

More than 250 projects from 40 states were submitted and a panel of judges that include musician and actor Kevin Jonas; enterprise editor and senior reporter at The Huffington Post, Kate Sheppard; CEO of TerraCycle, Tom Szaky; 2016 National Teacher of the Year, Jahana Hayes; and founder of the I am the Maven® blog, Kerri Jablonski, chose the ten most creative ideas as finalists. Now, communities across the country get to choose their favorite classroom lesson.

The company signed up with We Compost It!, installed a picnic table in the communal kitchen made from recycled plastic and participates in the TerraCycle program, which offers free recycling for tricky packaging, like toothpaste tubes. Tom’s set goals for achieving zero waste by 2020, and in many categories it is ahead of its goals, thanks to new elements like high-efficiency LED lighting with occupancy and daylight sensors, And the light fixtures? Made with upcycled toothpaste packaging.

Another major selling point for me is that with every purchase Tom’s of Maine gives 10% of profits back to helping people and the planet. They also say no to animal testing and do not use animal ingredients. Their packaging is recyclable through local municipalities or the TerraCycle Tom’s of Maine Natural Care Brigade. In addition to deodorant Tom’s of Maine is also the leading natural personal care brand that makes high quality natural toothpaste, mouthwash, dental floss, deodorant, bar soap and baby care products.

At my company, TerraCycle, we wanted to know if it could also motivate people to reduce packaging waste. For years, we have used social media as a tool to help shift commonly held perceptions about product and packaging waste. Whether that means sharing pictures of “upcycled” art made with product packaging, promoting the sustainability efforts of a recent partner or sharing with our users intriguing “Eco-Facts” about their waste, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have given us a variety of platforms (and access to different audiences) to inspire change and motivate people to recycle traditionally difficult-to-recycle waste streams.