Wash, Rinse, Repeat

I actually read the back of shampoo bottles.  It's because I'm a direction-follower.  I read the entire back, the little blurb about how great the product is, how to use it and of course, the ingredients (this is of course, a new addition.  I didn't always that last step.) Sometimes it's just the usual stuff, but sometimes, you get a special treat--like the bottle that for directions said, "Come on!  You know how to wash your hair!"  This also extends to hair care products, although this, I think, is a little more common.  I think most people read the back of a new kind of product--do I use this on wet hair, on dry hair, before or after I blowdry?  Anyway, I was reading the back of a new product I bought.  I decided to try to wear my hair curly again and I needed something to help hold the curl.  It was an impulse buy--I don't really have too many of those.   I didn't even research it on EWG's Cosmetic Database. (I'm trying, but it's been down for a few days.)  So I grabbed a Garnier Fructis Curl Shaping spray.  Of course I read the directons.  Then down at the bottom, I noticed a Green initiative I'd never heard of before "TerraCycle".  Of course I checked it out!

I went to the website and clicked on "About":
"TerraCycle's purpose is to eliminate the idea of waste. We do this by creating national recycling systems for previously non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle waste. Anyone can sign up for these programs, called the Brigades, and start sending us waste.
TerraCycle then converts the collected waste into a wide variety of products and materials. With more than 20 million people collecting waste in over 20 countries TerraCycle has diverted billions of units of waste and used them to create over 1,500 different products available at major retailers ranging from Walmart to Whole Foods Market.
Our goal is to eliminate the idea of waste by creating collection and solution systems for anything that today must be sent to a landfill.
Founded in 2001 by Tom Szaky, then a 20-year-old Princeton University freshman, TerraCycle began by producing organic fertilizer, packaging liquid worm poop in used soda bottles. Since then TerraCycle has grown into one of the fastest-growing green companies in the world."

Interesting.  As I kept looking at the site, I found that they also upcycle.  New word for me too.  It means that what you're using again retains it's same properties.  Basically it's kind of like reusing.  They have a whole bunch of products their page that have been upcycled.  They've taken the origial product (juice pouches) and reused them to make a folder.
It's kind of a cool idea!  The Brigades are both corporations as well as non-profits and schools.  This YouTube clip gives a great overview.

Good work TerraCycle!