A Partnership…
Have you noticed what a difference a celebrity can make to the value we place on things? There are charities with famous patrons, brands of clothing, footwear, perfume and hair care products that are associated with the rich and famous who are somehow able to persuade us that these things are desirable and we should buy them ‘because we’re worth it.’ How happy are we then, to talk about a man genuinely trying to persuade the world that ‘things don’t have to end, they can begin again.’ A man who believes that waste is only waste if we waste it! Round of applause if you please, for will.i.am and the project he is involved in with probably the most well know and valuable brand in the world, Coca-Cola – one of the top ten private employers in the world. Add the impressive credentials of the ever more creative innovator and philanthropist that is will.i.am (not to mention his musical success) and it sounds like a winning partnership.
The idea…
The project EKOCYCLE is dedicated to re-imagining waste into fashionable lifestyle goods. will.i.am started the project in 2012 although the idea was born several years earlier after a Black Eyed Peas concert when the band realised how much rubbish and waste fans left behind . Along with the Coke guys, the plan has been to manufacture products made, in part, from recycled waste that would have gone into landfill. Coca-Cola will make a minimum $1 million charitable contribution commitment over a 5 year period in addition to a further 1 per cent of the operating profit made through their Foundation. The project engages with brand partners to bring us a range of products manufactured in an environmentally sustainable way. There are many brand partners including Levi’s 501 Waste<Less Jeans made from 29% post-consumer recycled content and using an average of 8 recycled PET plastic bottles per pair – hopefully this goes some way to reusing some of the 1 million bottles thrown away every 20 minutes somewhere on the planet.
And the man…
will.i.am is also president of the i.am.angel Foundation whose aim is to transform lives through education, inspiration and opportunity, investing in America’s future and its youth. He also donated £500,000 to the Prince’s Trust in the UK in June 2012, to fund a technology programme for young people (his fee from his role as coach on The Voice.) Last year he launched a UK initiative with The Trust to engage disadvantaged young people in STEM, an initiative to encourage development of skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths – again looking to the future!
Are we persuaded…?
Yes we are…
Save energy, save money, save our world