Putting Your Trash Back In The Action
u>1. Nuts:
Origin: Millions of tons of coconut shells are discarded by the food processing industry annually.
Process: TrapTrek buys leftover carbon extracted from the shells by the water-filtration industry and enbeds it in their Cocona fabrics.
This All Equals: The Cannondale L.E. Carbon jerset ($150) effectively traps odor, disperses moisture for better evaporative cooling, and provides added UV protection.
2. Plastic:
Origin: Driving back from a day hike, you buy a drink at the gas station mini-mart and, being ecoconscious, chuck your empty bottle in a recycling bin.
Process: Clear plastic soda bottles get chopped into pieces, melted, and extruded as fine polyester fiber.
This All Equals: Each Mountainsmith Phoenix backpack ($289) uses 72 plastic bottles saving landfills an estimated 2.5 million of them over three years.
3. Soles:
Origin: You have worn your old shoes ragged. Instead of tossing them, you drop them at one of the dozens of locations Nike and the National Recycling Coalition, which are set up nationwide.
Process: Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program grinds them up in three categories-the outsole rubber, midsole foam, and upper fabric-then outsources the raw materials to its partners.
This all Equals: Materials are used to create surfaces for athletic fields (80,000 pairs of shoes), running tracks (75,000 pairs), and playgrounds (2,500 pairs).
*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Support the continued effort in recycled goods by buying products made from recycled materials.
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