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OPEN Topics on Green Solution.
Now, more than ever, stay in the loop by supporting the circular economy. Meet our eco-leader Tom Szaky of Terracyle and Loopstore.com, to learn about his green solution for waste elimination — this is your path forward in 2021.
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Circular Economy
That to me is the magic of durable. ‘Durable’ allows us to elevate designs so much that you don’t even have to care about sustainability; you should love it. Now if you also happen to care about the environment, that’s a double benefit. You don’t lose the design benefit. You’d just also be like, ‘Oh wow, I’m also saving the planet in the same go. Isn’t that great?’
— Tom Szaky
CEO at TerraCycle and Founder of Loop
— Regrets? I have a few. Here’s one: In the late 1980s, in Washington, D.C., I voted what I subsequently realized was the wrong way on the so-called Bottle Bill, which aimed to put deposits on bottled drinks for the ultimate purpose of increasing recycling. It was a practical response on my part (doesn’t mean it was right, however). To get your money back, you had to store the bottles someplace. In a 600-square-foot apartment filled with the flotsam and jetsam of two people, that required some innovative thinking, and thinking wasn’t (and sometimes still isn’t) something I was necessarily inclined to do.
Photo by Shane Gross (Stocksy).
“We need to eliminate the idea of waste...And that’s why recycling, and I say this as a recycling company, is only a temporary solution, not a perfect solution.”
Thirty years later, there’s no question that I would do the thinking on this particular issue, but the irony is, now I wouldn’t even have to. Tom Szaky has done that for me. That shouldn’t be a total surprise; when you arrive in the US as a Hungarian refugee, leave Princeton University after a year in change to start a company, you’re pretty bright. In fact, you’re more than that, you’re smart and confident AND you probably have a damn good idea. Szaky’s damn good idea was called TerraCycle, which today is one of the world's leading innovators in the field of waste management. Inc. magazine named Szaky the #1 CEO under the age of 30, back in 2006. Inc. didn’t ask me, but I’d have voted for that.
“This Häagen Dazs container is like the best ice cream container in the world. It’s beautiful. It has new function. And, the amount of work to have this go-around again is incredibly little compared to the amount of work to recycle something, let alone to dispose of it.”
All photography of Tom Szaky shot exclusively on location in Trenton, NJ at TerraCycle by Chloe Sobel. Thank you very much for hosting us Tom and Lauren!
DEAR FRIENDS,
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Every brand has a story—we tell yours, using powerful design, words and vision. Sometimes, we even work with multiple brands on a single, colossal project, like the deeply meaningful Google + SheSays + C/BY/C = Rare, a collaborative event at the Cannes Lions, which shared Stocksy’s story and commitment to diversity, inclusion and female empowerment.
What a year ahead! Look for more OPEN Topics, our powerful monthly conversations with global thought leaders, whose insights on a wide variety of topics help give meaning to your work and ours. We start 2021 by having Andy Sobel, writer of Creative by Collective’s OPEN Topics, share his vision for the year. We hope you will share your Vision 2021 with us as well and keep on. STRATEGY, CONTENT, DESIGN and SOLUTION, let’s create together!
Excelsior! Mia, Andy, Chloe + Anna.
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