On April 26th, St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco held the ”Discarded to Divine“ gala, an eco-friendly fashion show and charity fundraiser. Kim, our Northern California events coordinator, recruited designers Elaine O’Malley and Lisa Anne Fullerton to create a dress made from 100% recycled and reused materials, including FIJI Water packaging, for a model to wear throughout the evening.

Here, Elaine and Lisa explain the amazing creative process that led to the design of the dress:

Creating the FIJI Water dress was a great creative experiment for both of us. When we were approached by FIJI Water, we were extremely excited to take on such a remarkable challenge, and especially inspired by FIJI Water’s commitment to the environment, and our own part in bringing this fantastic idea to life!

We began coming up with different design concepts early on, creating sketches and idea boards, based on the current trends in fashion, and our own imagination of how we could transform plastic water bottles into a wearable garment. Everything changed when we received our first shipment of raw materials from Fiji, and one concept sketch stood out as the most viable way to use our newly discovered creative tools.

We began opening boxes and simply experimenting. There were rolls of labeling stickers, bottle caps, plastic shrink wrap, even bags of plastic resins that they melt down to create the actual FIJI bottle! We had also been drinking FIJI Water quite liberally at the time, and had acquired quite a collection of empty bottles to play with. Ideas flowed as we toyed with pleating the rolls of labeling, and cutting circular sequin shapes out of our leftover plastic bottles, and the FIJI Water dress was born.

In addition to the raw materials provided by FIJI Water, we also used two innovative textiles to help create the base of our garment. PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is a textile made from 100% plastic PET bottles, which has the potential to keep almost three billion plastic PET bottles out of the world’s landfills each year and provide a great alternative to contribute to a healthier environment. We also used a new innovation of polyester, which has been recycled from old polyester clothing that is broken down and then re-woven into new fabric. Between these two amazing recycled textile resources and the raw materials from Fiji, we were able to recycle and reuse in new and unusual ways to create a fantastic and fun garment.

We created the garment in less than two weeks, with very few solid hours of work time, as we are both working designers. However, our collective inspiration and fabulous teamwork was enough to get us through the bumpy road of sewing through plastic and renegade pattern-drafting techniques, and our end result was a flirty, fun, one-of-a-kind, “enviro-tastic” FIJI Water dress!!!

When I was a kid, I watched documentaries on PBS that talked about the importance of protecting rainforests. (Yeah, I was a nerdy kid who liked educational TV!) That instinctively made sense to me – I’d see those beautiful landscapes and interesting animals, and of course I wanted them to be safe always.

But the part I thought was really cool was how the local people lived in the rainforest – mainly because it looked like fun to move around your neighborhood on rafts instead of on land. Now I realize that’s not actually the case in every rainforest or in all seasons…but when you’ve only got a few years under your belt you miss some of the finer details.

Well, I’m a bit older now, but I’ve learned my initial instincts were sound…and also learned more about why rainforest conservation is so important. Here are the facts:

• Deforestation is the second largest source of global greenhouse gas emissions today, following only the power generation sector; it accounts for almost 20% of those emissions, or twice the emissions from all the world’s cars, trucks, and airplanes combined
• Tropical deforestation in developing countries is responsible for nearly all (96%) of the emissions from deforestation
• Forests protect water and soil quality and provide livelihoods for over 1.6 billion people around the world; many of them are the world’s poorest people in Africa, South America and Asia
• But less than 5% of tropical forests are managed sustainably, putting these livelihoods at risk
• Tropical forests play a critical role in protecting unique animals and plants you can’t find anywhere else in the world

Yet incentives to prevent deforestation were somehow not included in the Kyoto Protocol. You might wonder why the protocol didn’t address this if it’s so important.

To paint it in simple strokes: Developing nations wanted compensation for not cutting down their rainforests. After all, they argue, if they’re giving up income from forestry and logging, they should be able to make up the lost funds in another way. But industrialized nations didn’t want to pay developing nations for “doing nothing.” So they reached an impasse.

It’s our hope that future international agreements will incorporate effective action to reduce deforestation. In the meantime, we’ve been seeking to do our part by partnering with Conservation International to protect the Sovi Basin. Now, we obviously don’t treat the Sovi Basin project as an “offset,” because it’s already there – we didn’t plant it. But we knew the benefits the Sovi Basin would provide to Fiji and the rest of the world – shelter for unique species, watershed protection, erosion control, and carbon sequestration – were benefits we wanted to ensure forever.

And hopefully I’ll get to ride on a raft in the rainforest for real one of these days…whee!

To learn more about conservation and reforestation efforts going on around the world, check out Conservation International’s web site.

As we’ve mentioned before, FIJI Water is advocating for expansion of container deposit laws. The evidence shows that they boost recycling rates. But some bottle bills work better than others, and as with most things in life there’s always room for improvement no matter how good you are. So we’d love to hear your thoughts on what would make a good container deposit law – or for that matter, what makes a bad one.

Here are some facts about what container deposit laws do well:

• The 11 states in the U.S. that have such laws account for 60% of recycling activity in the nation. Michigan, with a 10-cent deposit, has recycling rates close to 100%.
• The deposit amounts are sufficient to motivate people to recycle, but not so high as to make prices prohibitive.
• Customers who purchase recycled plastics, such as carpet manufacturers, have found that bottle bill states provide better quality material. With deposit laws, people sort plastics more carefully so there’s less contamination from non-recyclables or between different types of plastic.

But there are also some issues with current bottle bills. To name a few:

• We think an incentive program should cover all recyclable materials. The point is to improve recycling rates and reduce what goes to landfill, right? But the materials currently subject to container deposit laws form an odd hodgepodge. Several bills cover soft drinks but not bottled water. Many bills don’t cover non-beverage containers, such as shampoo bottles or food jars. The California bill covers water bottles and beer cans, but not wine bottles or “100% fruit juice in containers 46 ounces or more.” (You’d think it would be easy to subject wine bottles to a deposit – wine is pricey enough that another 5-10¢ won’t make a difference, even if you’re buying Two-Buck Chuck. And a big juice bottle has more plastic or glass than a small juice bottle, so isn’t it even more important to recycle? But I digress…)
• Who should keep the unclaimed deposits? Distributors often pay much of the cost of managing a container return system, so they may want to lay claim to these funds to help make up the costs. But some states argue that unclaimed deposits represent “abandoned property” and therefore belong to the state.
• What type of container return infrastructure is best? Some states collect containers via retailers, others through redemption centers. While retailers are convenient for consumers, redemption centers keep retail stores from becoming collection sites for used packaging.

Perhaps we can think more creatively and go beyond the traditional bottle bill structure. Should there be a heavier price on landfill-bound trash, instead of (or along with) recycling incentives? In Switzerland, for example, recycling is free but throwing away trash is costly – at least $2/bag. As a result, they’ve achieved phenomenal recycling rates, such as 80% for plastic PET bottles.

Another possibility is a federal container deposit law, such as the Bottle Recycling Climate Protection Act of 2007 introduced by Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey into the U.S. House of Representatives on November 15. This would provide for a 5¢ deposit on every beverage container sold in the U.S.

It’s also important to make recycling easy. Today, only about 50% of American households have access to curbside recycling programs. Curbside recycling programs and single-stream recycling (i.e., you can put all recyclables into one bin, instead of separating paper, glass, plastic, etc.) have been shown to boost recycling rates too.

There’s a lot to consider here, so please share your thoughts on how best to improve recycling rates.

Ben Jelen is an extraordinary singer-songwriter with a passion for the environment. This passion is infused throughout his music – check out the video of his single “Wreckage” below – and his life – his tour is carbon neutral. We’re thrilled and delighted to have Ben join us today and share his thoughts on FIJI Water, the Ben Jelen Foundation, recycling, and what we can all do to help care for our planet. Ladies and gentlemen, here’s Ben Jelen…

FIJI WATER

What interests me most in Fiji water is that they are a carbon-negative company — this means that their net activities actually reduce carbon emissions!! – how is that even possible?

To understand, I imagined a world without Fiji water, where their company had not existed. In this world, there was no effort to replant old rainforest. In this world there was no profit set aside to offset carbon emissions — no money put into offset programs that plant trees and build infrastructure for clean energy. In fact this world had the island of Fiji exporting timber, depleting the beautiful Sovi basin. Fiji water shows us that any company, even one that is up against a literal ocean’s worth of emissions can still have a positive impact on the environment. It takes real dedication and I applaud them for setting this example.

Taking advantage of new advances in green technology, Fiji water fits into my philosophy on Environmentalism – they are targeting a way of operating cleanly, realizing it takes time to get there, so starting now. Fiji water is not abandoning their business, but taking something that is part of the problem and turning it into a solution.

It is in this train of philosophy that I have started the Ben Jelen Foundation. As a musical artist consistently writing and talking about these problems, the foundation has been an amazing outlet for me, and a real way of helping with the environmental issues out there, focusing on solutions rather than problems. We kicked the foundation off at South by Southwest earlier this 2008 and it was a great success – since, I’ve continued to raise money – the money will be donated to the four following areas, with the specific recipients changing from time to time.

• Education: Local (New York) education of teens on environmental issues.
• Political: Donations to groups that lobby for environmental protection at the political level.
• Humanitarian: Give to those worse affected by climate change.
• Investment: Continue the long process of investing in clean energy infrastructure.

We’re excited to partner with Fiji water, talk about the issues and watch our progress – Something we can all help out with now is to recycle all plastics. Once the product is in our hands we do also have the responsibility of ‘completing the cycle.’

Please enjoy the video for my song “Wreckage” – This song is about hope, that the choice of taking care of our planet is very much in our hands. I’m so glad to see companies change the landscape from the inside out, its exciting and real!

For any more info, visit www.benjelen.com/foundation

“Reduce, reuse, recycle” – this phrase captures a great philosophy about how to use precious resources. First reduce what you use; then reuse what you can; and finally recycle.

We’ve shared with you our commitments to reducing and recycling, and now here’s one of the most creative ways to “reuse” I’ve ever seen. Check this out – it’s a chandelier made out of FIJI Water bottles!

This was part of the decor at CS Magazine’s spring fashion show “Seeds of Spring” in Chicago last Thursday. The event planning adhered to high sustainability standards, featuring designers known for clothing made of sustainable materials, environmentally responsible food and beverage sponsors, and decor decisions that carefully considered environmental impacts.

The FIJI Water chandelier was constructed by Event Creative of Chicago using bottles our U.S. Midwest event coordinator David had collected from other events sponsored by FIJI Water.

And – because we can’t all have fabulous FIJI Water chandeliers and do need to recycle – David also arranged for recycling bins at the event and included a “blue recycling bag” in each of the 300 CS gift bags. (”Blue recycling bags” like the one pictured here are generally required to collect recyclables in Chicago.)

Check out BizBash to read more about the Seeds of Spring show.