Recently, TerraCycle a company that makes all-natural, all-organic, 'goof-proof' liquid plant food made from worm poop and packaged in reused soda bottles was catapulted to the top of the headlines from a law suit filed by Scott’s.
Scott’s claims that TerraCycle’s packaging will confuse potential customers because it is very similar to Scott’s Miracle Gro formulations. The company argues that potential buyers will be confused because TerraCycle’s packaging includes the colors ‘ green’ and ‘yellow’, pictures flowers and vegetables on the bottle and also places their company name in a circle. Scott’s is also rejecting the claim that TerraCycle has made in that their product is as good as or better than "a leading synthetic plant food."
This is a fascinating story because it is the classic case of a sustainable company versus a giant. As the world turns, and companies are being held accountable for their environmental impact, I think we are going to see a lot more of these ‘david and goliathesque’ battles. TerraCycle is a company that was cooked up by college student looking to change the way companies do business and the world, one bottle at a time. Though a basic middle school science project of putting worms in a box with organic waste materials and churning out compost this three year old company has stumbled on a natural and sustainable goldmine.
We are all concerned with our ecological foot print but yet we still continue to throw plastic bottles in the trash instead of recycling them. TerraCycle has found a smart purpose for those bottles by packaging their product in them. The company has even coined a bottle recycling program called the ‘Bottle Brigade’ that donates five cents for every bottle you send them to a charity of your choice.
Pretty neat huh ?