TerraCycle

TerraCycle is a private U.S. small business headquartered in Trenton, New Jersey, which specializes in natural plant food products.

Products

TerraCycle produces a natural plant food made from worm waste products, and packaged in reused containers. They feed organic waste to worms. The worms' excrement is liquefied and brewed into a compost tea. It is then bottled in used soda bottles, many of which are collected through "Bottle Brigade" fund raising programs at schools and charities around North America.Walker, Rob. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/magazine/20wwln-consumed-t.html "The Worm Turns"] , "The New York Times", May 20, 2007. Accessed December 15, 2007.]

A new word being used to explain TerraCycle's business plan is "eco-capitalism"; this term describes a company that is for profit, yet approaches every task from an eco-friendly perspective.

Founding

TerraCycle was founded in the fall of 2001 by Upper Canada College graduate Tom Szaky, and Jon Beyer, two freshmen at Princeton University.

The initial idea came about as a submission to a business plan contest sponsored by the Princeton Entrepreneurship Club. The following summer, Szaky and Beyer made arrangements with Princeton Dining Services to take dining hall waste and process it in their prototype "Worm Gin". By the end of the summer, TerraCycle had found its first investor. The company shortly moved into their first office at 20 Nassau St, Unit 14, Princeton, New Jersey.

By 2002, the firm had created a continuous flow process to take garbage and have it processed by worms into fertilizer. [Piazza, Jo. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9502E0DB173BF93BA15754C0A9649C8B63 "UP FRONT: WORTH NOTING; Garbage In, Garbage Out. A Princeton Success Story."] , "The New York Times", July 28, 2002. Accessed December 15, 2007.]

Szaky took an extended leave of absence from Princeton in the spring of 2003. In May of that year he entered the Carrot Capital business plan contest, which offered $1 million in seed capital to the winning team. TerraCycle won the competition, but turned down the money because of the direction in which Carrot Capital wanted to take the company.

Recent developments

Funded by prize money from various contests and angel investors, TerraCycle was able to persevere despite not accepting the million dollars. A major breakthrough came in May 2004, when Home Depot began offering TerraCycle Plant Food on their website. TerraCycle continued its growth in 2005 as Whole Foods Market, Home Depot Canada, Wal-Mart Canada, Wild Oats Markets and Do-It-Best began carrying TerraCycle products.

TerraCycle has since been named one of the 100 most innovative companies by Red Herring Magazine and has received the Environmental Stewardship Award from Home Depot Canada. The company has been featured on CBS, ABC, Fox News, CNBC, RobTV, CBC, and Citytv, and has also received coverage in "TIME", "Profit", "Canadian Gardener", "BusinessWeek", "The New York Times", "The Globe and Mail", "Toronto Star", "The Vancouver Sun", "the Chicago Sun Times", "National Post", and "The Philadelphia Inquirer". In July 2006, "Inc. magazine" ran a cover story calling TerraCycle " [http://www.inc.com/magazine/20060701/coolest-startup.html The Coolest Little Start-up in America] ".

Currently, TerraCycle's head office, production facility, and R&D department are located in the Urban Enterprise Zone of Trenton, New Jersey. The company also has offices in Toronto.

TerraCycle sued by Scotts Miracle-Gro

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company recently sued TerraCycle for copyright infringement and false advertising. Scotts claims that TerraCycle's packaging takes from designs and shapes from Scotts products. Scotts, in the 177-page lawsuit, also claims that TerraCycle falsely advertises the superiority of its products.

In response to the lawsuit, TerraCycle and affiliates launched an internet and media campaign to bring attention to the lawsuit. The central website, www.suedbyscotts.com, paints the lawsuit in David and Goliath terms, claiming that the lawsuit is simply the big company picking on the little guy.

References

External links

* [http://www.terracycle.net TerraCycle Website]
* [http://designverb.com/2006/12/08/terracycle-inc/ designverb summary]