Their Ekocycle initiative is bound to make a difference in North America

Aug 1, 2012 19:01 GMT  ·  By

Just today, celebrity Will.i.am and famous company Coca-Cola launched their green-oriented Ekocycle initiative, which comes as a result of their deciding to enter a partnership aimed at developing and implementing recycling programs in North America.

The main idea behind their Ekocycle initiative is to promote lifestyle products such as items of clothing, bags, pieces of furniture and even accessories made from recycled materials.

Naturally, this means that various renowned brands need also agree to offer their support, meaning that they must consent to making some of their products environmentally-friendly and commercialize them as such.

Rumor has it that, in order to ensure the success of this project, the Coca-Cola company agreed to invest at least $1 million (about €0.8 million) in promoting it over the next five years.

Given the fact that this campaign will mainly target relatively young consumers, it is expected that, should they be convinced to go green and opt for recycling, the benefits will be seen over an extended period of time.

Apparently, Dr. Dre's company, Beats, already agreed to manufacture and sell headphones made from recycled materials, which will be available in stores starting this autumn.

Billboard reports that, in one of his most recent interviews, Will.i.am commented on the Ekocycle initiative as follows: “I saw Ekocycle as being a basecloth, where you would take the technology that makes plastic and make a thread out of it to make jackets and shoes and glasses and watches.”

The celebrity further explained how, “And then you'd have that brand of sustainability partner up with other brands to create a demand where the people are demanding the product they love to be made out of sustainable materials.”

On the other hand, Coca-Cola representatives argue that the celebrity's involvement in this project is crucial in convincing people to make smarter choices which benefit the environment.

To officially mark the beginning of this program, Will.i.am also made a 60-second commercial, which you can watch down below.