Mary Kay's Pink Doing Green Also Creates Jobs
By SAMANTHA DAVIES
Updated 12:35 PM CST, Thu, Nov 19, 2009
A Mary Kay program is teaming up with the Citizens Development Center in Dallas to recycle used compacts.
For every compact which is recycled, Mary Kay plants a tree in the Bitterroot National Forest.
“We launched a new compact last year, and we knew that we had many compacts out with our independent sales force and our customers,” said Carrie Adams, of Mary Kay. “So rather than dispose of those in the trash, we wanted to make sure that we disposed of them in an environmentally friendly way.”
In order to get the compacts ready to be recycled, workers take apart and separate the glass, cardboard and plastic. They put the materials in three separate boxes to be shipped off to be recycled. Each day, about 165 people show up to work.
The CDC has been working on the project for two years and have helped to recycle nearly 300,000 compacts.
“We do a whole lot,” worker Bryan Shed said. “I like working out here and stuff and with people and stuff.”
Shed also said he enjoys the work because he gets paid.
The benefits of the program reach far beyond helping the environment.
“I think the most important thing for us is Mary Kay continuing to support this group of people,” said Phyllis Fleming, of the CDC. “This is some of the most vulnerable people in the Dallas community, all right, and most of these people live in the poorest districts of Dallas.”
Mary Kay's "Pink Doing Green" runs the project with the CDC. The partnership has been ongoing for nearly 25 years.
As part of Green Week for every user who pledges to buy local this week, NBC Universal will donate $1 to the FEED foundation an organization dedicated to improving the global food system through good nutrition and education for children. CLICK HERE to find out how to make a pledge.
First Published: Nov 17, 2009 6:46 PM CST
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