For years environmentalists have wondered why someone doesn’t do
something about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Now, it appears
Method, a sustainable cleaning products company, has jumped into
the challenge with both feet. Method’s new “Ocean Bottle” for
hand and dish soap is made from bits of plastic litter found on
Hawaiian beaches. Method has been making designer soap for years
now, and it was way back in 2006 that they created their first
100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic bottle. Although many
said the slowly degrading plastic swirling around in the Great
Pacific Garbage Patch couldn’t been reused, Method refused to
give up. In 2011, the company, in partnership with Envision
Plastics, created a prototype that proved ocean trash could be
transformed into a valuable manufacturing resource. To gather
the materials, Method employees joined together with volunteers
from Sustainable Coastlines and the Kokua Hawaii Foundation to
comb Hawaii’s beaches. They recovered more than 3,000 pounds of
plastic t