Will-i-am and Coca-Cola Launch New Sustainability Program

Its official. Pop superstar, will-i-am, is on a mission to save the world and he’s taking Coca-Cola along with him.

On July 31, during a joint teleconference with the soda pop kingpin, the Black Eyed Peas forerunner announced that he would be launching “Ekocycle,” an ecological initiative aimed at “[helping Coca-Cola] get to zero waste by 2020.”

Will-i-am, who was first compelled to address the environmental waste situation after attending the Clinton Global Initiative in 2008, said that he wanted to make a pitch to Coco-Cola to take their byproducts and make new products.

“What [Ekocycle means is taking plastic bottles and shredding it down to a fabric, taking aluminum and making it into bicycles, pins or computers, and making jackets, shoes, hats, bags and tables with the plastics],” said will-i-am. “Not in the traditional way of how you think of recycling – by taking a plastic bottle to make another plastic bottle – but to create a sustainable community and society that cares about the planet, [and wears] how they care.”

New Era and Beats, the headphones line created by Dr. Dre, have already signed on with the Ekocycle movement and will be offering exclusive merchandise on the Ekocycle website. A portion of the profits will also be split with a Coca-Cola charitable partner.

More information on Ekocycle can be found on the official website: www.ekocycle.com

UPDATE: A representative from The Coca-Cola Company recently reached out and clarified will-i-am's statement regarding zero waste. Although The Coca-Cola Company has a vision of zero waste, it is not time bound and was mistakenly said during the teleconference.