As entrepreneurs, we all know the value and necessity of forming partnerships. Little would get done in the business world without a solid network to help grow our companies. Form an alliance with the right organization and your impact is amplified exponentially. But that begs a tough entrepreneurial question: Should a younger, cutting-edge company join forces with an established, more conventional company? It can be a slippery slope. Will the former company's values be in line with those of the latter? Whose mission and ideals will win out?

TerraCycle has recently wrestled with that problem, and because of our dedication to our to eliminating the idea of waste, we've decided to partner with a company that makes whole grain snacks and uses innovative new compostable packaging. They've also begun switching to alternative energy, forgoing the use of fossil fuel at one of their plants and relying on solar power. Worth noting, that partner is PepsiCo's Frito-Lay!

You've likely read that the Frito-Lay brand SunChips has made the switch to compostable packaging and solar power. In addition to these important steps, SunChips has also begun working with TerraCycle to provide a solution to the more traditional chip bags made from "hybrid" packaging. TerraCycle is now collecting both post-consumer and post-industrial chip bags and upcycling those non-recyclable materials into consumer products or into our still-in-development green building materials initiative.

Through this relationship, TerraCycle is reaching a wider audience than it could on our own -- helping to support our mission to make the greatest possible impact on the world. By partnering with Frito-Lay, we enable ourselves to collect and reuse the most possible chip bags and are able to call upon the extensive resources and expertise of Frito-Lay.

So here is my question for the Inc. community: Do you think partnering with much larger corporations is a good, bad, or indifferent idea for young companies? What are the advantages or disadvantages you have experienced or would expect? TerraCycle's experience working with Frito-Lay and other major CPG companies has been wildly positive, but I wonder if everyone has the same experience. I would love to hear about yours.

My book, Revolution in a Bottle, hit the streets this week. It is a quick read that is meant to flow more like a novel, less like a business book. It follows the story of TerraCycle from our beginnings in my dorm room, shoveling maggot filled organic waste, to creating products we sold to Wal-Mart and other major big box retailers, getting sued by Scotts, and creating "sponsored waste" programs to upcycle branded waste. It also offers insights on how we approach media and pursue new opportunities. Here's are two excerpts from the introduction:

TerraCycle would never have succeeded if we had started it in another country. America is a land of unique opportunity, and it happens to produce disproportionate amounts of waste. A maverick with a big idea can go further in America than in any other country, and in our case, we were able to tap into the profound desire of millions of Americans to do good, if given the right vehicles and incentives…. The good will we have received from the press, both local and national, speaks as much about the journalists and publishers in the U.S. as it does about our positive story. With its many sizeable challenges, America offers unique hope and possibility. As someone not born here, I am grateful to America for allowing me to incubate TerraCycle in its uniquely fertile soil.

I almost lost control of TerraCycle several times. In each case, friends and angels have shown up at what appeared to be the darkest of moments. Luck and epiphanies were important to TerraCycle's early survival and over time, to our success. I truly believe that the company, like the ideas that inspire and guide it, has a life of its own.

TerraCycle's story is one of getting people interested and involved. One of the lessons I have learned over the years, is people have to care about your business to support your efforts. The more you can get people personally involved in the story, the product, and the program, the more likely they are to become your biggest fan. It has helped differentiate TerraCycle from many other companies over the years. After all, how many other companies pay 15,00 schools to recycle? You can believe every one of the those students, teachers, and parents is a TerraCycle supporter.

To get people more involved in my book, to make them not just passive readers, but an active participant in my revolution, I worked with a favorite partner of mine, Bear Naked, which makes incredible organic granola, to create a consumer involvement program. We decided to print prepaid postage on the inside cover of my book and instruct people to remove the cover, fill with used granola bags and return to TerraCycle, free of charge! For every cover returned, Bear Naked is donating 1 dollar to the Arbor Day Foundation to a plant a tree. Since my book is printed on 100% post-consumer paper, our hope is that with enough returns, we can confidently say that my book help plant more trees than it helped cut down!

I'm curious. Do you agree that America as a uniquely favorable place to incubate and grow a business? Will that diminish or improve in the current economic environment and President Obama's restructuring. (I'm hopeful that it will open up huge opportunities for companies responding to social and environmental needs). Also, do you find that businesses have a life of their own, and that they consistently attract sharks and angels who become part of the drama?

And if you do read my book, I hope you enjoy it. I'll be interested in your reactions, which you can post here.

As I’ve written in this blog previously, I believe the "green premium" works against green businesses, limiting their growth and thus their collective impact on sustainability. I think that all green producers should cut costs and focus on volume to offset their lower margins.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone citing marketing research that concludes consumers are willing to pay more for a green product. Clearly, people are wiling to pay more for what they perceive as a better product (people pay more for luxury cars, nicer homes, better wine, and organics). Many companies that produce green products and charge a "green premium" are viable and growing, though I know of none that are as large as conventional competitors. Yes, retailer Whole Foods Market always seems to be doing a booming business, but it represents a small share of overall retail business and the products sold at Whole Foods Market are limited to certain personal categories where people may be more willing to pay a green premium than generally.

Do me a favor. In the next week, or even better, next month, watch your purchasing decisions. How often do you pay more for something that you perceive to be green? How high a premium do you believe you pay, and in what categories are you more or less likely to accept a green premium? Has your attitude about paying a premium for green changed as the economy has declined? I’d be grateful for any observations and insights.

I'm noticing a recurring direction of today's retailers in light of the economic downturn we currently find ourselves in. People are addicted to consumption, but have less money to spend. The solution that most big-box stores are adopting is to reduce the prices of the products they sell. In order to accommodate, manufacturers have to reduce the quality of their products. The net effect is that we, as consumers, are being given lower quality products that will not last as long, or be as effective.

Why not take the stand and say, "We will still spend the same reduced amount, but we'll buy fewer, higher quality goods." The net effect is probably better since those goods will make us happier and last longer. If you agree in principle, do you think the message needs to reach manufacturers, retailers, or to other consumers?

We are arguably in the midst of the biggest boom the green-business movement has ever seen, with all those who have been paving the way for more than two decades saying that we are truly at the turning point. So what will happen now that we are mired the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression?

The recycling industry has already been hit hard. With low gas prices, the cost of plastic has taken a nose dive, and manufacturers are not ordering recycled plastic at the record levels they were a few months ago when prices at the pump hovered around $4. Also, and perhaps most importantly, consumers are steering clear of anything with premium prices (almost the exact definition of most green products).

So what should green business leaders do? Together, we cannot let a recession kill the amazing momentum that has taken the movement mainstream. This blog is not here to present solutions, but to identify issues, raise questions, and ask for your thoughts on what we can do. With that, I invite you to share your perspectives.

Did you know the trade show industry is second only to the construction industry in the amount of waste it generates? The garbage comes from packaging, samples, handouts, and much more, and it piles up for days, creating endless pounds of unused or barely used materials! As someone deeply committed to eco-friendly practices, I've found my company participating in fewer and fewer shows.

However, in December, I spoke at a unique event called Eco Gift in Santa Monica, Calif. Unlike many trade shows, Eco Gift had a stated goal of being Zero Waste, or as close as they could get! The event featured many CSR companies showing off their products and services. Since I was speaking at the show, and given what I had read about the trade show's environmental commitments, I decided to have TerraCycle participate as a vendor as well. Zero Waste at a trade show is by all practical measures impossible, without putting serious restrictions on what vendors are allowed to bring to the show. Despite all the challenges presented with such an ambitious goal, Eco Gift was able to get to almost 90 percent no waste!

To help reach their goal of minimum waste, Eco Gift setup "Resource Recovery Stations" to help divert every piece of material that could be reused or recycled. The stations included a bin for recycling, a bin for compostable materials, and a bin ominously labeled "landfill" for non-recyclable materials. Because many vendors and consumers might not know the difference between recyclable and compostable, they actually provided trained volunteers to stand by the Resource Recovery Stations to help people get their material to the right bin! I loved Eco Gift's efforts and organization in trying to tackle an issue with many moving parts.

As an eco-entrepreneur, I find that trade shows represent an interesting collision of what is best for business versus what is best for the planet. What do you think? Is it irresponsible to be a vendor at consumer and trade shows unless they have a Zero Waste policy like that of Eco Gift? If so, if you participate in trade shows, even as a day visitor, will you take steps to require higher standards of the shows you attend? Or does a company's well-intended end justify an environmentally questionable means?

Are you thinking of raising capital right now? Already in the process? We are. As a quick background, we've raised over $11.5 million since our company's inception and are raising another large chunk to fuel rapid growth. Luckily, its going great, but I have seen the entire venture market transform before my eyes.

VCs are either not investing and waiting "for the other shoe to drop" or are investing but demanding incredibly low valuations. I guess it's their right, since money is tighter now than it ever has. But it begs the question -- how do you raise capital in a down economy?

My thought is, if you can avoid it, don't do it. But if you have to raise some money, raise as little as possible and from a diverse group of investors versus just one larger investor.

Luckily, since TerraCycle is highly differentiated, we've been OK and have closed capital these past weeks. How about you? Are you trying to raise and if so how is it going?

In May, TerraCycle launched a line of school and office products, birthed from the same made-from-waste mantra as our other products. OfficeMax was our clear choice for a retailer, as they already had in place many environmentally responsible plans and support Adopt-a-Classroom, a non-profit TerraCycle fully supports as well.

After the initial launch of seven products, TerraCycle and OfficeMax forged a very unique and mutually beneficial relationship that I believe serves as an incredible model for manufacturer/retailer relationships.

TerraCycle's expertise lies in eco-friendly manufacturing using materials other consider waste. OfficeMax, as an industry leader, is an expert in the needs and issues surrounding office products. Instead of continuing the traditional retailer/manufacturer relationship and pitching OfficeMax products we came up with, we went to their category managers and merchandising experts and did something unheard of -- we asked them what products they needed!

Since school and office supplies were uncharted territory for TerraCycle, we thought it would be best to defer to the experts. Doing so enabled TerraCycle to make more environmentally responsible versions of the industry's worst eco-offenders. It also allowed OfficeMax to have more say into what products they thought would sell best and make the most impact!

From this redefined relationship came an incredible new line of TerraCycle products, which includes tree-free paper made from coffee leaves, straw, and banana peels. In addition, at the direction of OfficeMax, we created biodegradable corn plastic pens and 100 percent recycled plastic pens and pencils made from old newspapers. Those are just a few of the cool new items.

My favorite item is a computer bag that is made from used billboard vinyl. I use one everyday. The billboard is thick and sturdy, and since each cut off the billboard is different, every bag is 100 percent unique.

The concept of a retailer telling a manufacturer how best to focus their efforts seems like a no-brainer to me. What do you think? What are new and different ways that manufacturers and retailers can work together? What are the advantages and disadvantages to working like this?

Lately, I have heard lots of talk about the "Green Bubble" as the next looming boom and bust on the horizon. It is true that far too much loosely invested money is driving up prices on any company to tied clean energy, biofuels, or clean water. The green revolution in business does fit the bill for a looming bust. Many see eco-innovation, especially alternative fuels and energy sources as the future, and rightly so. But looming trends in innovation often cause over-exuberance and "gold rushes" into a market, which can only sustain so much growth and investment. The dot-com and housing busts are just the most recent examples.

Yet, I have to wonder if the green bubble might be a positive in the long run. I believe that to truly achieve a sustainable future, much more investment into green technology is necessary to continue to drive the innovation and infrastructure needed to address our environmental woes. Sure, many starts-ups will fail and investors' money will be lost, but in return will surely come more affordable and efficient ways to produce alternative energies, biofuels, and sustainable products and practices. Plenty of people got burnt in the dot-com bust, but where would our lives be without Google?

What do you think about the Green Bubble? Good? Bad? Indifferent? Nonexistent?

I recently got a note from my friend Eric Hudson at Recycline. By way of background, Recycline is an amazing company that takes #5 plastic and recycles it into new products like toothbrushes. It even has a #5 take-back program similar to our yogurt brigade, which I blogged about in this post. Recycline is a landmark company in the green revolution. I even brush my teeth with the company's amazing toothbrushes.

So how about some controversy? That's what blogs are for anyway (Eric - that's a wink your way). There has been some debate out there questioning whether it is better for the environment to make something from recycled plastic vs. virgin plastic. Here are the facts: According to a published 2002 report by the EPA, using recycled materials instead of virgin materials to make new products yields a 40 percent to 60 percent savings in energy use.

So what do you think? What's better for the environment? Upcycling a yogurt cup into say a planter pot (a la TerraCycle) or melting it down and creating a toothbrush (a la Recycline)? (By the way, I support both solutions!)