Thaindian News

WASHINGTON (March 23, 2009)—In conjunction with its April 2009 Special Ocean Issue (on newsstands March 24), which encourages readers to protect the planet, National Geographic Kids magazine is asking readers around the world to donate their old jeans to set a Guinness World Record for the Largest Collection of Clothes to Recycle. After officials record the final tally, National Geographic Kids will donate the jeans to the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN. ® denim drive, which gives denim a second life by recycling it into insulation for use in restoring or rebuilding homes damaged by hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters. Actor Ben Stiller, guest editor for the Special Ocean Issue, is donating a pair of his jeans.

Created by Cotton Incorporated in 2006, the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN. ® denim drive was established to recycle denim into natural cotton fiber insulation and aid communities in need. Through a multi-stage process, donated denim is recycled into UltraTouch™ Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation, an environmentally friendly insulation, which is then used in building houses in areas affected by natural disasters. It takes approximately 500 pairs of jeans to insulate one average-size U.S. house. To date, the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN. ® denim drive has collected nearly 100,000 denim pieces nationwide, producing insulation used in new homes for more than 180 families in the Gulf Coast region.

Jeans can also be dropped off at any Build-A-Bear Workshop® in the United States March 27-29 for the National Geographic Kids/COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive record attempt. Each guest donating a denim item will receive a free virtual gift at buildabearville.com®, the Build-A-Bear Workshop virtual world (one offer per guest while quantities last).

A robust microsite at kids.nationalgeographic.com will provide weekly updates on the number of donated jeans, videos detailing the recycling process and information about the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive. In addition, online partner KOL, http://kol.com, AOL’s kid-focused Web site, will feature National Geographic Kids’ record-setting effort. KOL will reach out to the entertainment community to solicit jeans from kid-friendly celebrities and develop fun pop-culture content, including photo galleries of current celebrities in their best jeans.

National Geographic Kids will feature the call-to-action in its April 2009, May 2009 and June/July 2009 issues. All denim for the record attempt must be received by June 30, 2009. Denim must be previously worn and can be any brand, size or color. All donations should be sent to NG Kids/ Set a Guinness World Record, P.O. Box 98001, Washington, D.C., 20090-8001 or NG Kids/Set a Guinness World Record, 1145 17th Street N.W., Washington, D.C., 20036.

National Geographic Kids magazine readers have set three Guinness World Records. In July 2008 National Geographic Kids tied 10,512 shoes together, heel-to-toe, creating a chain stretching nearly 1.65 miles, to set the record for the Longest Chain of Shoes; in December 2006 the magazine collected 2,304 stuffed animals for the Largest Gathering of Plush Toys; and in November 2004 it set the record for the world’s Longest Line of Footprints — 10,932 prints, measuring almost two miles.