The Glad Products Company Offers Thousands of Free Trash Bags for Community Service Projects Nationwide

OAKLAND, Calif., Nov. 11, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Whether it's a winter coat drive or park clean-up, Glad® wants to help Americans help their communities. As a resource to charitable organizations and consumers alike, The Glad Products Company is giving away four million ForceFlex® trash bags via a new website – TheBagBank.com. Consumers planning community service projects that require trash bags can simply visit the site and complete a request for bags.

"Glad wants to give people the tools to give back to their communities," said Ryan Elvers, brand manager for The Glad Products Company. "Many service projects use trash bags to pick up or pass on items, and our ForceFlex bags have the stretchable strength tough enough to help consumers tackle these challenges."

Get Free Trash Bags for Volunteer Efforts

Every year, Glad® supports local service efforts by donating millions of trash bags to help facilitate community efforts. As a proud partner of non-profit organizations Keep America Beautiful and One Warm Coat, Glad® provides trash bags to hundreds of community clean-ups and coat drives across the nation. And now through May 30, 2011, Glad® is offering free trash bags through the Bag Bank to help individual consumers facilitate their own community service projects.

To receive free trash bags via theBagBank.com, consumers must complete a short request form, including a description of their service project. Glad® will review all submissions for relevance and purpose. The number of trash bags a volunteer receives will depend on the size of his or her service initiative, but donations range from 150 bags for small projects to 450 bags for large efforts.

In addition to receiving free trash bags, everyone who submits an eligible request will be entered into a random drawing in which three winners will each receive $1,000 for themselves and $1,000 for a charity of their choice.

Host a Winter Coat Drive

Helping to inspire consumers to make a withdrawal from the Bag Bank, Glad® has teamed up with celebrity fashion stylist and author Bobbie Thomas to encourage Americans to host coat drives.

With 20 percent of U.S. children living in poverty, one in 10 parents has had to borrow or receive a donated winter coat for their child(1). Consumers hosting coat drives can access free resources provided by One Warm Coat, a national non-profit with the goal of providing any person in need with a free, warm coat, including tools to locate local service agencies that need coats most. Visit www.onewarmcoat.org to learn more about getting involved.

"The start of the season is when most people look for new coats. But don't throw your old coats away, donate them to a good cause. Get family, friends or colleagues together to host a coat drive with the help of One Warm Coat and Glad's Bag Bank," said Thomas. "Winter fashion may change from year to year, but one thing that never goes out of style is giving back to your community."

Glad® will host The Glad® Celebrity Coat Auction – accessible via TheBagBank.com – beginning Dec. 1 which will feature Glad® ForceFlex® trash bags filled with designer coats donated by Thomas and various other celebrities. Consumers will be able to bid on the bags of coats with all proceeds going to One Warm Coat.  

For more information about the Glad® Bag Bank or the Celebrity Coat Auction, visit www.theBagBank.com.

The Glad Products Company

The Glad Products Company is wholly owned subsidiary of The Clorox Company.  The Clorox Company is a leading manufacturer and marketer of consumer products with 8,300 employees and fiscal year 2009 revenues of $5.5 billion. Clorox markets some of consumers' most trusted and recognized brand names, including its namesake bleach and cleaning products; Green Works® natural cleaning and laundry products; Armor All® and STP® auto-care products; Fresh Step® and Scoop Away® cat litter; Kingsford® charcoal; Hidden Valley® and K C Masterpiece® dressings and sauces; Brita® water-filtration systems; Glad® bags, wraps and containers; and Burt's Bees® natural personal care products. The company's products are manufactured in more than two dozen countries and sold in more than 100 countries. Clorox is committed to making a positive difference in the communities where its employees work and live. Founded in 1980, The Clorox Company Foundation has awarded cash grants totaling more than $77 million to nonprofit organizations, schools and colleges. In fiscal 2009 alone, the foundation awarded $3.6 million in cash grants, and Clorox made product donations valued at $7.8 million. For more information about Clorox, visit www.TheCloroxCompany.com.

One Warm Coat

One Warm Coat is national non-profit organization that supports and encourages coat drives.  It helps individuals, groups, companies and organizations across the country collect coats and deliver them to local agencies that distribute the coats free to people in need.  More than one million coats have been provided to those in need at no cost since its inception in 1992.

Keep America Beautiful, Inc.

Keep America Beautiful, Inc., established in 1953, is the nation's largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. This national nonprofit forms public-private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments. Its signature program, the Great American Cleanup is one of many initiatives that encourage people to care for communities through volunteer participation. To join the Great American Cleanup and let green start with you, visit www.kab.org.

(1) Source: 2008 U.S. Census

SOURCE The Glad Products Company