Ben Stiller

SEND US YOUR OLD JEANS! — National Geographic Kids is attempting to set its fourth Guinness World Record. We are asking readers to send in their worn-out jeans to help set the record for the world’s Largest Collection of Clothes to Recycle. After officials record the final tally, National Geographic Kids will donate the jeans to COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN. This denim drive recycles jeans into UltraTouch insulation, which is used to help build houses in places that have been damaged by natural disasters. It takes about 500 pairs of jeans to recycle enough denim to insulate one average-size U.S. house. The drive already has one pair of celebrity jeans — guest editor Ben Stiller was determined to be the first person to donate! For where to send your jeans and weekly updates on the number of jeans collected, go online to kids.nationalgeographic.com. Page 7.

UNDERSEA SAFARI — Board an imaginary submarine and embark on an underwater safari with National Geographic Kids. From the Arctic Ocean to Antarctic waters, and everywhere in between, meet some of the marine creatures that call the world’s oceans home and learn fun facts about all kinds of sea life along the way. Page 14.

North Atlantic Ocean — Witness a bottlenose dolphin rescue; swim with flying fish and a school of 10 million herring; learn about an undersea ridge of mountains; and more.
Caribbean Sea — Snorkel in a colorful coral reef off the coast of Belize; spot a never-before-seen fish (researchers estimate some 4,000 species of ocean fish have yet to be discovered); look out for waterspouts and Portuguese man-of-wars; and more.
Indian Ocean — Cruise with a leatherback turtle, the champion swimmer of the turtle family; float along the shallows with a dugong; search for the 65 million-year-old coelacanth (SEE-lah-kanth); and more.
Western Australia — Swim with the world’s largest fish, the whale shark; learn about ECOCEAN, a conservation program that coordinates whale shark identification; look out for infantfish (one of the world’s smallest), blobfish and blue-ringed octopus; and more.
Antarctic Waters — Dart through frigid waters with emperor penguins; find huge sea spiders; dodge giant icebergs; and more.
North Pacific Ocean — Bob above kelp forests with sea otters; explore the Mariana Trench, believed to be the deepest spot in any ocean; check out the tiny Pacific seahorse and the snakelike moray eel; and more.
Arctic Ocean — Listen to the mysterious, birdlike songs of beluga whales; swim with “sea angels” and walruses; and more.

The feat was confirmed by Stuart Claxton of Guinness World Records and was witnessed by Holly Morris, reporter for WTTG-TV FOX 5; Joan Malkowski, vice president of Jones Lang LaSalle Americas Inc. and general manager of Union Station; and David Mizejewski, author, media personality and naturalist at the National Wildlife Federation.

In an effort to teach kids about recycling and to help reduce the amount of waste in landfills, all of the collected denim will be donated to Cotton Incorporated’s COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive program, which gives denim a second life by recycling it into UltraTouch™ Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation for use in restoring or rebuilding homes damaged by hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters. The 33,088 denim items will create enough material to insulate more than 60 homes.

It took National Geographic Kids magazine four months to collect the denim, which was sent by individual readers, families, Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops, school groups, houses of worship and many others. Actor Ben Stiller, who served as guest editor for the NG Kids April 2009 Special Ocean Issue that kicked off the denim-collecting campaign, was one of the first to donate a pair of jeans. Actors Dylan and Cole Sprouse, Tiffany Thornton, Tyler James Williams, Jason Dolley and Allie Grant also donated their old jeans to the project.

A special guest at today’s record-setting ceremony was 9-year-old Erek Hansen, from Curtice, Ohio, a student at Jerusalem Elementary School. He organized a denim drive that collected nearly 1,700 pairs of jeans.

“We’re delighted with the response we received from kids around the country,” said National Geographic Kids Editor in Chief Melina Bellows. “They embraced this project that involved their communities, benefits the environment and will help rebuild many homes.”

“This record-setting collection for the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive not only speaks to Americans’ love of denim and the environment, but to their civic-mindedness,” said Paula G. Rosario, vice president, Cotton Incorporated Strategic Alliances. “The high response illustrates the positive influence of National Geographic Kids magazine on today’s young people.”

For photos and b-roll of today’s record-setting event, go to the FTP site
username: press | password: press

This is the fourth Guinness World Record set by National Geographic Kids. In July 2008 the magazine achieved the record for the Longest Chain of Shoes — 10,512 shoes tied together, heel-to-toe, created a chain stretching nearly 1.65 miles. 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 Longest Line of Footprints — 10,932 prints measuring almost two miles.

About National Geographic Kids Magazine
National Geographic Kids, a multitopic, photo-driven magazine for 6- to 14-year-olds, empowers its readers by making it fun to learn about the world. It has received numerous industry awards, including the Periodical of the Year award in 2005 and 2006 from the Association of Educational Publishers. Published 10 times a year, National Geographic Kids has a circulation of 1.2 million and is available by subscription for $19.95 a year and on newsstands for $4.99 a copy. Its Web site is at kids.nationalgeographic.com.

About COTTON.FROM BLUE TO GREEN.®
The first COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.®” denim drive in 2006 collected 14,566 denim pieces nationwide, more than double the anticipated amount. In 2007 and 2008 the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.® denim drive expanded its reach through partnerships with national retailers and organizations, including American Eagle Outfitters, Ernest Sewn, Gap, G by Guess and Pepsi Bottling Group, as well as Warner Bros. Pictures.

As part of the recycling process, Allan Company, a leader in the recycling industry, bales the denim in preparation for becoming insulation. JBM Fibers, a leading manufacturer of reprocessed fibers, returns the denim to its original fiber state, cotton. Bonded Logic Inc. manufactures the UltraTouch Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation. For more information, visit www.cottonfrombluetogreen.org.

About Cotton Incorporated
Cotton Incorporated, funded by U.S. growers of upland cotton and importers of cotton and cotton textile products, is the research and marketing company representing upland cotton. The program is designed and operated to improve the demand for and profitability of cotton. For more information, visit www.cottoninc.com.