Feel Good Guru

The Dragons’ Den is the absolute best show on TV these days. While in L.A., we PVR the Canadian series and watch a bunch of episodes in a row on return to Toronto. For those who don’t know, on The Dragons’ Den, would-be entrepreneurs pitch their ideas or product to a panel of savvy business people and potential investors. Most often, they’re “slayed” by the dragons as having insane valuation or a ridiculous idea, but occasionally a gem is discovered…

The best product I’ve seen this season is EcoTraction, a volcanic mineral developed by a couple of dudes from Ottawa that acts as a totally green, environmentally-friendly slip-free surface outside on icy February days, replacing environmentally toxic and lethal-to-pets road salt.

EcoTraction was discovered as a result of a neighborhood tragedy. Founder, Mark Watson’s dog died suddenly, followed by two other dogs on the same block. After consulting a veterinarian, Mr. Watson determined that the deaths may have been due to heavy metals and ferrocyanide in road salt licked from the paws of their pets.

He made it his mission to put an end to the poisoning of pets and the environment by toxic road salt. He acquired the exclusive rights to a natural deposit of volcanic mineral which, when sprinkled lightly on icy surfaces sticks to the top layer of snow and ice and grips with a “sandpaper” effect. The porous mineral turns dark green when wet, causing solar heat to melt the snow or ice. Isn’t nature brilliant? Even more brilliant is the idea that you can package it up by the bag and create green jobs and safer solutions for a new world.

Mark Watson and his partner Marc Appleby demonstrated the safety of EcoTraction to the Dragons with a live green plant embedded in the mixture and a single goldfish swimming happily in a bowl of water with a large chunk of the mineral.

The “Dragons” loved the pitch and fell all over themselves to get a piece of the business. They could envision the “dream scenario” of one day finding themselves in a world where toxic road salt is banned.

It seems a dream scenario has already befallen the team…Apparently, America presently finds itself in short supply of road salt. In a beautifully benevolent (and wonderfully calculated) gesture, the owners of EcoTraction have offered to ship a ton of their product to the first 20 municipalities that put in the request.

Chicago Mayor, Richard Daly, is out to make his town the greenest in the nation, and has been outspoken against road salt: “This salt is not environmentally friendly. It destroys everything. It destroys all your roads, the curbs, landscaping. It destroys your car…”

He will receive his first shipment of EcoTraction this week. That should make the Dragons and partners very happy.

You can get yours at Home Depot, PetSmart, Husky, Whole Foods and other “on target” retailers throughout Canada. Save your pet’s life and the environment all at the same time. That’s groovin’ with the woowoo!

Tweet This Post