The Plastic Family left their coastal landscape for a while and made the trip to the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. Initiated by Surfrider Foundation Europe, the action day was meant to draw attention on the global crisis of plastic pollution. »The Plastic Family has been much appreciated by our volunteers and gave us a real visibility among passers by,« says Charléric Bailly, SFE event manager. »A real success for this event!«

The estimated 19 billion pounds of plastic that end up in the ocean every year are expected to double by 2025. »The clock is ticking and we call on the European Parliament to take action now!⁣« says the foundation. 

For the occasion, 80 Surfrider Foundation Europe volunteers present that day collected more than 7000 cigarette butts in Place Lux, Brussels, outside the European Parliament. They also created a giant bottle made out of plastic bottles to emphasize on the amount of plastic trash dumped into the sea everyday. »Every year, we organize an official gathering with our European volunteers during a weekend of exchanges and discussions. They’re what we wall the Chapters Days,« says Charléric. »This year, we were approximately 80 including volunteers and SFE staff members. In view of the next european elections scheduled to occur in 2019, we chose to meet in Brussels in order to question the european deputies.«

Today, more than 8 million tons of plastic are found in our oceans every year. Whether it has deliberately been dumped or lost by accident, human-created waste represents the majority of the marine pollution, also called marine debris or marine trash, affecting the health of wildlife and humans themselves. »That’s why te event consisted in meeting up on Luxembourg Square in front of the European Parliament, while exhibiting art installations made out of plastic trash. We are convinced that art is a powerful tool to seduce people toward an environmental cause,« explains Charléric. »We organized a cleanup of the square and collected more than 7,600 butts of cigarettes in just an hour.« 

According to the Container Recycling Institute, 100.7 billion plastic beverage bottles were sold in the U.S. in 2014, compared to 3.8 billion plastic water bottles sold in 1996. It means 315 bottles per person, 57% of those units were plastic water bottles. A threatening and terrible fact that we could avoid by slowing down our disposable lifestyle, refusing single-use plastics (plastic straws, plastic bag, plastic bottles, …) and using more sustainable containers.  

Today, we need to make global efforts to end plastic pollution. As mentioned by the Plastic Family, »we are the source but you can be part of the ocean.«  Follow their journey on Surfrider Foundation Europe.

Photos: Lucie Lucie Francini / Surfrider Foundation Europe

The Plastic Family has been made out of plastic trash found on the beaches of the Basque Country (Spain & France) by Panthalassa Society members Rebecca Kudela (Sea and Gather), Daniela Garreton and Panthalassa founder Sergio Penzo

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This process of collecting has increased my awareness of how much of a problem the entire world has with plastic pollution. It has encouraged me and my husband to try to make changes and better decisions in our daily lives to consume less, and especially use less single-use plastics.

An eccentric and colorful postcard saying « Greetings from Los Angeles » sold in a overloaded souvenir shop of the Santa Monica pier. For most of us, this is the very first picture that comes to mind when we think of California. Surprisingly, Rebecca Kudela Grettenberger is not so familiar with bodybuilders wearing this bad fake orange tan look. No. Becca grew up in a small, country, mountain town called Catheys Valley, just outside of Yosemite National Park in central California, surrounded by vast valleys where she developed a strong passion for nature. « At your feet lies the great Central Valley glowing golden in the sunshine, extending north and south farther than the eye can reach, one smooth, flowery, lake-like bed of fertile soil » described naturalist and author John Muir who became an early advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the United State. 

Rebecca is definitely a creative spirit. Today living in Biarritz, France, our Panthalassa Society member works as a digital designer for Billabong Women, one of the biggest surfwear brands. At the end of the day, she uses her creativity to raise awareness of plastic pollution. « Small changes can have a huge impact, » she said. We sat down with Rebecca to learn more about the environment that inspired her passion for the ocean and her decision to participate actively in an environmental movement in order to save our ocean’s biggest threat.

Hi Becca, can you talk a bit about your background

I grew with lots of animals (my parents have a ranch) and spent a ton of time outdoors, hiking in Yosemite with my dad, swimming in the Merced River with my friends, riding horses with my Mom, exploring the ranch with my sister. We grew up without a television which I think encouraged us to be really creative at a young age, and spending so much time outside increased my appreciation for nature, even though I didn’t realize it at the time. 

How was it like to live in Southern California?

When I was 18 and headed off to college, I pursued my dream and moved to the beach. I lived in San Diego for five years while attending San Diego State University, studying art and graphic design. I met Brent, now my husband, in an art class and he was the one who helped me buy my first surfboard and taught me how to surf. We spent a lot of time at the beach together during these years, surfing in Pacific Beach, eating California Burritos at the beach while watching the sunset, driving down to Baja for the day for a morning surf and lobster lunch. San Diego very quickly became my favorite place! Then when I got my dream job working for Roxy in Huntington Beach as a graphic designer, I moved up to Orange County. The office was pretty close to the beach so we would spend a lot of our lunch breaks surfing, SUPing, laying out by the beach, running at the beach. Pretty much any time I wasn’t in the office I was at the beach. 

This is where your passion for surfing and the beach lifestyle come from? 

Even though we didn’t live right by the beach growing up, our parents would take us to the beach during the summer. We would go camping in Santa Cruz and spent a lot of time in Monterey and Carmel, so I have a lot of great beach memories. My interest in surfing and surfing culture started when I began to get magazines (Moxie Girl, Surfing Girl) and catalogs (Delias) in junior high and I would see those 90’s Roxy ads that are still so iconic today. I would stare at those pictures of those fit, tan, happy girls at the beach in Hawaii and dream about making that life my reality someday. I collected hang tags, starting at the age of 12, from all the Roxy clothes I ever bought – and I still have them! They were my initial inspiration that I think eventually led to manifesting my dream job at Roxy.

You live in Biarritz today. What do you like most about France and Biarritz?

Where to begin! I love France for so many reasons – I think most of all for the slower pace that people live life here, and take time to enjoy, but also the food, the bread, the wine, the history, the architecture, the language, all of it! And we especially love Biarritz for the beach and surf culture that manages to make France feel more like ‘home’ for us Californians. The Basque Coast is one of the most beautiful places in the world and we get to call it home! We also love to travel and it was my dream to travel Europe before moving here, so getting to have a home base in Biarritz and easily get around Europe is a dream come true!

Everyday, you go out, run and collect trash on the beach. Your platform and project entitled « Sea and Gather » tends to turn plastic pollution into well organized visuals in order to raise awareness of plastic pollution. Tell us more about your passion for beachcombing.

I’ve always been a treasure-hunter – when we were little our parents would take us out on the ranch and we would explore around old rock house foundations from the gold rush days in the 1800’s, and we would find old objects – metal tools, glass bottles, bits and pieces from the past. I think that sparked my interest in hunting for old objects in nature, and beach combing is just another form of that! I love finding old treasures (and especially older treasures over here in Europe) washed up on the beach – those bits and pieces of sea glass are little bits of history that tell a story from the past. Unfortunately I find more trash and plastic than I do treasures, but it’s those special days when I find those treasures, pieces of pottery, porcelain dolls, old chunky glass bottles with typography, metal coins, toys… – all worth the hunt!

You’ve been collecting beach trash in France, Spain, Italy, the UK, Malta, Greece, and even more recently in New York! What would be your message to our readers and community of ocean lovers? 

I think that this process of collecting has definitely increased my awareness of how much of a problem the entire world has with plastic pollution. It has encouraged me and my husband to try to make changes and better decisions in our daily lives to consume less, and especially use less single-use plastics. It’s not easy to change your daily habits, but if we all work together to make small changes, it can have a huge impact! Instead of buying a plastic water bottles, bring your own and refill it. Same with coffee cups. Bring your own reusable shopping bags to the grocery store, use stainless steel straws instead of plastic ones, use paper Q-tips / cotton buds instead of plastic ones, try to buy vintage before buying new. The less single-use plastic we use as a population, the less will end up on the beach and in our oceans!

Discover more about Sea and Gather on Instagram.

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Zaria Forman is one of the most inspiring artists we’ve had the opportunity to meet. Two years ago, we exhibited one of her large piece of art in Guéthary, France, in presence of the artist. Throughout a collective exhibition, we had the chance to celebrate the official inauguration of Panthalassa and introduce the Panthalassa Society, our global network of contributors. Since that day, Panthalassa is deeply attached to the evolution of Zaria’s work, always using creativity as a tool for climate action. Her work keeps on revealing untold stories and embody the power of art. Last year, in another attempt to create awareness around climate change, Zaria Forman accepted NASA’s invitation to take part to their IceBridge operation, which for the last decade has been mapping the geometry of the ice at both Poles. »I travel to the Polar regions to capture the unfolding story of ice melt. My images overflow with details to draw the viewer in, and transport them. These landscapes are fairly inaccessible, so their environmental issues may seem remote or abstract. I work on a large scale to recreate the wonder of witnessing an iceberg up close.«

In 2016, Zaria Forman spent a total of 70 hours in the air, over 26,000 miles flying over Patagonia from Santiago to Punta Arenas, Chile. She witnessed Antarctica’s vastness and reached some of the most difficult places to get to on earth, like Hull Glacier on the Ruppert Coast. She came back with thousand of pictures where cracks and giant crevices are visible, symbol of complex and rapid change occurring just beneath the surface, like fast moving ice. Once again, Zaria used her large scale drawings as records of landscapes in motion in order to bring awareness to ice melting. We called the artist to know more about her latest body of work and her new adventure around the globe. Here’s the story.

»I fell in love with remote landscapes at an early age. My mother, a fine art landscape photographer, led the family on expeditions to the most far flung places she could find. I developed an appreciation for the beauty and vastness of the ever-changing sky and sea. I loved watching a far-off storm on the western desert plains, the monsoon rains of southern India, and the cold arctic light illuminating Greenland’s waters. These travels cemented my fascination with water in all its forms. My first trip to the Arctic in 2007 opened my eyes to the severity of the climate crisis, which has been the focus of my work ever since.  

I flew on several 12 hour flights, soaring just 1,500 feet above glaciers, sea ice, and mountaintops in Antarctica and the Arctic. While the science team operated a complex suite of instruments, I observed an entirely new perspective of ice, which has been the focus of my work for six years.

The data collected on IceBridge missions provides crucial information about how ice loss is occurring, and what these changes mean for sea level rise. Findings from the project are alarming, and yet our global community is not responding with appropriate urgency.

Behavioral psychology tells us that we take action and make decisions based on our emotions. Art has a special ability to tap into emotions. My latest body of work, »Aerial Ice,« will be a series of large scale drawings inspired by my flights with NASA, offering viewers a perspective of polar ice that few people have witnessed. The drawings will help communicate IceBridge’s findings, translating scientific data into an accessible medium that resonates emotionally.

Ice as a subject matter continues to excite me. An entirely new visual vocabulary of ice was revealed to me from the air; surfaces, fissures, and crevasses I had never seen before. I am eager to discover how to render these new shapes and textures in soft pastel. A plethora of geometric patterns take shape in the ice when seen from above, encouraging me to explore compositions unlike anything I’ve ever before considered.«

Zaria Forman will exhibit at Pulse Art Fair in Miami this December 7-10, 2017.

Follow her work on her website.

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« Where everything happens at the touch of a button and requires a computer science degree to understand and repair, Infinity’s working parts are manual, simple, laborious, greasy and somewhat comprehensible. » 36,7 meters-long, Infinity have properties that make it exceptional for a polar vessel. We met Northern California-based director and filmmaker Nico Edwards, author of ‘Sea Gypsies: The Far Side of the World’, his first feature. The movie seeks to tell the ambitious journey of a group of modern seafaring gypsies across the Pacific Ocean. « Captain Clemens Gabriel has transformed Infinity into a sea tribe, comprised of crew from all over the world» he said. « Water, trees, dusk, mountains, sunrise and dramatically bad weather are some of the strongest catalysts for awe. So along with extreme pest control, the voyage is a quest for awe, and for the sheer joy of it. » So, please, get onboard this hand-built sailboat described as a ‘bunker that floats’…

Tell us a bit about Infinity, an environmentally friendly hand-built sailboat… 

Though by all outward appearance, these voyages appear to be exercises in reckless abandon, and while it is true that infinity was not designed to travel through ice, Infinity is an incredibly tough boat made of ferrocement. She was constructed in 1977 in Oakland CA, and is believed to be the largest ferrocement yacht ever built, meaning she’s made of metal reinforced concrete and is basically a bunker that floats. Ferrocement, a well tested and long practiced form of boat construction, no longer in fashion due to its downsides of being extremely labor intensive during construction and heavy compared to fiberglass or aluminum, does have properties that make it exceptional for a polar vessel, such as incredible toughness, impact resistance and strength in any temperature. In the Ross Sea, Infinity made impact with a large number of icebergs without so much as a scratch. Infinity is also very green, as her sails are recycled from super yachts, and sowed up to fit. She also has a very large solar array, which provides for all her electrical needs as well. Right now, she is also a vegan ship, trying her utmost to source all foods locally.

Sailors, a captain, an electrician, a carpenter, and filmmakers… Most of you are, above all, adventurers with a taste for the extreme…

Infinity seems to be a magnet for those who just don’t fit in anywhere in particular, mainstream societies cast offs. A rotating group of wanderers, they come together on Infinity as a sort of ocean going tribe, then they head off across the globe to earn a living for a while doing various things. We have carpenters, surveyors, electricians, professional sailors, and even a former NASA rocket scientist, but they always seem to return to Infinity just as soon as they are able. 

When did you first have the -crazy- idea of the « Sea Gypsies » project? 

In 2011, well ensconced in a little padded gray cubicle, in a nondescript office park on the side of a generic highway in Silicon Valley, I was growing grim about the mouth. The 3 hour-commute and job that would most likely be replaced by an algorithm in a few years was not providing much in the way of stimulation. So one day, I took stock of the situation, and having nothing in particular to interest me on shore, I decided I would sail about a little and see the watery parts of the world.

Before I left, I did the first thing that anyone nowadays would do… I googled my options. This led me to a website called FindACrew.org, which connects crew looking for boats, to boats looking for crew. Opportunities abound for all skill levels, from landlubbers to salty sea dogs. This is how I came across Infinity. I was looking to learn to sail and she looked like a learning boat. By this I mean, that unlike the more modern, technologically advanced sailboats of our day, where everything happens at the touch of a button and requires a computer science degree to understand and repair, Infinity’s working parts are manual, simple, laborious, greasy and somewhat comprehensible. 

I joined the boat in Singapore in early 2012 and we sailed through the Malacca Straight into Malaysia, all the way up to the Andaman coast of Thailand. This was probably the most memorable 5 months of my almost 30 years of life. The time machine slowed to a crawl as it gorged on the abundant unknown. Roughly a year after leaving the boat, I was back in the US, plugging along, when out of the blue one night I get a call from Captain Clem. He says the boat is infested with tropical termites he can’t get rid of, and he heard that if he dropped the temp of the boat below freezing for 3 days it would serve as an environmentally friendly, yet extreme form of pest control. To get the boat below freezing for such a long time, he had it in his mind to make a pacific crossing from New Zealand to Patagonia, with a visit to Antarctica, and wanted to know if I might like to join in and video the experience. The decision seemed brash, as he intended to start the 15,000 mile voyage in “a couple of days”. I quickly agreed to go, and informed him I would join the boat as soon as I had sold my possessions and put my affairs in order.

The plan had more than a touch of madness to it, due to Infinity not being at all designed or equipped with cold weather in mind. I was pretty sure Infinity did not have any heaters, insulation, nor did the main saloon have a door to keep the outside, outside. I looked at an atlas and tallied up my frequent flier miles (hard earned through years of signing up for credit cards solely for the bonus miles) and schemed up a way to meet the boat in route. A couple weeks later and I would be rejoining Infinity on the island of Trukk, in The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). Our path would lead south-ish, meandering down the international date line, to New Zealand before heading east. It would cover over 15,000 nautical miles and was expected to take roughly 10 months.

You’re currently travelling on 8,000 miles across the Pacific ocean, from New Zealand to Patagonia, with a stop in Antarctica. What are your motivations, intentions, and goals?Just « for the sheer joy of it »?

Awe has the power to diminish the emphasis on the individual self, encouraging people to forgo strict self-interest, to work towards improving the world around them. Research conducted in the 1960’s on awe or transcendent ecstasy found that the most common triggers come from nature. Water, trees, dusk, mountains, sunrise and dramatically bad weather are some of the strongest catalysts for awe. So along with extreme pest control, the voyage is a quest for awe, and for the sheer joy of it. 

How is life organized onboard? Does everyone has duties and a daily schedule?

Though perpetually exploring, daily life onboard consists mainly of sailing and maintaining the boat and crew. The rhythm of life onboard reflects the necessities of a sailing vessel. Cleaning the boat, navigating an approximate course, raising sails, keeping the boat clean, maintaining an approximate course, oiling, greasing, scraping, scrubbing, disinfecting, cleaning, lowering sails, killing bugs, and of course… cleaning. Crew join up with every level of skill, and the experience they gain depends on what they seek from their time aboard. Some join up with the intention of becoming professional sailors or some already are and just want a change of pace. Everyone contributes, everyone learns something, and yes, lots and lots of work, mostly in schedules. 

« What can be found in abundance on board is blood, sweat, enthusiasm, risk tolerance, disdain for authority, and an ample supply of alcohol,» says the voiceover of your film entitled « Sea Gypsies: The Far Side of The World ». Does it sum up your balance onboard?

Pretty much, its a whole lot of work just to keep it going. A boat is a delicate structure of rapidly decaying materials, floating atop and constantly being bathed/marinated in, a caustic brine of destruction. They are holes in the water in which people throw money in, never to be seen again. Unless you’re really hardworking and crafty, up to but not necessarily over the point of conniving, a boat owner can expect to part with upwards of 10% of their boats value per year in upkeep costs. To avoid the constant shelling out of cash, one has to do all the work oneself… or have volunteers/suckers do it. This voyage being no exception, Clem maximizes the blood sweat and toil of his crew. 

The movie tells the ambitious journey of a group of modern seafaring gypsies across the Pacific Ocean. Were you prepared to the level of adrenaline you’ve been experiencing? 

I think for the most part people were prepared for a lot, but the massive hurricane of ice in the Ross Sea was a whole lot more than we expected and we’re pretty lucky to be alive in all honesty. I think if we did the trip 3 times, one of those times we would not have made it… at least. When help is 3 weeks or more away, you hope that you just die as quick and painlessly as possible. When you’re alone at sea, you feel like anything and everything is possible. It’s also a lot like groundhog day when you don’t see land for months at a time, you start to think you might be trapped in purgatory. 

What’s next now?

I head back to the boat in one months time, and we plan on heading North, attempting to sail further north than anyone in history. Following the two warmest Arctic summers on record, the sailing vessel Infinity will tackle the formidable Northwest Passage, attempt to reach the Northernmost inhabited settlement on the planet, aptly named Alert. More than just breaking a record, reaching this normally icebound settlement at the tip of Ellesmere Island, will be a stark warning to the world. To reach Alert at 82° latitude, Infinity will traverse through Nares Strait, a narrow channel of fierce currents and rapidly moving mountains of ice at the height of summer. Along the way, the ship and crew will battle severe storms, avoid marauding icebergs and hungry polar bears, and explore a part of the world that is rarely seen. This is the most dangerous maritime route in the world; more people have been to the top of Mt Everest than have successfully taken a sailing vessel through the Northwest Passage, and no one has ever sailed this far north. The full route will be over 15,000 miles and take 10 months from Tonga to Greenland. The expedition begins Nov 2017.

Follow their adventure online.

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8 million tons of plastic garbage end up in the oceans each year, killing 1 million sea birds. That’s a reality. “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”, also known as the Pacific Trash Vortex is a gyre of marine debris in the central North Pacific Ocean. Discovered in 1997 by Captain Charles Moore, the massive dump of floating garbage is hard to accurately measure but is said to be twice the size of France. Two advertising creatives came up with the idea of imagining the « Trash Isles » as an official country recognised by the United Nations.

Thought up by ad creatives Michael Hughes and Dalatando Almeida, the campaign has been designed to raise awareness of climate change and pollution. Today, the campaign even has its own flag, passports, official stamps and a currency, “Debris,” designed by Mario Kerkstra and made of 20, 50 and 100-banknotes featuring whales, turtles and seals brutalized by floating trash. « We wanted to come up with a way to ensure world leaders can’t ignore it anymore, a way to stick it under their noses, literally, » say Hughes and Almeida to Creative Review.

Titled « Trash Isles », the campaign got the support of big names like Judi Dench, Mo Farah, The Plastic Oceans Foundation and publisher LADBible. The two partner organizations recently co-signed a letter sent to the United Nations requesting the recognition of the trash island as nation state in order to oblige other countries to clean it up under the UN’s Environmental Charter. 

As the country’s first citizen, former U.S vice president and environmental activist Al Gore made his first declaration : « We don’t want anymore plastic added so let’s come up with biodegradable materials instead of this junk. We’ll also have a price on carbon which will also affect the economic attractiveness of plastic, » he said. « 50 billion tons over the last 60 years, it’s completely aberrant. Plastic adds to the climate process, and, of course, it’s absolutely harming the oceans and some of them shows up in the fish that people eat now. It’s disgusting. The oceans are crucial to our survival and we need to protect them. »

As another trash island bigger than Mexico has been found in Pacific in July of this year, with microscopic plastic, resembling confetti floating off the coast of Chile and Peru, it’s more than ever important to get people to pay more attention to this rapidly growing issue. 

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Called »the French California«, the Basque Country is considered a surfing mecca and a heaven for ocean lovers. Its fishing port, La Grande Plage, La Côte des Basques, Le Rocher de la Vierge, its sandy beaches and its turquoise waters at low tide make Biarritz a trendy holiday getaway for tourists. However, with the plastic pollution spectacle hitting our coasts, the »Queen of the Basque coast« has been showing another face. That’s what American graphic designer and owner of Orange Paper Shoppe Rebecca Kudela Grettenberger tries to reveal in her artistic layouts. 

Few years ago, Rebecca started beach combing in Biarritz the first week she moved there. Feeling homesick, beach combing was something familiar she could do to make her feel like she was back home. Since then, she’s been trying to make more of a conscious effort to not just collect beach treasures but to also collect more trash. Today, her beach clean ups in California, Spain, Mexico, Hawaii, Greece, Italy, France, or along the thames in London help bring awareness to all the trash in our oceans. We met her to learn more about her daily walks on the beach and her recent project »Sea and Gather«.

Hi Becca, you grew up in California, 2 hours away from the Pacific Ocean. How did you shape yourself this strong passion for the ocean?

Even though I didn’t grow up by the ocean, our parents would take us to the beach every summer. We would go camping in Santa Cruz, or spend weekends exploring Carmel and Monterey, Pismo or Morro Bay. I loved the beach and knew I wanted to live by the beach when I was old enough to move out on my own. As soon as I graduated high school I moved to San Diego for college and haven’t left the beach ever since!

When did you start beach combing? Do you remember the very first time?

I started beach combing during our trips to the beach when we were little, mostly collecting shells. I remember finding huge sand dollars on the beach in Pismo and my mom still has jars of shells we collected in Carmel. Since we didn’t live by the beach we always loved bringing small pieces of the beach home with us.

Everyday, you go to the beach and pick up piles of trash. What does your morning routine look like?

I am an avid runner and run almost every day, so I often time my runs around low tide. I do a 6 mile loop up to the Biarritz lighthouse, to the end of the Cote des Basque and back, and end the run at the beach where I collect treasures and trash. I usually bring a small bag with me in my pocket when I run so when I’m done I can collect. Often on the weekends I life to go surfing with my husband so depending on the tide we will spend time doing a beach clean / comb before or after our surf. 

You’re currently living in Biarritz in France but try to travel across Europe as often as possible. Tell us about all the beautiful places you found yourself picking up some trash..

Beachcombing in different countries is my favorite thing! So many different things wash up in each country… I’ve beachcombed in Porto, Portugal where I found lots of shells and seaglass. In Santorini, Greece I found colorful sea pottery. Near Rosarito in Baja, Mexico I always find plastic toys (doll arms – my favorite! haha) surf fins (close to some of the most popular surf spots) and pieces of Mexican tiles. I have some secret spots in northern Spain where I’ve found some of my most unique pieces of sea glass in rare colors like purple and deep turquoise. Mazatlan, Mexico and any island in Hawaii are where I find the most unique shells. Some of my most favorite finds are from my backyard in Biarritz, where I find sea marbles, porcelain doll heads and toys that seem really old, lots of terra cotta and pottery pieces and of course tons of trash.

I heard you even picked up some trash along the Thames River in London earlier this year! Tell us more that…

Yes! I spent a weekend in London in February with my best friend and every day while we were walking along the Thames we went down to the beach at low tide. Within the first few minutes down on the beach I found a few beautiful pieces of pottery that seemed very old, so I kept searching and found many more cool treasures like pieces of old bottles and glass containers. The finds were so unique we went back again the next day. The Thames beaches are really dirty so we made sure to pick up a few pieces of trash while we were searching for treasures!

You discovered the community of beach combers in London, didn’t you?

Yes, through Instagram I discovered there are quite a few beachcombers who live in London and comb the shores of the Thames, they call it ‘Mudlarking’ vs. beachcombing – they find some pretty incredible treasures, there’s so much history along those river banks! A few of my favorites : @mrmudlark @thamesplastic. 

You often call beach combing « treasure hunting ». What have been the craziest things you found on the beach?

My favorite types of treasures are sea marbles, sea pottery, rare colors of sea glass (which I find much more of in Europe than the US), and plastic doll body parts like arms and legs – they make me laugh! My favorite find was a small porcelain doll head, about a 1/2 inch tall – I think it’s very old.

You often find ‘Mermaid Tears’, those miniature round pieces of plastic, also known as nurdles, mistaken as food by fish…?

They are hard to spot, but they are everywhere if you look closely along the tide line. The smallest pieces of plastic are often the most dangerous because sea creatures mistake them for food. My goal this year was to fill an entire jar with these small plastic bead-like balls… they’re so miniature they take a long time to collect, but I try to do it as often as I can.

You recently created your Instagram account entitled « Sea and Gather » where you make nice pictures of organized little plastic beach trash you find on the beaches. Tell us more about the concept and process of creation?

The instagram account is just the start of what I hope to be a larger project. I plan to launch a website where I can document my finds in greater detail, and use my artistic layouts to help bring awareness to all the trash that is in our oceans. A combination of art and using my passion to bring awareness.

Would you say you gave yourself a mission of raising awareness through creativity?

Yes… I think by laying out my finds in a beautiful, graphic way, it gets people interested, more than just a pile of trash. I’m really interested in showing the comparison of things that SHOULD be on the beach, like shells and beautiful rocks next to things that should NOT be on the beach, like plastic & trash. 

At first glance it’s a pretty picture, but it also helps people be a little more conscious about where their trash is ending up, right?

When I find objects on the beach that are recognizable to people as something simple they use in their everyday lives, like straws, utensils, razors, toothbrushes, tampon applicators, toys, I think it helps people realize that everyday items can end up in the ocean, more than just an abstract piece of plastic. Seeing something like a toothbrush on the beach (or multiple toothbrushes, in just a few feet – gross!), an everyday object that everyone uses, will hopefully help people be more conscious about the single use plastics they are consuming. It’s a good reminder to consume less, especially less plastic!

You recently did an awesome discovery in Biarritz… Your first letter in a bottle! Tell us that crazy story! 

I was doing a beach cleanup by myself early in the morning, in honor of Earth Day. I was picking up trash all over the beaches of Biarritz, and I reached down to grab an empty water bottle and throw it in my bag of trash… I felt that the water bottle was weighted down and saw it was filled with little rocks and a rolled up note! I immediately opened the bottle to discover a note inside from a man named Max from Switzerland, hoping someone would discover his letter and send him some snail mail by post in return. It was a very magical moment!

You’re going to write this guy back?

Definitely! As an owner of a stationery brand, I’m always encouraging people to keep the art of letter writing alive, so of course I was excited that Max wanted a hand written letter! Beachcombing + letter writing are two of my favorite things, so I think this letter ended up in the right hands!

Follow Sea and Gather’s trash and treasures here.

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I believe The Ocean Cleanup will have an incredibly positive impact on the future of our oceans.

Over 5 trillion pieces of plastic currently litter the ocean. Earlier last month, The Ocean Cleanup raised 21,7$ millions in donations, bringing their total funding since 2013 to $31.5 million, to start Pacific cleanup trials and rid the oceans of plastic. 

Founded in 2013 by a 18-years-old genius named Boyan Slat, the Dutch foundation develops advanced technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. « The Ocean Cleanup is developing a network of long floating barriers that act like an artificial coastline, enabling the natural ocean currents to concentrate the plastic, » explains the founder and CEO of the Ocean Cleanup. « Besides, The Ocean Cleanup designs processes to turn recovered ocean plastic into valuable raw materials. » Instead of going after plastic debris with vessels and nets, the Ocean Cleanup uses the ocean currents to catch the plastic. 

In May, the foundation announced it had successfully raised 21.7 million USD in donations. Donors include Silicon Valley philanthropists Marc & Lynne Benioff, as well as Peter Thiel, PayPal founder who then became the first outside investor in Facebook and anonymous investors, allowing The Ocean Cleanup to launch its first experimental cleanup system in Pacific waters by late 2017. «Our mission is to rid the world’s oceans of plastic, and this support is a major leap forward towards achieving this goal, » says Boyan Slat. « Thanks to the generous support of these funders, the day we’ll be returning that first batch of plastic to shore is now in sight. »

»Lynne and I are thrilled to support The Ocean Cleanup’s important goal of eliminating plastic in our oceans,« said San Francisco-based donator Marc Benioff.  « With Boyan’s innovative leadership, I believe The Ocean Cleanup will have an incredibly positive impact on the future of our oceans. I hope other leaders will join us in supporting these efforts.« 

However, despite the enthusiasm of the foundation’ supporters, a wide range of experts in marine plastics say it’s a bad idea, considering Ocean Cleanup « fundamentally misunderstands Marine Plastics and causes harm ». Despite the good intentions, the 2 kilometer floating network acting like an artificial coastline is victim of some technical critiques and raises some biological, ecological, and social concerns. « Technological fixes like the Array do harm to the larger project of ending plastic pollution, which is a complex social, environmental, and economic problem, » says scholar, activist, and artist Max Liboiron. « It is also going to damage and kill marine life. »

As one of the most polluted areas of the ocean, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, between Hawaii and California, will be the place for The Ocean Cleanup’s first experimental cleanup system by late 2017.

Learn more about The Ocean Cleanup.

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Every year, 8 million metric tones of plastic are dumped into the world’s oceans. The vast majority of the plastic waste is underwater. Ranging from plastic bags, bottles and tiny microbeads of plastic broken down, this frightening amount of trash threatens marine life and marine ecosystems. As nobody can solve this problem alone, the Parley AIR Strategy and Corona (global) joined to create a new alliance to end marine plastic pollution. Through creative collaboration and eco innovation, the alliance commits itself to bring change to the beverage industry and protect 100 islands by 2020, starting in six key regions – Mexico, Maldives, Australia, Chile, Italy, and Dominican Republic. 

« We are the worst enemy to the ocean, » lucidly says a quiet voice in the short film. Gathering artists, designers, filmmakers, marine biologists, musicians, photographers, and scientists, the initiative approaches the problem from different angles and in a multidisciplinary way. « I didn’t know I was affecting so much. I felt guilty in a way. Now I feel part of the problem, I can be part of the solution. » Engaging like-minded ambassadors able to represent the partnership in their countries, the initiative brings together a variety of different people like Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, Mexican actor, producer and director Diego Luna, Chilean surfer Ramon Navarro, and Dominican actress and TV presenter Nashla Bogaert who all recently attended Parley Ocean School in the Maldives. « The collective experience marks the starting point of an idea: together Corona (global), Parley, and a select group of creative change-makers will turn 100 islands into symbols of change. » 

We are all connected to the sea. »The state of our islands is a powerful reminder of that fact. Plastic trash travels around the world and washes up on the most remote beaches, enclosing paradise with a belt of colorful plastic debris. It makes you understand that something is dead wrong. Plastic is a design failure, » explains Cyrill Gutsch, Parley for the Oceans Founder. « In Corona, we found the perfect partner to bring this philosophy and strategy to a new territory: the beverage sector. Economy caused this plastic problem in the first place, but with the transformative power of collaboration and Eco Innovation, we can make it the key to the solution.« 

If current marine pollution trends continue, the oceans will contain more plastic than fish by the year 2050. That’s what the alliance tends to stop. « To raise awareness and immediately reduce the production of new plastic, we invented Ocean Plastic (TM) from upcycled marine debris and developed a formula for long-term change — the Parley AIR Strategy: Avoid plastic; Intercept plastic debris; Redesign materials, products and the ways we use them,« says Gutsch.

Known for their long-term initiative « Save the Beach » engaging local communities to do beach cleanups across the world, Corona describes itself as « a brand committed to protecting its heart and homeland ». The partnership with Parley for the Oceans represents an evolution of Corona’s commitment to take care of the outdoors. Today, Corona already avoids plastic by using wood across its promotional materials and serving ice cold Coronas in metal buckets all around the world. Additionally, the brand commits itself to implement a plastic conscious philosophy across all aspects of the brand by adopting the Parley AIR Strategy, and reduce, and eventually replace, plastic items that are currently in use. 

Corona promised to take an immediate action: Redesign the Corona Sunsets, a series of events and festivals, in order to educate more than 350,000 consumers a year. The 100 islands definitely represent the most iconic symbols of Corona’s paradise. 

More infos about the initiative here.

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Gyrecraft is the maritime activity of transforming plastic pollution found at sea into new objects.

According to the Anglo-Japanese design studio Studio Swine, »Gyrecraft is the maritime activity of transforming plastic pollution found at sea into new objects.» Sea Plastic, green abalone shells, turtle shells, brass, rope, shakle, hardwoods, gold plated steel, black pearls, sandblasted glass, Studio Swine’s project is to convert plastic trash from the oceans into a set of luxury design objects, each highlighting the issue of global ocean pollution. 

Studio Swine (Super Wide Interdisciplinary New Explorers) sees this project as an exploration of the maritime crafts existing in every coastal and island culture around the world: »The South Pacific has the largest expanse of water in the world. The remote island communities have survived and thrived entirely on the sea. As a result, they have developed a distinctive vernacular style of crafts with a complex gift giving culture with precious materials such as turtle shell, blacks pearls and tropical hardwoods.« Utilising what the oceans provide, »many of these crafts took place onboard boats during long voyages as a way of making vital repairs or passing the time at sea.«

Spanning 1000 nautical miles, they collected plastic on the way from Azores to the Canaries though the North Atlantic Gyre with the Solar Extruder, a machine they built to melt and extrude sea plastic using solar energy and breaking down most of the plastics into tiny fragments.

In the Gyrecraft collection, they used sea plastic as a valuable material and created 5 objects reminding the 5 main Ocean gyres. 

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