One Weekend: Supporting Plastic Patrol with 10% of all sales
Our loyal ‘Keepers’ will probably be aware of our One Weekend initiatives, a quarterly event during which we give 10% of all sales to charitable organisations working to bring about earth-positive change. This quarter we’re supporting Plastic Patrol.
Plastic Patrol was set up in 2016 by Lizzie Carr - Activist, Author, Adventurer - who runs the popular eco blog Lizzie Outside. Having paddleboarded the length of England’s waterways – some 400 miles – Lizzie documented over 2,000 photos of the plastic pollution she saw on her journey.
Not one to wait around for action, Lizzie started organising clean-up events on rivers, canals and beaches. Plastic Patrol has rapidly grown into a global community that not only tackles waste in our waterways, but on land and in the cities too.
Litter picking with a difference
As well as working with businesses and organisations to help implement sustainable practices, Plastic Patrol organise truly unique clean-up events.
By bringing in activities like parkour, stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) and yoga, it gives people an added reason to come and get involved.
Instruction and equipment is supplied, so all anyone need do is simply bring themselves and a positive attitude.
Citizen science - #OneForOne
Every year, one million marine animals die from plastic pollution. It’s time to create accountability, and with the power of technology available at our fingertips we can all do something. The free Plastic Patrol app encourages users to take pictures and record the location of their plastic litter hauls. This is then fed back to researchers from the University of Nottingham to give them a crucial insight into plastic pollution. These dedicated scientists will use our insight to identify trends and patterns globally, helping us put responsibility back in the hands of the brands and manufacturers responsible.
Plastic patrollers across the world have collected and logged more than 125,000 examples of plastic pollution so far!
Did you know, the Thames is responsible for carrying around 18 tonnes of plastic into the ocean each year, and this kind of open source data can significantly help scientists working to reduce and monitor this.
Plastic Patrol is now active in over 45 countries, and their goal for 2019 is to collect and categorise at least one million pieces of plastic from 50 countries in the Plastic Patrol app.
Over the last two years Plastic Patrol have intercepted 220 one-tonne bags of plastic waste from inland waterways before it reaches the oceans. That is equivalent to the weight of 15 million water bottles! With your help we can continue to tackle the global plastic crisis from its source.
We’re giving Plastic Patrol 10% of all our sales this weekend
With World Environment Day on Wednesday and World Oceans Day on Saturday, the planetary crisis will be at the forefront of your mind this week so there is no better time to donate to this incredible charity.
If you’ve been eyeing-up that new reusable cutlery set, a water bottle, or some sustainable bathroom essentials, then this weekend is a chance to directly support Plastic Patrol at no extra cost – you don’t even need to get on a paddleboard!
Your donation will help Plastic Patrol continue their mission to tackle the plastic crisis in the following ways:
- Increase clean up operations across the Globe
- Lobby for long term changes
- Work with businesses to close the loop on their product cycle, stopping plastic from entering the environment
- Work with universities and schools to educate and empower to drive change
- Continue to develop disruptive technology to collect data to feed in to inspirational research
Help us support this fantastic initiative
Thank you for being part of our community of Keepers. Together we’re supporting organisations that need our help. All you need to do is shop as normal at &Keep this weekend (8th& 9thJune 2019) and we’ll give 10% of each sale directly to Plastic Patrol on your behalf.
You can find out newest sustainable swaps here.
Thank you for helping us create a better Tomorrow, Today,
Natasha & John