Our Solution
We want to fight for clean oceans together with you. When you purchase from our collections, you become an Oceanfighter! With every product you buy, we donate 5 € to a project dedicated to protecting the oceans.
The Ocean is at its Limit
Up to 18,000 pieces of plastic waste float on every square kilometer of the ocean’s surface. Garbage patches have now developed that are as large as Central Europe.
The visible garbage on the ocean's surface represents the smallest problem, as it only accounts for 15% of the total waste in our oceans. 70% of the waste accumulates on the ocean floor, and the remaining 15% washes up on shores.
Every year, one million birds and hundreds of marine mammals die as a result of ocean pollution. Many sea turtles often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish and clog their stomachs with plastic. When the ocean floor is covered by waste, essential exchange processes can no longer take place. As a result, the organisms living in these layers are deprived of oxygen. Coral reefs are also affected by plastic waste, as they can no longer receive oxygen when they are covered by sunken plastic.
Key Insights
According to scientists, a total of 5 trillion pieces of plastic are floating in the oceans. This is a number that defies human comprehension. Massive whales are starving due to 80 kilograms of plastic waste in their stomachs.
The marine conservation organization “Oceana” estimates that around six hundred and fifty tons of waste are dumped directly into the sea every hour worldwide, with half of it being plastic.
The majority of this waste comes from land, carried by rivers, but also from recreational activities in and around the water. There are still poorly secured landfills and illegal dumping. Some pieces of trash even show signs of having been compressed in garbage presses.
Mikroplastic
In large ocean gyres, plastic particles accumulate, and ocean currents along with the friction between the pieces act like a shredder, breaking the plastic down into smaller fragments. These ever-shrinking plastic particles are then distributed across the world's oceans by wind and currents. Plastic does not simply disappear, as it has a lifespan of up to 500 years.
The resulting microplastic is difficult, if not impossible, to remove from nature. It binds pollutants and microorganisms, posing a great danger to other marine animals. Research on tiny organisms has shown that microplastic can cause tissue inflammation and weaken organisms.
You should be aware that if things continue as they are, you'll soon be eating fish and shellfish with a free side of microplastic more often.
