Marine life is dying due to pollution from people on land. To preserve the ocean, drastic measures must be taken by states, corporations and individual people.
The most common trash found in the ocean is cigarette butts, along with single use plastics such as food wrappers, plastic beverage bottles, plastic bottle caps, plastic straws, drink stirrers and yoghurt containers.
Plastic pollution is one of the most serious threats to the ocean as plastic does not degrade instead it breaks down to smaller pieces which never disappear.
Here are some facts about ocean pollution:
- 60-90% of marine litter is plastic based.
- Styrofoam takes 80 years to decompose, aluminium takes 200 years and plastic takes 400 years.
- 8 million tons of plastic enter the ocean each year instead of being recycled. This is roughly equivalent to one truck load of plastic dumped into the ocean every minute.
- It is estimated that there are 25 trillion pieces of plastic waste in the ocean. 269,000 tons float on the surface while 4 billion plastic microfibers per square km litter the deep sea.
The waste in the ocean causes a graduate loss in marine life and increases the number of endangered species. The oxygen content in the water is depleted and the reproduction of marine life is affected. Plastic waste disrupts the coral reefs and contaminates the food chain affecting human health.
There are several ways you can help to reduce ocean waste and one of them is being more mindful. Refuse to accept single use plastics and observe your shopping habits. Recycle trash properly and make conscious purchase decisions.
You can also chose to donate to organisations committed to cleaning the ocean. Healthy Seas collaborates with yarn producer Econyl, they collect plastic ocean waste that is regenerated into high quality nylon.
Outfyt's first eco collection is made from Econyl regenerated nylon. It is used by high end fashion brands and is ideal for activewear as it is a high quality, super soft compression fabric that also is sweat wicking and fast drying.
The collection is now available online so help save the ocean one Outfyt at the time!
