How do you remove plastic from the ocean? And from where?

We have partnered with the incredible team at Seven Clean Seas, an ocean clean-up organisation based in Bali, to remove plastic from coastlines, mangroves, rivers and nearshore areas in Indonesia and Thailand.

They have committed to recovering over 10 million kilos of plastics by 2025 from some of the most polluted areas globally!

Seven Clean Seas formally employs waste pickers locally , so they can provide full transparency on where the plastic waste is collected, deposited and who collected it. This ensures there is no green-washing or exploitation of cheap labour. Seven Clean Seas helps clean the environment and support the local community at the same time. It’s a win-win sea-tuation.

What happens to the plastic you remove from the ocean?

Once the plastic is collected from beaches and waterways, the Seven Clean Seas team takes it back to their MRF (Material Recycling Facility) to sort and separate – this is when the horror of just how many PET bottles there are becomes clear. Literally tonnes from this one area alone.

Tragically much of the plastic bottles that are collected are highly contaminated with organic matter, tar or degraded by UV radiation. Therefore, a lot of the plastic collected cannot be recycled.

Only a small percentage (~5%) of the total plastic collected is recyclable and are almost solely PET bottles and are donated to the local informal sector. The remainder has to be treated in a government-owned and managed sanitary landfill to permanently ensure it remains out of the environment.

Additionally, Seven Clean Seas are investing in material research and development to find upcycling solutions for the non-recyclable material so that one day, they can achieve zero waste to landfill!

It’s not perfect but it’s better than polluting our oceans!

When you say 'this product removes plastics from our oceans,' what does that mean?

For every Sunscreen of Clean and Pure we sell, we will remove the equivalent weight of these Sunscreens worth of plastic from the environment.

Just in case you thought we might be pulling a swift-one and removing the weight of flimsy water bottles, we’re not! So, it could be plastic bottles, it could be straws or discarded fishing line. At the end of the day, we need all types of plastic out of our oceans so we’re not discriminating!

What is PET and what’s the big issue with plastic bottles?

PET stands for Polyethylene Terephthalate and is a widely used type of plastic most commonly used in soft drink bottles.

Does Clean and Pure use plastic?

Yes, we use plastic. It is mostly an unavoidable cost of doing business. However, that's why we’ve started our journey with Seven Clean Seas.

Who is Seven Clean Seas?

Seven Clean Seas is an organisation in love with the ocean focusing on implementing plastic removal projects tackling environmental and social issues. Seven Clean Seas' goal is to remove 10,000,000 kilos of plastic –the weight of the Eiffel Tower– from the ocean and to hire 200 formal workers by 2025. To do so, Seven Clean Seas partners with businesses and individuals to co-create sustainability initiatives and targets that measure, reduce, and compensate for their plastic footprint.

Seven Clean Seas follows industry best practices in all of their impact projects. This includes certification under recognised standards such as the Verra Plastic Waste Reduction Program and OBP Neutralization Certification and audited by Control Union. Certification is crucial not only to prevent plastic from re-entering the environment but also to ensure there is no child labour, workers are paid fairly, receive health benefits, and are treated with respect.

How has Clean and Pure partnered with Seven Clean Seas?

Partnerships are essential to achieving Seven Clean Seas' mission. Organisations interested in collaborating can participate in various ways, such as sponsoring beach cleanups, engaging in corporate social responsibility initiatives, or even contributing to plastic offset programs. You can contact Seven Clean Seas’ Partnership team for more information and be a part of the journey, like us! - partnerships@sevencleanseas.com

How do we measure and report our impact?

Seven Clean Seas provides detailed impact reports to us that include the amount of plastic removed, the amount of plastic collected on our behalf, and other relevant metrics. This transparency ensures our purposes are clearly communicated to people who love Clean and Pure.