Muddying the waters to spark a sea change to save our oceans
SOUTH Africa boasts some of the world’s most beautiful beaches but litter in and around them is an ongoing problem. For World Oceans Day this month, Ocean Basket decided to get people to be litter-free before they even hit the beach and turned to the House of Brave agency for creative assistance.
An estimated 6.4 million tons of litter enters the oceans every year and 80 percent comes from the land.
Long-time supporters of World Oceans Day, Ocean Basket decided this year they needed a pro-active campaign to prevent more litter.
House of Brave chief executive Andrew Shuttleworth says: “We decided to start a conversation about the issue where people least expected it, so they’d make the decision not to litter before even arriving at the beach.
“We pre-filled office water-cooler bottles with rubbish we’d collected and then had these bottles delivered to highly populated business parks.”
“The belly-band around the cool- ers reinforced the message about the impact of litter in our seas: NOW IMAGINE LIVING IN IT.
“Our sea life is affected by litter in the ocean every day. This World Ocean Day, instead of simply helping to clean-up, we’re asking that you remember the impact your litter has on our sea like every other day.”
The team set up the water coolers and left people to react to the dirty water. The result: “We used people’s own reactions to the dirty water to shift their thinking about littering on the beach in the first place. And before we knew it, what started off as our campaign soon belonged to the public.”
Ocean Basket, with 175 franchised outlets around the world, has pledged to support and promote sustainable seafood choices.
They aim to create market-driven incentives for a sea change; protect stakeholders and the environment by ensuring their suppliers provide legal and traceable products from sustainable and responsibly managed sources; and enable consumers to make informed decisions on their seafood choices. – Staff Reporter