How We Can Protect Our Planet From Plastics: Here You Know

Did you know the plastic in your clothes is polluting the oceans with every wash?

That up to 80 per cent of the oxygen we breathe comes from marine life and that our oceans could be dead by 2048 if we carry on as we are. These are just a few of the stark facts.

It is a global plastic emergency. We are driving species into extinction that have a critical role in keeping the whole environmental system up and running. If we kill all this life out there, it is very hard for us to survive. Avoid plastic, cut off it from our oceans, and Redesign the material itself.

Eric WhiteWhile most people are aware that single-use plastic is a fatal problem, many don't even consider other daily pollutants-the plastic microfibers in clothes. For example, which are released into the environment with every wash. That's just one of the reasons why the fashion industry is top of Gutsch's target list. “Plastic is a very visible threat; it's a symbol of the toxic age we’re living in. [At Parley for the Oceans] we wanted to prove that we could create a huge wave around plastic and make everyone understand this material has to go. We have to stop exploiting the oceans [and] exploiting nature. But plastic is not the only problem; what’s happening with plastic has to happen with every toxic material.”

Plastic is a visible threat; it is a symbol of the toxic age that we are living in. We wanted to prove that we could create a huge wave around plastic and make everyone understand what this material has to do.

What do we have to do?

Exploiting the oceans and exploiting nature. But plastic is not the only problem; what is happening with plastic has to happen with every toxic material.

What fashion industry do?

The specific challenges of the fashion industry are materials and packaging. What the fashion industry has to do is find replacements for all these toxic materials. That's the biggest opportunity for fashion to make a huge difference because the moment the fashion industry uses new materials - let's call them future materials. They will have an impact on every other industry because people look towards fashion for inspiration.

Parley for the OceansOn the small steps everyone can do to help

We all should give up single-use-plastic-that could be a first step. We should stop eating meat and seafood frequently. And the last step can be reducing your carbon footprint; stop using cars frequently. Everybody can become an ambassador of the cause by changing her or his lifestyle. You don't have to be 100% sustainable. If a single action is multiplied by a billion or by five or seven billion people on this planet. These problems disappear overnight

Why we need to move beyond sustainability

On final note: It’s about eco-innovation; being a futurist and shaping this planet. We have to start a new economy that is based on new technologies, new materials. That is exciting; that is challenging.