Several of our most coveted designs at Zoraida London have been inspired by our love of the oceans and the breathtaking marine life they contain. Look around our store and you’ll find Seahorse and Mussel Shell pendants, Seahorse rings, and Star Fish studs. And their popularity shows that our lovely customers feel the same way too. With inspiring people like David Attenborough and his most recent television series Blue Planet II we were blown away by his recent travels and the dangers the ocean is currently in, from rising sea temperatures, pollution and plastic waste. So this year we were very excited to give 10% of our all Black Friday sales to the Marine Conservation Society.
What is the Marine Conservation Society? The MCS has been campaigning for over 30 years to protect our seascape and those who call it home. From raising public awareness to influencing government policy and industrial practices the charity has been a major force in protecting the marine environment.
The Impact of Plastic Despite the best efforts of the MCS, our seas and coastlines are still under enormous pressure from human activity. One of the greatest threats is our use of plastics. That’s why the Prince of Wales, the charity’s President, recently warned that “plastic is on the menu.”
HRH was referring to the amount of synthetic materials found in fish destined for tables across the country. It’s not just fish that are being affected though. All manner of wildlife that depends on the sea’s bounty is being impacted by our dependence on plastic. The average amount found in the stomachs of one type of seabird is 0.3 grams according to a BBC study. The equivalent on a human scale would be around 30 grams. That’s just over an ounce of indigestible, nutritionally worthless, potentially fatal and totally unnecessary plastic.
It’s not only on the menu though. It’s on our beaches. According to the charity’s estimates, around 70% of all beach litter is comprised of plastic waste. The problem is no longer out of sight or mind.
What Can We Do? The good news is that if enough of us can make small changes to our daily lives the impact could be dramatically lessened. If you think that 8% of the plastic waste found on beaches comprises of so called single use items like disposable cutlery and plastic straws...well let’s stop using them! Ready for some more stats? Since supermarkets introduced a charge on bags there has been a 40% reduction in the amount of bags found on beaches. There are so many ways we can reduce our dependence on unnecessary plastics. Here are some of our favourites:
- Bring your own bags when you go shopping
- Carry your own refillable water bottles and coffee mugs
- Avoid using plastic straws and cutlery
- Join a “Beach Clean”
- Use skincare products without microbeads (Beat the Micro Bead)
- If you like sparkling water, try to avoid buying it in plastic bottles by using a Soda Stream to fizz your tap water and have endless fizz on tap.
And just this week the Evening Standard has also launched a new campaign, The Last Straw to eradicate plastic straws from London’s streets, a step in the right direction.
If you want to find out more about how to reduce your plastics consumption the MCS website is full of useful tips. There’s also the Plastic Challenge which looks like a great challenge!
Why Black Friday?
Whilst our customers are thinking generously about gifts for your loved ones, we also wanted to help share that love with our planet which desperately needs our attention. We hope that by working together we can make some kind of positive impact. All of our pieces are influenced by the natural world and we wanted to give something back to that endless source of inspiration. Giving a portion of our Black Friday sales actually results in a meaningful contribution to a cause we believe in. We believe that we humans are part of the problem. But it is not too late for us to become part of the solution.