A problem?
Plastic is deadly. In fact, it claims the lives of 100,000 marine mammals and 1 million seabirds every year, yet every single minute across the globe we consume 1 million plastic bottles, 1 million disposable cups and 2 million plastic bags. It seems we can’t live without it but where did it come from? Ironically, the birth of plastic was an effort to protect nature by ending the use of elephant ivory found in many household objects from clothing buttons to piano keys, yet plastic production quickly accelerated from 2 million tons in 1950 to over 400 million tons today. Now with that in mind, are we really surprised there will be more plastic in the sea than fish by 2050?
It’s no secret we can’t escape plastic, living a zero waste lifestyle seems almost impossible but where can we start? Our consumption choices. The rise of the fast fashion industry has normalised individual overconsumption with the industry prioritising low costs and speed from design to shop floor in order to maximise their growing profits. Having access to such low cost products has encouraged us to live a ‘throwaway lifestyle’ where we often perceive it to be both easier and cheaper to dispose of worn clothing instead of repairing or upcycling our items. This lifestyle is highlighted by the 300,000 tons of clothing items, amounting to £140 million, that UK households disposed of in 2016 alone. These discarded items typically end their journey in either landfill sites or in the ocean, posing a grave threat for the marine environment, particularly when 60% of clothing material is made from plastics in the form of polyester, nylon and other synthetic fibres.
Hi! I’m Izzy; a 21-year-old ocean lover and environmental advocate, usually found barefoot on a beach or lying on a surfboard somewhere in Cornwall ...probably wishing I was in Hawaii. My love for the sea came naturally following a rogue decision to leave home in favour of living in a caravan by the beach. Paying 50p for a cold shower and learning how to cook with just a microwave seemed a small price to pay for waves on the doorstep. After finally persuading my family to pursue the Cornish lifestyle, I’ve upgraded from caravan to farmhouse and now teach surfing in between University studies. I study Human Geography in Cardiff and fingers crossed I won’t have too many questionable tan lines from my wetsuit at graduation this summer.
