A DIVE INTO OCEAN WEEK — How M and A walked the talk

Mei Plasticvrij has just ended, and we’ve moved on to Ocean Week. But at MARNIX and ALLY, we want to do even more and aim for more awareness and sustainable behavior throughout the year. To emphasize the importance of our planet (M and A), we are making our next moves NOW, and we are certainly not alone. Our brands, which we are very proud of, are on our side and they too are stepping up their game towards a sustainable and cleaner Earth. First things first, this is what Ocean Week is all about: awareness, awareness, awareness. Did you know that:

  • Over 11 million tonnes of plastic enters the ocean EVERY YEAR.
  • Since the 1970s, the population of cod in the North Sea, the species you find in iconic fish and chip dishes, has decreased by 80%.
  • The ocean is our greatest ally in the battle against climate change and the biodiversity crisis!
  • And 80% of EU fishing grants go to large-scale industrial fishers that have the heaviest impact on the marine environment.
  • In the Mediterranean Sea, marine mammal populations have decreased by 41% over the past 50 years.
  • The ocean absorbs approximately a quarter of global carbon dioxide emissions.

#(CLUB)MANDACLEANUP

Since Mei Plasticvrij went by super fast, we decided to go for a beach clean-up session during this important Ocean Week. During a #clubmanda getaway, we decided to walk the talk. As a purpose-led agency, we highly value taking action ourselves. Where to? Sint Anna beach was the perfect setting to create our own M and A mini campaign regarding plastic waste. Have you noticed the small hint to our client Komrads too? We used their plastic bags that will be found in each box of their OCNS sneakers. Their goal is to normalize trash picking any day, so you might say that we’ve set the tone just right. So off we went. What first looked like a pretty clean scenery, soon showed that you shouldn’t always judge a book by its cover, so it turned out to be a challenging, rather hot clean-up session. We were encouraged by bystanders and added a little team building extra. A few hours and some full plastic bags later, we felt fully satisfied too and called it a day! Proud to announce that our agency not only claims but actually expresses environmental awareness and effort. Just like 3 other clients in our portfolio. Read all about their remarkable efforts and fingers crossed many will be led by their example.

KOMRADS AND THEIR OCNS

Being a pioneering sneaker brand in finding - and using - sustainable materials, Komrads launches their OCNS sneakers. The brand engages, and focuses on sustainable awareness and educates their consumers as much as possible. Currently, the sneaker label applies recycled polyester, recycled rubber, apple leather and ocean waste material. Komrads aims to tackle the plastic waste problem by introducing their eco-friendly OCNS sneakers. They work with SEAQUAL® YARN: one of the most certified and environmentally friendly fibers on earth! They now scream: “Make your Komrads dirty and our oceans clean” and we can say that we heard them, and followed their lead with our own trash picking action.

NUTS ABOUT CÎME

From sneakers, to skincare… We all know that Cîme is a trendsetter in eco-friendliness in the skincare industry. They are the first Belgian skincare brand that launched their popular day-and night cream in an Ocean Waste Plastic packaging. One packaging equals four (!) plastic bags, recovered from the ocean and rivers. In total, they captured 200.000 bags. Talking about taking action!

The beauty of their sustainability is not only shown on the outside, but also on the inside: their “Nuts about you” scrub contains small scrub particles made from cellulose based on wood pulp. They are an alternative for the standard polluting microbeads. Yes, we too are surprised that these innovative alternatives exist. We are all learning here!

DITCHING THE DIRT WITH O MY BAG

Amsterdam label O My Bag is continuously innovating and pushes sustainable materials forward in their apple leather handbags. A vegan leather alternative made from residual apple waste, a process that’s new to us all. The residual apple waste is ground into a fine powder that on its turn is mixed with PU into a liquid material. Followed by a coagulation process, the final result is 100% vegan material, ready to be turned into O My Bags. Apple Leather is the best alternative out there. It has a high-quality ‘look and feel’ and we hope you like it as much as we do!

— our hearts are full, knowing that our brands are building bridges to become more sustainable. We can only hope that others will follow soon!