Art appeals to people’s emotions. It works on many levels. Above all it opens doors.
🕵️♂️ Is "simplification" just a fancy word for "deregulation"?
Today, we’re looking at the EU’s 2025/2026 "Omnibus" packages. These are the tools currently shifting our baselines right under our noses.
Erasure in action:
→ Dumping the zero pollution target: Under pressure for "competitiveness," the 30% reduction goal for microplastics is being sidelined.
→ Hiding the microfibers: Reporting requirements for unintentional microplastics are being "simplified," making the pollution invisible again.
→ The PFAS delay: REACH revisions are being stalled, allowing hazardous chemicals to stay in our homes while the "administrative burden" is debated.
When we "simplify" the rules, we complicate the future of our health❗️
Transparency isn`t a burden – it’s a human right. We need @reneweurope and the europeancommission to hold the line.
📍 Stay tuned for Part 4: How these shifts end up in your laundry basket!
"If the ocean can calm itself, so can you. We are both saltwater mixed with air." - Chief Seattle
#OceanQuote #WeAreOcean #IndigenousWisdom
🤔 Do you remember when a "toxic-free future" was a political commitment? In 2022, the EU’s baselines were set to protect us, not industry profits.
These high baselines focused on:
→ Hazardous chemicals: The Restrictions Roadmap aimed to phase out PFAS and the most harmful toxins from everyday products.
→ Unintentional microplastics: The Textiles Strategy promised a legislative push to stop microfibers at the source – production lines and our washing machines.
→ Zero pollution: We were on a path to reach a Zero Pollution target, ensuring that by 2030, our ecosystems could actually begin to recover.
This was the promise made to the next generation
🚨But as we move toward 2026, those goalposts are being moved under the guise of "simplification."
Stay tuned for Part 3: How the "Omnibus" packages are erasing these specific targets 👀
🥳 Großer Erfolg für das Südpolarmeer - Das Europäische Parlament @europeanparliament hat gerade klare Kante gezeigt und zwei wichtige Änderungsanträge zum Schutz der Antarktis angenommen.
Die Fakten:
Das Parlament äußert tiefe Besorgnis über die massive Ausweitung der Krillfischerei im Südpolarmeer. Krill ist das Fundament des antarktischen Ökosystems – ohne ihn verhungern Wale, Pinguine und Robben. 🐧🐋
Dieser Beschluss ist ein starkes Signal gegen die rücksichtslose Ausbeutung durch industrielle Fischereiflotten. Wir begrüßen diesen Schritt in Richtung einer nachhaltigeren Meeresdiplomatie!
🤔 Wie geht es weiter?
Als nächstes wird die EU-Kommission europeancommission prüfen, wie diese Forderungen in konkrete politische Maßnahmen und Abkommen umgesetzt werden können. Wir bleiben dran und werden genau beobachten, ob den Worten nun auch Taten zum Schutz der Antarktis folgen. 🛡️⚓️ 🇦🇶
🔊 carmsie / freesound.org
#OhneKrillKeineWale #Antarktis #Krill #EUParlament #KrillBoycott #StopOverfishing
"The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination, and brings eternal joy to the soul." - Robert Wyland
#OceanQuote #WeAreOcean #IndigenousWisdom
🪤 The Baseline Trap: Why we’re settling for less. In the coming weeks, we’ll share something dangerous we’re seeing in EU politics: shifting baselines.
We’re here to call out names because we won’t accept lowering standards!
In the previous administration, EU politics made some truly progressive moves towards creating a healthy environment for its citizens – a solid foundation that should be built upon. But is that foundation crumbling right now? 💔
Our basis for this series is the psychological glitch known as Shifting Baseline Syndrome (SBS). Originally coined to describe how we forget the ocean’s past richness, it’s now being used as a smoke screen for the deregulation of our health.
🤔 What is the trap?
The trap is simple: we adapt. When the EU shifts from promising a "toxic-free environment" to merely "managing risk," our collective memory of higher ambition fades.
We start to accept a slightly more polluted and more toxic world as the "new normal."
🫵 Why this matters for YOU:
This is about:
- The clothes you wear: Will they continue to shed microplastics and carry "forever chemicals" because standards were "simplified"?
- The water you drink: Are we settling for "safe-ish" levels of toxins because the original bans were too "administratively heavy"?
- Your long-term health: We refuse to let human health become a secondary priority to "regulatory fitness."
Note: "administrative simplifications" or the new "Omnibus" packages trick us into thinking we’re making progress. But we aren`t just losing environmental standards; we’re losing the baseline for our physical well-being.
We saw this just weeks ago with the Chemicals Omnibus. While @sanddgroup and @greensefa fought to reinstate safeguards for our everyday products, the pressure to deregulate is still high. We need @reneweurope and the europeancommission to realize: a "toxic-free environment" isn`t an administrative burden—it’s a human right 👀
The EU has the tools and the science to protect us. We just need to stop falling for the trap.
📍 Stay tuned for Part 2, where we go back to the "High Baseline" of 2022 to see exactly which promises are being quietly erased!
🌊 DER OZEAN BRAUCHT RECHTE – NICHT NUR SCHUTZ 🐋
Weltweit wächst eine Bewegung, die den Ozean neu denkt:
Nicht als Ressource. Sondern als Rechtsträger.
Warum das entscheidend ist?
Weil „Schutz“ oft nicht reicht.
Weil Ausbeutung weiterhin legal bleibt.
Weil der Ozean keine Stimme hat.
Ocean Rights bedeuten:
➡️ Das Recht, zu existieren
➡️ Das Recht, sich zu regenerieren
➡️ Das Recht, vor Zerstörung geschützt zu werden
Es ist Zeit, den Ozean nicht nur zu managen –
sondern seine Rechte anzuerkennen. Für dies steht Ocean. Now! ein. Jedes Individuum und jede Organisation kann übrigens mitmachen. In unserer Bio findest Du einen Link des “Ocean Rights Movement”, hier kannst Du die “Ocean Rights Declaration” der Initiativen Ocean Vision Legal und @gallifreyfoundation unterschreiben, die Bewegung formiert sich gerade. Du findest den Link in unserer Bio.
🔊 @khor.sound / freesound.org
#OceanRights #RightsOfNature #ProtectTheOcean
🐧 The news from the IUCN Red List is official: the Emperor Penguin is ENDANGERED.
We’ve heard the "Near Threatened" warnings for years, but the impacts of rapid sea-ice loss are now catastrophic.
Without this ice, Emperor chicks can’t survive. In 5 years, parts of West Antarctica have seen a 22% population decline!
While the science is screaming at us, politicians stay silent 🤐
Despite the Emperor`s new Endangered status, they’re STILL not a "Specially Protected Species" for the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM).
Some countries continue to block this designation. We suspect it’s because of fisheries.
→ Emperors rely on the krill that industrial fishing fleets want to catch.
→ By blocking protections, these nations prioritize profits over the penguins.
❌ We can’t allow the fishing industry to decide the fate of Antarctica.
In May, delegates will meet for #ATCM48. We call on them to:
1. Respect the IUCN’s Endangered listing.
2. End the block on "Specially Protected Species" status.
3. Prioritize ecosystem health over krill fishery expansion.
Let’s not lose the Emperor Penguin to greed. The time to protect them is now! 🌊
Sources: IUCN, WWF, BAS
📑 Mission Brüssel: Unsere Forderungen auf dem Tisch der EU-Kommission europeancommission
Um die unsichtbare Flut an synthetischen, nicht-biologisch abbaubaren Mikrofasern zu stoppen, müssen wir dort ansetzen, wo die Regeln gemacht werden. Ocean. Now! ist im direkten Dialog mit der EU-Ebene, um eine entscheidende regulatorische Lücke zu schließen.
Obwohl wissenschaftlich belegt ist, dass synthetische Textilien – darunter Polyester – während ihres gesamten Lebenszyklus kontinuierlich Mikrofasern freisetzen, konzentrieren sich aktuelle EU-Maßnahmen primär auf “absichtlich” zugesetztes Mikroplastik. Mikrofasern aus Textilien bleiben bisher weitgehend unreguliert.
Das ändern wir jetzt. Wir haben uns offiziell an die zuständigen Kommissare gewandt:
📧 An @jessikaroswall (Kommissarin für Umwelt):
Wir fordern, die Mikrofaserverschmutzung explizit in Initiativen zur Wasserresilienz und den Circular Economy Act aufzunehmen.
📧 An @stephane_sejourne (Exekutiv-Vizepräsident für Wohlstand und Industriestrategie):
Wir drängen darauf, die neue Ökodesign-Verordnung (ESPR) zu nutzen, um die Faserfreisetzung an der Quelle zu stoppen.
Es ist Zeit für progressive Entscheidungen! ⏰ Folge uns für Updates aus dem Gesetzgebungsprozess.
#Mikrofasern #BanMicroplastics #UnderOurSkin
"The cure for anything is saltwater: sweat, tears, or the sea." - Karen Blixen
#OceanQuote #WeAreOcean #IndigenousWisdom
This year, we’re taking action against polyester microfibers and working towards the regulation of:
👕 Emissions from synthetic fashion fibers (particularly polyester)
🧪 Chemicals related to polyester microfibers
At an EU level, we’re advocating for a legal ban on polyester fleece products, as these shed particularly high levels of microfibers!
Given how widespread polyester is, we know this is a challenging topic to address. But, we feel it’s the moment to tackle microfiber shedding at the source.
In which policy dossiers can we apply our asks?
🇪🇺 The first one is the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which the EU is currently developing. It’s an EU law that requires products to be more durable, repairable, and resource-efficient throughout their entire lifecycle.
We just handed in our submission for the process of the Joint Research Centre (JRC). This European Commission department provides scientific evidence and technical analyses to support the implementation of the ESPR.
It’s high time our industrialized society drastically lowered the concentration of microfibers in the atmosphere!
⏰
❤️🩹 How is your healing connected to politics?
We’re in the healing stage of our campaign “Under Our Skin: Microplastics in Fashion”, and now we’re getting political.
🤔 Why? Because healing requires action at every level. We need decision-makers to prioritise policies that protect our health – allowing communities and nature to recover from the toxic impacts of polyester fast fashion.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll share what we’re doing to push for policy change that makes healing possible ✊
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Illustrations: @oh_ey_sis
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