Campaign #2: “Under Our Skin – Microplastics in Fashion”

Turning the tide on polyester microfibers

Polyester is on and under our skin and in atmosphere, does not biodegrade in 100s of years, intoxicates the environment and ocean. It is engrained in the way we live because of the dependency on fossil fuels. Wearing polyester amplifies the climate chaos and injustice towards the Global South.

Humanity is headed in the wrong direction on many levels, and there is an urgent need to shift away from fossil fuels and to slow down fashion again. The waste society we live in is killing ourselves.  We need to understand that we need to feel, and reconnect with nature and change our behaviour according to our knowledge.  The industry needs to be courageous and overcome greed.

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OUR DEMANDS

To shed light on this matter, Ocean. Now! calls on decision-makers in business and politics to take progressive action.

 The first petition is an open letter to adidas,, that works with the material of polyester. Our asks:

  1. Immediate discontinuation of the sale of polyester fleece products

2. Stop selling polyester made from fossil fuels and switch to biodegradable alternative fibers for textiles by 2030

3. Support the political process

4. Planet before profit

HOW DO WE GET THERE? Involvement of art

We at Ocean.Now! use art to convey our message. In the creative part of the campaign, we will create with a photo series, working with the material of polyester. The resulting portraits will thematically depict five key phases related to the production of the synthetic material polyester: Oil extraction, Overconsumption, Microfibers and Fashion Colonialism; in a fifth phase – Healing – the Ocean Protection Collective plans to address the question of what would be needed to mitigate the destruction of the planet.

The photo series will be Ocean. Now! will be realized in partnership with Toni Meyer, Vibha Galhotra, Kobina Nyarko and other conceptual artists in spring 2025.

View our press release for further details.

The Problem about polyester

The main issue about polyester is that it is a petroleum-based material that hardly degrades and that is potentially is toxic for living organisms. View more scientific details here.

Our positioning is based on the precautionary principle from the field of environmental law: an increase of synthetic microfibers  should be avoided at all costs.

Politics – status quo

With our campaign we contribute to SDG14 – “Life Below Water”. At EU level, the EU Green Deal has set the target of releasing 30% less microplastics into the environment by 2030. With the Ecodesign Regulation and the Circular Economy Action Plan, more focus will be placed on the recyclability and ecological design of products in future. Implementation at country level will take place over the next few years. But progress towards quantifiable targets has been slow.

We hope that the new EU government will at least continue the progressive trend, if not exacerbate it. We ask decision-makers in business and politics to take on their responsibility, drive the processes on EU-level and be a pioneer in phasing out polyester in fashion.

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Join us in challenging the status quo and demand change in the fast fashion world! Simply sign our first petition here.

THANK YOU

Copyright Ocean. Now! 2019. All Rights Reserved.

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