Updated: Feb 3, 2023
You may have seen this pop up in your news feed on your social media or even in an ad on the side of a webpage, perhaps even this one now. You may ask yourself what is 4Ocean and why should you buy or care about their bracelet. Well you should and I am here to tell you.
4Ocean have managed to market and promote the importance of saving our oceans. They have taken the devastation of waste we produce away from the ocean and helped to raise awareness doing so. This is mostly seen with their bracelets, which is a fashion accessory you really should be wearing. Even if you do not want to wear the bracelet you should still purchase one and I hope this article gives you a reason too.
Who are 4Ocean?
4Ocean is an organisation that is dedicated to clearing and preventing the trash polluting our oceans. This is the main reason you should get their bracelet. By purchasing a bracelet, 4Ocean guarantee “1 pound of trash will be removed from the ocean and coastline”. They also help to raise awareness by providing specific legacy bracelets, which focuses on a particular themes or animal to protect. I decided to get the Shark bracelet, which is partnered with Project Aware, which “Helps save Sharks”. Project Aware among many things create rallies to bring safeguards for sharks and rays, hence the name Legacy Shark Bracelet. #4sharks.
As well as collecting trash and raising awareness they focus on using '4 pillars' to achieve this, these are:
Optimising Technology: By using the latest technology to prevent, intercept and remove trash from the ocean and coastline.
Creating Jobs: They have teams and crews of people that are cleaning the ocean 24/7 and this number is increasing.
Education& Awareness: They educate everyone from individuals to governments on the impact of plastic and trash all around the world.
New Economies: They create a value out of the trash they remove,
Did you see what they did there?
The Bracelet
The bracelet whilst looking amazing and promoting your love for this planet and particularly the ocean. It is also a great sustainable accessory. This is because it is made out of 100% recycled materials. The bracelet is a unisex design with glass beads, a 4Ocean stainless steel charm with the cord made from RPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate), which is from recycled water bottles. The beads are made from recycled glass bottles. Further to the greatness of the bracelet, it is 100% waterproof, meaning you won't have to take it off. One bracelet will set you back approximately £16 ($20). However, you should take into account this is not just for the bracelet but also for removing a pound of trash from the ocean and coastline.
4Ocean also produce reusable bottles and a clean-up kit (so you can help clean up the oceans and coastline yourself). However, you could just show your support for ridding the ocean of the waste we produce by getting a bracelet and promoting 4Oceans and their ethos. Hopefully by promoting this the war on plastic and waste will become universally accepted and companies will adopt prevention's to stop negative impacts on the environment. 4Oceans bracelets are one way to promote your love for the ocean and making an impact but there are many more organisations similarly doing amazing things like this. I would love to see what you have done to remove plastic and waste from the ocean and coastline or how you have supported companies or charities like 4Ocean, so show me your support on social media (top right corner).
Updated: Feb 3, 2023
Sustainability is meeting the current need without jeopardising that of our own or someone else’s future. This isn’t just our personal experiences but for all futures economically, socially and environmentally. Some of you may have heard of the ‘R’s’ of sustainability or at least the most common three reduce, reuse, recycling but to me there are a lot more than this. The ‘R’s are aspects to consider through your purchases and actions to make you think economically, socially and environmentally to have a minimal negative impact. They often have the additional benefit of saving you money, which again acts as another incentive to use this list. Below are the 9 ‘R’s in sustainability’ I believe you should use and how you can implement them:
Rethink:
Most of the R’s in the list all revolves around the mind-set of you as an individual and the company or business that create the products for the consumer. The aim is to think about how our actions and purchases affect others and our environment. This is to change our way of thinking to put this to the front of our decision making. This can be from rethinking your whole way of life and becoming a minimalist to being more considerate to where the products you use and purchase come from and their impacts on the environment and workers. To help you with this always think, Do I need this? Where does it come from (raw materials/ ethically produced)? What will happen at its end of life (go to landfill)? What could I do differently to lessen my negative impact?
Refuse:
Before you purchase or use anything always, aim to refuse. By refusing to accept the many poor practices by companies and the harmful & unethical products you will reduce their impact on our world. To know what to refuse, do some research on what you plan on doing, using, buying or creating and does it cause harm to yourself, someone else or the environment and wildlife on this planet. Ensure that any items or products have certification for welfare, equality and sustainable (recyclable) but be wary of these (as some can be misleading) and focus on what the actual impact they have is. Otherwise, refuse to purchase, do or participate in anything that could cause harm. Typically, the most sustainable item you have is the one you already have.
Reduce:
Quite simply try to reduce what you use, take and negatively put back into the environment. Natural resources are continuously depleting and even those that are renewable are struggling to keep up with the rapidly growing population. This is leading to humans further damaging the environment, beyond repair. Try to reduce many aspect of your life that has this negative impact. This can be having quicker showers, buying less processed products, get products with little to no packaging and living a minimalist lifestyle.
Reuse:
Before you think of buying anything new think can you reuse what you already have? Good products are often chucked away well before their end of life, leading to more waste and pollution. Always aim to reduce your waste by reusing and when buying new think about buying something that can be reused in the future. Consider cleaning up, refurbishing or repurposing old items to reuse. The most well-known item that people have started to reuse is shopping bags but this can be implemented to a lot more. This is one of the most prominent issues at the moment and the effect on the natural environment and wildlife. Get products that have more than one use, instead of their disposable counterparts that contribute to waste. Some things you can pick up to help with this are reusable bags, coffee cups, cutlery, straws and water bottles, just to name a few.
Renew:
Even when you think the item is damaged, broken or beyond its use can it be repaired or rebuilt for use again, if not can it be repurposed to be useful in some way. Before you chuck it away, can you renew it to help reduce your waste and save you money? This may require you to learn about refurbishment and how to repair items but leads to less waste and less need to buy. Also, don’t be afraid to ask people how they have renewed or revitalised an old dilapidated item, as they can teach you how to do it yourself.
Recycle:
This is one everyone knows about but is still not done enough. The reason for recycling is to stop waste going to landfill or it finding its way to the environment harming animals, as again seen with the very recently attention to ocean plastic. It important to understand that many product still have its raw materials, which can be sent to factories where these can be obtained and reused. Some of the most common items that get recycled is paper/card, plastic (however, not all plastic can be recycled), glass and metal. All of which can be processed and reused in other products. Also look for additional schemes such as at your local supermarket, which might collect certain items that are not allowed in your local recycling such as batteries and some types of plastics.
Responsibility:
Now it is easy to talk about the implications on the environment and the money you can save through implementing these thought processes but also consider moral, mental and legal accountability of your actions and purchases. How transparent is the company, individual or business? Many companies may seem ethical but source their materials in an unethical way. This can be anything from destroying habitats to having terrible working standards for the people producing them. Try not to endorse or support these companies by buying their products.
Replant:
The rise in crowing crops and buildings has led to the removal of vegetation and deforestation around the globe. However, it is often overlooked that these environments contain many animals and provide the oxygen we breath. To combat the impact we might have to this we need to start replacing this vegetation and the resources it needs to survive (water, nutrients). Always look to companies that replace more than they take from our precious planet and support them instead of others.
Restore:
This is a final step that highlights the importance of returning the damaged environments to its original state or one that is even better than it was. Humans have scarred the earth in many ways but we are able to revitalise these areas to become great ecosystems again. If you can contribute to or participate in reforestation, animal rehabilitation & protection, waste clean-ups and other environmental and ethical projects you are helping to give back what was taken and destroyed. When doing so ensure you do your research and contribute to a worthy course that is actually having an impact, so the environment and wildlife can grow and thrive without further harm or threat.
There are many activities and products that harm the environment or are disgustingly unethical. The R’s in this list aims to help highlight these issue and how they can begin to be mitigated. I always encourage people to look at the bigger picture and the motives of companies and products used and how a simple and easy change can stop the negative impacts you have. If you are passionate about making a change the R’s may even act as a way of life to fully incorporate in everything you do. However, even if you only implement some of these or implement them periodically it will help to reduce the negative impact we have on the world, so please always try to think of the R's of Sustainability.
Updated: Feb 3, 2023
The ‘wallet’ is an everyday item for millions of people. Traditional wallets come in a bi-fold format and often made from leather. However, Moral Origin have producing a unique looking sustainable and ethical wallet, so I thought I would get one and review it. The reason I believe the wallet is so important is because it is the quintessential accessories for the majority of people. The fashion industry can be very toxic and unethical, so having an accessory like this, which I believe is categorised under fashion is a great step forward. Anyway, here are my thoughts on this quirky but brilliant wallet and the company behind it.
Moral Origin has created a sustainable wallet using, as the title suggest, cork. Cork is the primary material of the wallet, which is all sourced in an ethically and sustainable way. Even Moral Origin detail how ethical cork is by highlighting the following:
100% Natural
Chemical free
Incredibly low ecological footprint
Recyclable
Biodegradable
Vegan
Fights global warming
Protects endangered species
Cork is a great sustainable resource because of it properties and it other ethical characteristics detailed above. It should also be noted that it is a sustainable material in it itself. Cork is harvest by shaving the bark of the Cork Oak tree and then left to grow and harvested again. This means the tree do not have to be cut down, leaving them in the area for the local wildlife.
Moral Origins not only ensure their product is ethical they also make their packaging 100% recyclable, further increasing its sustainable reach. Finally, as they are all about the ethics they ensure their production is ethical by giving you the option to assembling the wallet yourself or the small team who run Moral Origin assemble it for you. As for fashion and especially wallets you probably won’t get a company that is more ethical.
You can purchase their new wallet fully assembled for £15.00 or if you want to save some money and feel capable (you should, it’s fairly easy) you can get the self-assemble set, which costs £12.50. They also offer a purse that can be brought assembled or for self-assembly. If you decide to go for the self-assembled optioned (like I did), here is what you get in the box:
The cork cut out to make the wallet
Three sets of (what looks like brass) screw pins that hold the wallet (you only need two sets).
Business card sayings thank you and where to go for a set-up tutorial video.
The assembly itself is very easy, after watching the tutorial video and following it for 5 minutes, I was easily able to assemble the wallet. However, if you do not want to know how it is put together or save yourself some money you could just pick it up already assembled. Once assembled it creates a bi-fold wallet, which is a little bit bigger than a typical bankcard. It has a little pouch on one sides behind a section for card to put any change (coins) into it and the other side only allows for card but you can easily store a few notes behind them.
I have had the wallet for well over a year and it is incredibly durable. I thought over time it would get scratched or worn out and start to fray but no, it’s still going strong. Now for the important bit, well, for me at least. I hate it when I get a nice looking wallet but it can only fit 6 cards in it, I’m not sure about you but I defiantly have a lot more than that. Additionally, I don’t want to have more than 6 cards and it become the size of a brick and I believe Moral Origin have done a great job at beating this. At for the amount I managed to fit the following in the wallet:
9 x plastic cards
4 x card/paper cards (like business cards)
2 x bank notes (even the larger notes used in the UK)
4 x Pound coins
This was achieved comfortably; using both sides to hold my cards and fitted everything my old traditional bi-fold wallet could. Granted if I had a large number of notes, it would struggle, unless I got rid of some cards but this is not so much of an issue with bank cards and contactless payments. I believe you could fit up to 11 plastic cards in this case and have room for a note or two and some change, which is more than most wallets can do. Due to this, I was pleasantly surprised that a minimalist wallet like this was able to hold all this and change.
Overall, this is a unique and interesting minimalist wallet with a great look that is also ethical and sustainable. I believe more support should go to companies that put ethics and sustainability at the forefront of their product. One of which is Moral Origin, who have the goal to achieve “a future where ethical is the norm”. I would defiantly recommend picking this wallet up not only for its sustainability aspect but because I believe it is an amazing looking, well designed minimalist wallet that is ideal for most.
