According to a World Economic Forum report, eight million tonnes of plastic enters the ocean every year. To put it in more shocking terms, this is equal to a garbage truck of plastic being dumped into the ocean every minute. 

The report also predicts plastic will outnumber fish by weight in our oceans by 2050 if no action is done to prevent new plastic pollution and clean up the sea. 

To raise awareness around this issue, Ecostore teamed up with Pack Tech, a world leader in creating circular supply chains that helps transform waste plastic into beautiful packaging. It recently helped clean up over half a tonne of ocean waste plastic from the JAva Sea in Bali and a river in Jakarta in Indonesia. 

The limited edition handwash features packaging made 100 percent from plastic ocean waste, and illsutrations by Auckland-based artist Tom Cottle that represent the ocean. 

“We want to raise awareness of plastic pollution in our oceans, as well as being part of the solution. By making bottles out of recycled ocean waste plastic, ecostore will help create awareness and inspire environmental and social solutions posed by waste pollution in the oceans,” Ecostore managing director Pablo Kraus says. 

On a more local level, Ecostore has also teamed up with New Zealand waterways not-for-profit Sea Cleaners to help clean up our waterways. Sea Cleaners has removed over 8.5 million litres of rubbish from the Auckland harbour and sea since 2002 – enough rubbish to fill approximately 283 shipping containers.

Sea Cleaners founder Hayden Smith said the organisation was delighted Ecostore and its ambassadors, Olympic gold medal winners Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, were coming on board to raise awareness of the ocean waste problem. 

“Businesses need to step up and create positive change and reduce their impact,” Smith says. “Ways to do this include collecting and reusing plastic, increasing the use of recycled plastic, and modifying product packaging designs. Some companies have already made progress on this front, and I admire ecostore’s refill stations in supermarkets as well as this initiative introducing a range of bottles made from 100 percent recycled ocean waste plastic, that when in circulation will remove over half a tonne of plastic from our oceans.”