Pet Brands, rePurpose Global Partner to Prevent Plastic Waste from Leaking into Pacific Ocean

Listen to this article

To honor World Ocean Day, rePurpose Global, a leading sustainability action platform, recently shared its impact initiative helping protect the breeding ground of migrating humpback whales in Colombia. Alongside pet brands Earth Animal and Fera Pets, the team of more than 50 volunteers recovered 16,797 pounds of plastic waste, the equivalent of 1.27 million plastic bags, across the beaches of Juan Chaco and La Barra in Buenaventura, Colombia from leaking into the Pacific Ocean.

Colombia’s Pacific coast, famous for its beaches and national parks, is a crucial habitat for migrating humpback whales. Unfortunately, the region battles a severe plastic pollution problem due to inadequate waste management infrastructure. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) highlights in its issues brief on plastic pollution that all ecosystems — land, freshwater and marine — suffer its effects. An alarming estimate of 20 million metric tons of plastic waste leaks into the environment annually, causing profound harm by polluting ecosystems, diminishing biodiversity, and exacerbating climate change.

“We at Earth Animal are dedicated to caring for animals, people, and our Earth and consider the social and environmental impact of everything we do. As such, we are thrilled to have participated in preventing plastic pollution from destroying the eco-sensitive region of Buenaventura. Preserving our natural ecosystems is essential for conservation efforts and is fundamental to human well-being,” said Stephanie Volo, chief impact officer at Earth Animal Ventures.

As the convener of brands supporting impact projects protecting vulnerable coastal regions across the Americas, Africa and Asia, rePurpose Global clearly understands the transformative power of collaboration in creating a healthy blue planet, and a more just, equitable and sustainable society. As such, educational sessions were also planned for local communities of Buenaventura about the importance of recovering and recycling plastics.

“This waste collection is very important for me because we are the ones living here, this is our ecosystem and our environment,” explained Hugo Oritz, one of the Buenaventura community members.

“As part of the initiative, volunteers were encouraged to bring plastic waste from their homes and neighboring environment, and the collected waste was exchanged for essential items such as cooking tools and games for children, among other things. It was lovely to see the smiles on their faces and the impact we made,” elaborated Hannah Hughes, director of innovation and sustainability at Fera Pets.

“It’s our honor to be working with impact partners such as Earth Animals and Fera Pets who understand the importance of plastic reduction and the intricate connection between plastic pollution, biodiversity loss, and the degradation of ecosystems, and are actively taking action against plastic pollution. To create a sustainable future, we need to not only mitigate our generation of plastic waste but actively find plastic alternatives,” emphasized Peter Wang Hjemdahl, co-founder and chief innovation officer at rePurpose Global.