- Presents proof of concept for Parley AIR Strategy to end plastic pollution
- Honors World Oceans Week with United Nations Environment as well as the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea
- Launches Stella McCartney partnership
- Kicks off Ocean Plastic Council to drive collaborative solutions
- Engages global community in ‘Run for the Oceans’ with Parley founding partner adidas
- Brings together experts, government and private sector leaders, Parley Ambassadors including Diego Luna in event co-organized with the United Nations
June 9, 2017, New York, NY—Today marks the last day of the first high-level Ocean Conference to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14, coinciding with World Oceans Day, an annual reminder to honor, protect, and conserve the world’s oceans. To mark the occasion, recognized this year under the theme “Our Oceans, Our Future,” Parley for the Oceans co-organized a series of events and workshops aimed at marking a new chapter in the movement to make peace with the planet’s life support system. Calling on government, the creative community, corporations and individuals to take action against major threats to the oceans, the organization brought its collaborator network and Parley AIR Strategy to the first-ever UN Ocean Conference and related events.
The World Oceans Day celebration at the United Nations was the culminating event in a series led by Parley to build momentum, launch new partnerships, and transform the annual occasion into a week-long celebration. The events raised awareness for the state of the world’s oceans while underlining the urgency of action in the global race to protect them.
UN Ocean Conference: World Oceans Day Celebration
- On World Oceans Day, June 8, a three-hour show was developed in partnership between Cyrill Gutsch, Founder of Parley for the Oceans, and United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS) as a highlight of the first-ever UN Ocean Conference.
- The event brought together world-renowned ocean experts and explorers, leaders from coastal communities around the globe, and members of the creative industries to raise awareness for the beauty and fragility of the oceans and highlight the power of creative collaboration and eco-innovation towards the achievement of sustainable development goal 14 set forth by the 2030 UN Agenda.
- Speakers ranged from marine experts and explorers to representatives from coastal communities and voices from current and future generations, including: H.E. Ambassador Peter Thomson of Fiji, President of the General Assembly; H.E. MS. Isabella Lövin, Minister for International Development Cooperation and Climate, and Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden; Diego Luna, actor and filmmaker; Dr. Sylvia Earle, marine biologist and renowned explorer; Fabien Cousteau, filmmaker, ocean conservationist, and aquanaut; Eric Liedtke, Executive Board Member, adidas; Chris Jordan, artist and filmmaker; Scott Bolton, Principal Investigator NASA Juno/Jupiter Mission; Dr. Cady Coleman, chemist and former astronaut; Iain Kerr, whale expert; and Sir Richard Branson, with messages from James Cameron and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Parley World Oceans Week: Empire State Building Lights Up Blue
- Diego Luna, actor and filmmaker joined Parley Founder Cyrill Gutsch to illuminate the Empire State Building in the color of the oceans
- The moment signals a wake-up call and the start of a new chapter in conservation shaped by creative activism
adidas x Parley Run for the Oceans
- The evening of World Oceans Day, over 550 runners participated in a 5K through the streets of New York, including athletes Dan Carter, Mary Keitany, Shaunae Miller, Ian Thorpe and Neely Spence-Gracey
- World famous rapper Pusha T surprised guests with an exclusive post-run show
- The symbolic run occured in tandem with the first adidas x Parley global sports activation, a digital movement to Run for the Oceans hosted on Runtastic. The free digital run invites individuals to take action and make an impact. As of June 8, kilometers logged by participants were the equivalent of circling the Earth eight times.
- adidas x Parley also launched the Parley ‘White Flag’ shoe, designed to sound the alarm on the global coral bleaching crisis, and announced a target of creating 1 million pairs in 2017, and 5 million by 2018. Reaching the targets will mean the equivalent of 11 million and 55 million plastic bottles intercepted in coastal environments, respectively.
UN Environment Announces Partnership with Parley, Endorses Parley AIR
- Together with United Nations Environment, Parley hosted a roundtable discussion titled ‘Turning the Tide on Marine Plastic Pollution’ to highlight the role of business and creative collaboration toward SDG 14 as a launch for a long-term partnership to end marine plastic pollution
- Corona x Parley partnership presented as an example of the role of business in solutions
- UN Environment endorses Parley AIR (Avoid, Intercept, Redesign) as the strategy to end marine plastic pollution
- Speakers included: Cyrill Gutsch, Founder and CEO Parley for the Oceans; Erik Solheim, UN Environment Executive Director; Grete Faremo, UNOPS Executive Director; Stella McCartney; Miguel Patricio, CMO, Corona, AB-InBev; Eric Liedtke, Head of Global Brands, adidas; Dr. Mohamed Shainee, Maldives Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, Louie Psihoyos, filmmaker and winner of academy award for ‘The Cove’; Scott Bolton, Principal Investigator NASA Juno/Jupiter Mission; Mark Anthony Browne, plastic expert, scientist; Dr. Iain Kerr, CEO of Ocean Alliance; Chris Jordan, filmmaker and artist; David de Rothschild, explorer and activist.
Stella McCartney Extends Commitment and Integrates Parley Ocean Plastic™
- Stella McCartney enters into an extended partnership with Parley to expand and strengthen the brand’s environmental responsibility with the Parley AIR Strategy and use of Ocean Plastic™, Parley’s catalyst innovation to replace virgin plastic and reposition recycling in the fashion and luxury industry.
- The Stella McCartney x Parley partnership launches ‘Ocean Legend’, a series of special limited products, created to honor and support outstanding ocean conservationists. The first edition is a Falabella GO backpack made from Parley Ocean Plastic™, up-cycled marine plastic debris. The product honors Captain Paul Watson’s outstanding achievements and benefits his Sea Shepherd Conservation Society on their 40th anniversary.
Parley Ocean Plastic Council
- In a workshop held June 6, leading experts in marine science and plastic pollution, private sector executives, ocean explorers and activists came together to explore the solutions spectrum and develop a roadmap for solutions.
- The event set a tone of urgency and unity for the melding of minds across multiple disciplines and approaches to a mutual aim: ending marine plastic pollution.
- Council members include:
Mark Anthony Brown, ARC Senior Research Associate, The University of New South Wales; Marcus Eriksen, Co-Founder of 5 Gyres; Lola Rodiguez, International Project Manager Marine, Maritime and Coastal affairs, Leitat Barcelona; Mercè de la Fuente, R&D Advanced Material Devision, Leitat Barcelona; Scott Bolton, Principal Investigator, Juno Mission, NASA JPL; Maurizio Avella, Institute for Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials Italian National Research Council; Eric Liedtke, Head of global brands adidas; Cyrill Gutsch, Founder and CEO Parley for the Oceans; Suzanne Lee, Creative Directior Modern Meadows.
The Parley AIR Pledge
- Parley opened its AIR Strategy to individuals, inviting everyone to join the movement and commit to action by pledging their support for the cause and creating a personalized badge.
- LINK TO PLEDGE
“We are in a race against time. The air we breathe is under threat because the decisions we make every day — as individuals and collectively, in our personal and professional lives — are killing life in the magic blue universe that allows for our existence. Behind every environmental threat is a faulty economic system. The creative industries created the problem of plastic. Therefore we have to not just own it. And we can do that by seeing the problem for what it is, an opportunity to wake up, come together, and create a new and better reality — one with a future.” says Cyrill Gutsch, Founder of Parley
“We didn’t know what we were doing. Now we do. We are filling the oceans with plastic and killing the life behind our every second breath. And we are up against the ultimate deadline. Our role at Parley is to bring the pieces together and inspire change. No one will fix this for us. We all have a role to play. And we’re strongest when we act together.”
About Parley for the Oceans
Parley is the collaboration network where creators, thinkers and leaders come together to raise awareness for the beauty and fragility of our oceans and collaborate on strategies that can end their destruction. Headquartered in New York, Parley is known for renaming sustainability into ‘Eco Innovation,’ a concept realized through its high calibre collaborations and the introduction of Ocean Plastic™, a range of premium materials for the sports, fashion and luxury industries made from upcycled marine plastic debris.
Parley understands current plastic is a design failure, seeing the long-term solution for marine plastic pollution in the redesign of the harmful material. In the meantime, Parley created a catalyst innovation that provides an immediate replacement for new, virgin plastic: Ocean Plastic™. Together with its partners, in the last five years Parley raised awareness for the issue, boosted the general image of recycling and established the first global supply chain for marine plastic debris. Additionally, Parley created a funding mechanism that financially allows the implementation of the Parley AIR Strategy in four key areas: Communication and Education, Direct Impact, Research and Development, and Eco-Innovation.
Parley AIR Strategy
The strategy is simple and easily scaled across private households, governments and corporations—and the creative industries that mold reality through ideas, materials and products. Based on the fact that at least every second breath we take is generated by the oceans, that mankind cannot survive on a planet with lifeless seas, the name Parley AIR also stands for three actions:
A = Avoid plastic.
“Avoid” includes initiatives to educate people on the importance of reducing plastic use, how to avoid unnecessary plastics and the value of replacing new, virgin plastic with Ocean Plastic™ materials made from upcycled marine debris. Through Parley Talks, ocean experts educate youth, creators, thinkers and leaders on the cause to inspire action. This education phase is the first step to ushering in change.
I = Intercept plastic waste.
“Intercept” is a comprehensive approach to collect existing waste using various methods from high seas to coastlines, divert plastics from landfill and prevent it from entering the oceans in the first place. While it is difficult and expensive to get plastic trash out of the open sea, where it is broken apart into tiny pieces and where only a small percentage is found at the surface, Parley is putting a strong focus on shorelines and beaches with its global network of partners and operations.
R = Redesign plastic materials and products.
“Redesign” addresses innovation around materials, products and new ways of using them. The original vision was to turn marine plastic debris into an opportunity and make it an attractive alternative to virgin plastic. With the name Ocean Plastic™. Parley successfully introduced this material to art, fashion and sports communities, setting a strong trend and new standard for the use of recycled materials. After establishing a global network with certified Parley Supply Chain partners comprised of recycling companies, yarn and fabric makers, Parley can now work towards its most challenging goal: the development of new materials that can replace plastic for good.