In March 2019, two non-profit organisations Plastic Oceans and Breathe Conservation are collaborating to ‘Swim Against Plastic’, a global campaign to raise awareness about plastic pollution.
Independent global creative agency Crowd, which has worked with Plastic Oceans for the past three years, is co-sponsoring the event and has created a website dedicated to the campaign.
The website reflects the vision of the two organisations: to inform, inspire and incite change. The graphic animations and the shocking facts about pollution attempt to motivate the viewers to donate to the campaign. The combination of colour scheme, photography and typography underpins the key messages.
The campaign starts at the iconic Easter Island where South African national swimmer and founder of Breathe Conservation, Sarah Ferguson will attempt to become the first person ever to swim the 40-mile (65 kilometres) perimeter around the island. The swim is estimated to take up to 24 hours to complete.
Located in the South Pacific between Chile and New Zealand, Easter Island holds major historical and cultural significance and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Known as Rapa Nui by the local people, it is considered the most remote inhabited island on the planet. However, the waters surrounding it contain one of the highest concentrations of microplastics in the world. Around 20 tonnes of waste are produced per day due to growing tourism in the area.
‘Swim Against Plastic’ includes a series of beach clean-ups to help restore Easter Island’s fragile environment. Plastic Oceans and Breathe Conservation are organising the events with the island’s local communities, encouraging all residents to participate. The two non-profits are also talking to the locals to find out what is truly happening with waste management on the island.
“Plastic Oceans is a long-standing client of Crowd, so we are very proud to co-sponsor the campaign and create the website for it. By showing the world that iconic destinations such as Easter Island are not immune to plastic pollution, we hope to inspire people to take part in this campaign and maybe organise beach clean-ups in their towns.” says Jamie Sergeant, Global CEO at Crowd.
Anyone can join “Swim Against Plastic” to make changes to solve plastic pollution. Follow the progress of the campaign using #SwimAgainstPlastic or online at www.swimagainstplastic.com.