Save Our Oceans
The NOAA predicted the patch in 1988, but it wasn’t until 1999, when oceanographer Charles Moore spotted the trash mass, that the gyre began receiving massive media and scientific attention. This inspired many environmental and political organizations to push marine debris legislation, one being Heal the Bay, an organization devoted to the cleanup and protection of the Santa Monica Bay.
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Heal the Bay supports a unique bill titled the Single-Use Carryout Bag Fee, which would charge customers twenty-five cents per paper or plastic shopping bag at grocery and convenience stores. The fee is designed to encourage consumers to switch to reusable bags and limit their use of disposable plastic bags, one major source of ocean litter. Revenue collected from this fee would be deposited in a fund to assist state and local governments with litter cleanup and prevention activities related to single-use bag pollution. A similar policy in Ireland has reduced plastic bag use by over 90% and significantly reduced plastic bag litter, saving local governments millions of dollars in cleanup costs.
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Livity is also partnering with a local chapter of the Surfrider Foundation to organize a Topanga State Beach clean up and plastics seminar. The goal is to educate the community about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, local recycling programs and the reusability of plastics. Some Livity products are made using recycled plastic bottles; about 2 plastic bottles are used per one Livity 50/50 (organic cotton/recycled poly) t-shirt.
As a company founded by surfers, Livity takes ocean protection seriously and hopes to reduce, reuse and recycle the mass of plastic waste plaguing our seas.