Many companies proclaim that “Every day is Earth Day,” but we think World Ocean Day on June 8 may be even more important, as oceans produce about half the oxygen in the world. A healthy ocean is critical to life as we know it!
For centuries, our oceans have been absorbing excess carbon dioxide and helping to mitigate the more obvious impacts of climate change. They’re also the final destination for trash from nearly every part of the world, including inescapable losses in countries without the infrastructure to collect it and infuriating losses from developed countries where littering is acceptable. They’ve been overfished by international organizations that anchor ships the size of small cities over prime fishing grounds, wiping out nearly every living creature. And, of course, pollution is a continuing problem pretty much anywhere people live.
But there’s hope! Around the world, young people are setting actionable goals through the World Ocean Day Youth Advisory Council. As part of The Ocean Project, they are working with a network of more than 2,000 organizations in 150 countries to support collaborative conservation, highlighted by World Ocean Day on June 8.
And they’re sailing with the winds of success. As part of that international collaboration, the United Nations or its member governments have approved two key actions to protect our oceans:
- The historic 30×30 initiative passed by the UN Biodiversity Conference in 2022 calls for all governments to protect 30% of the world’s land and waters by the year 2030.
- The High Seas Treaty, approved in 2023, is a legally binding agreement covering 75 topics, including “polluter-pays,” sustainably managed fish stocks, and lowering ocean temperatures.
We love that so many people are involved in these efforts — and are taking on global challenges by starting in our own backyards. World Ocean Day offers thousands of events around the world with tangible opportunities to protect and restore our oceans.
And, of course, we’ve always been focused on healthy oceans at Stream2Sea. Long before researchers documented the damage that sunscreens and other personal care products were causing in marine ecosystems, we were making (and testing) formulations that are proven safe. Since then:
- Stream2Sea became the first-ever company to join the #SharkFree alliance, promising to use only squalene made from plant sources not shark livers. https://www.sharkfree.com/
- Stream2Sea does not ship via Fedex (even though their rates are better for us than UPS) because they facilitate the shark fin trade. https://sharkstewards.org/fed-ex-stop-shipping-shark-fin/
- When possible, we’re switching our packaging from containers made with recycled plastics and sugarcane resin to new products made from ocean-bound plastics that capture trash from the waters and near shorelines and rivers before it enters the ocean. https://stream2sea.com/bio-ecoconscious-packaging/
This weekend, join the global celebration of World Oceans Day! Events are happening all around the world to honor and protect our beautiful oceans. No matter how you choose to celebrate, remember to protect your skin while you’re out there making a difference.
Ready to get involved? Visit the Ocean Project calendar to find an event near you and be part of this important movement.
P.S. – In case you live far inland somewhere and don’t think a clean ocean is important, you should know that oceans produce about half the oxygen in the world. A healthy ocean is absolutely critical to life as we know it! And all Streams do lead to the Sea!