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Friday 8 September 2017

'Ghost' fishing gear and ocean junk is killing our sealife - but UNDERWEAR could help save it from extinction


The Ocean Discovery Collection from The Other Guy, a Finnish firm, features garments created using deadly plastic collected from the sea by the charity Aquafil
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The world's first underwear made from discarded fishnets and ocean junk could help save sea turtles and whales from the brink of extinction.
According to WWF, more than six million tonnes of plastic is dumped in the sea every year, posing a serious threat to critically-endangered marine life.
In addition, World Animal Protection says entanglement in ‘ghost’ fishing gear kills at least 136,000 seals, sea lions and large whales every year.
An “inestimable” number of birds, turtles, fish and other species are also injured and killed.
But since 2007, a small portion of this deadly plastic has been collected by the charity Aquafil, which is part of Healthy Seas, an international network to recover abandoned fishing nets.
This waste plastic is then transformed into Econyl, a sustainable regenerated yarn that took Aquafil four years to develop, at a cost of €25m (£22.26m).
It is now used in Finnish firm, The Other Danish Guy’s Ocean Discovery Collection.
The firm was founded by three Finns – Tommi Lähde, Harri Nikkanen and Kimmo Korhonen – and its first goal was to create the ‘world’s most comfortable underwear’.
But the latest range stemmed from a desire to change the world.
Lähde explained: “I personally have very strong connection to the sea. I was basically born there, as my father is a sea captain.
“I still can remember time when the water in Baltic Sea was so clear you could see a coin in 15 meters deep. Nowadays I can't see my arm’s length.
“Even if the problem in the Baltic Sea is different than in oceans, there are problems because of people's negligence.
“As I began this underwear brand and found out the best and most comfortable material is nylon, I started immediately the search for recycled nylon yarn, specially made from ocean garbage.
 “We aren’t just about making the world's most comfortable boxers and trunks – although we do that well.
“We want to change the world for the better – and basically every good thing in life starts with decent underwear.
“That is why we wear our nicest underwear in the most important occasions like weddings, job interviews, parties and graduation. No matter how loud the world rumbles, nothing can undermine an individual who's wearing a piece of decent underwear.
“Many people have doubts whether a tiny brand like us can really make a difference. But I feel confident that we can start this movement and make it huge.
“After launching on Indiegogo we were 100 per cent funded within less than 48 hours, which shows there are people who care.
 “Everything in our Ocean Discovery collection is made from regenerated nylon that originates from ocean plastic waste, such as discarded fishing nets.”
Chiara Vitali, campaigns manager at World Animal Protection UK, added: “Ghost gear is a huge concern with around 640,000 tonnes of lost or abandoned fishing equipment entering the world’s oceans every year.
“Given that some of this equipment is durable enough to last for up to 600 years, the threat it poses is immense.
“The fashion industry can definitely help showcase and support solutions to the issue.

 “The durability of these nylon nets and lines, which makes them such a danger to marine wildlife, is an excellent quality for clothing.
“Given its high profile, the fashion industry could truly become an ambassador for some really exciting solutions to this grave issue.”
The Other Danish Guy’s underwear was listed on crowdfunding site Indiegogo earlier this year and has raised over £35,000 so far, more than double its target.
Backers can still join the campaign and buy their own pair of eco-undies at Indiegogo .
The fishing industry accounts for 10 per cent of ocean junk – most of which is nets and fishing gear lost or thrown away into the sea.
These ‘ghost nets’ continue trapping fish for many decades and, according to the NOAA Fisheries, an average of 11 large whales – including blue and humpback – get entangled along the US coast every year.

But in 2015, 61 whales were reported entangled off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California – the highest annual total since the group started keeping records in 1982.
North Atlantic right whales frequently fall victim to discarded nets, and there are now fewer than 500 of the 45-tonne creatures left in the world.
As well as being slaughtered for their eggs, meat, skin and shells, sea turtles also face the threat of an estimated 640,000 tons of ghost nets in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.
CEO Lähde added: “I hate ‘throwawayism’. Disposable culture and fast fashion is damaging to the environment and the economy.
“According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 15.1 million tons of textile waste is generated yearly, of which 12.8 million tons were discarded.
“There is a myriad of environmental problems which even some of the most powerful people in the world ignore. And then there are people who only want to talk about those.
“We decided to do something about it. Hope is not a strategy and we will make all of our future products from materials that are sustainable and eco-friendly.”
As well as fishing nets (spent fish farming nets and ghost fishing nets), it also uses old nylon carpets, industrial plastic waste, yarn discards, and other fabric scraps to create its underpants.
The Ocean Discovery range, made with Econyl yarn, originated as a concept project, but after successful tests with customers moved into production, and will be available to buy in August 2017.
FROM THE DESK OF ANIMAL RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/ghost-fishing-gear-ocean-junk-11127777

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