© Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race
Musto, the world’s leading Sailing, Country and Adventure brand, is today announced as the first private business to sign up to support the United Nations Environment’s Clean Seas Pledge on the pressing global issue of marine litter.
Musto’s pledge of support was announced today at the Volvo Ocean Race Ocean Summit, taking place in Alicante, Spain. The summit is taking place ahead of the 13th Volvo Ocean Race, which sets sail from the Spanish city this Sunday (22nd October) and will take in 12 Global Host Cities before arriving at the finish line in The Hague in The Netherlands in June 2018.
The Clean Seas Pledge is overseen by the United Nations Environment Programme and is seeking support from global organisations in addressing the growing issue of marine litter. Recent estimates suggest that over 8 million tonnes of plastic waste are leaked into global oceans every year.
In 2015, the UN estimates that global consumer produced 322 million tonnes of plastic. Musto’s pledge of support is the business’ latest major innovation in its efforts to drive greater sustainability in its global business operations.
Earlier this summer, working with partners Vestas 11th Hour Racing, Musto sought to reduce the environmental impact of the plastic used to deliver its garments.
Peter Smith, CEO of Musto comments, ‘It fills me with immense pride to announce that Musto is the first private business to pledge its support to the United Nations Environment’s Clean Seas Pledge. Marine litter and ocean health is one of the most pressing issues of our generation, I am proud to lead such a forward thinking business in this area.
We are all here to celebrate the start of a great sporting event, but it is important to raise awareness of this issue and take steps to support the UN in addressing a real challenge of our time
Peter Smith
As part of this effort and in partnership with 11th Hour Racing and the Sustainability Team at the Volvo Ocean Race, Musto identified ‘pre-consumer waste’ as an area where real efficiencies could be made in terms of the material used in the storage and delivery of Musto products without impacting the customer experience.
After a series of stringent tests on both the production process of Musto carrier bags and garment packaging, efficiencies were made that amounted to a 70% reduction in the amount of plastic used in the manufacture, packaging and delivery of Musto’s 2017/18 Volvo Ocean Race Collection.
Musto has since committed to rolling out these packaging innovations to the manufacture of all product ranges in 2018. This will save 11 tons of plastic a year, the equivalent of over 61,000 plastic bottles from next year. Musto have also appointed an Acting Sustainability Officer, Annaleigh Hockaday, to oversee the process and drive for further developments in this area.
Download the Musto case study – ‘Reducing our Environmental Impact’
Reducing our Environmental Impact
Full press release here
