At the current rate of plastic ocean pollution, by the year 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish.Stat from Ellen MacArthur study
Hi! My name is Costa, and I'm pulling together a team to help an environmental organization launch a new product to help battle plastic ocean pollution.
UPDATE (Feb 10 2018) - A Gathering of Creative Misfits
We have our first get together slated for February 24th from Noon to 6pm.
We'll be at The Kitchen in Chinatown (NYC).
Email me directly if you'd like to join: costa@innovationbound.com. I'll clue you in on event details, answer any questions about the project, and so forth. Space is limited, but we'll have a live broadcast of some kind for those that can't make it in person.
The Story
Each year 16 billion pounds of plastic end up in our oceans. Plastic doesn't break down, but it does break up into small pieces that accumulate toxins and poison wildlife. Those toxins have made their way up the food chain and into our seafood dinners in some cases. The large variety of sizes, shapes, and chemical compositions as well as the distribution of plastic debris across our world's oceans makes this environmental challenge incredible difficult to solve.
The specific problem we'll be tackling is that there aren't enough people who have an extensive enough understanding of this environmental challenge to really want to contribute to the charities, scientists, and entrepreneurs working on it.
We need more awareness, but not "I saw a tweet once," awareness. We need patreons who understand the emergency in the oceans and care deeply enough to support the long term efforts needed to solve this environmental challenge.
In order to find and cultivate this community of patrons, we're going to help an evironmental charity launch a new product!
Let me tell you about my friend Jim.
Jim Holm founded an organization called Clean Oceans International. I met Jim when I invited him to give a TED Talk at our TEDxGramercy event in 2012.
Over the years Jim and Clean Oceans International have raised awareness about plastic ocean pollution, conducted direct clean up efforts on beaches, and are getting ready to conduct cleanup at sea.
They have recently acquired a vessel. It's called The Pono, which is Hawaiian for righteousness, and it's being equipped for plastic ocean pollution research. There's brand new tech onboard that can convert plastic debris back into petroleum. How cool is that?!
Also, the boat is a gorgeous 60-foot catamaran! If you've ever been sailing (or if you've never been sailing) this is the way to do it!
Environmentalist Vacation Charters
The Pono is ready to be chartered by environmentalist vacationers. A week on The Pono might include a beach cleanup, a snorkeling or diving day to see and appreciate underwater wildlife, a plastic ocean pollution documentary screening, a plastic cleanup day at sea, and other fun and inspiring ocean activities.
The kinds of people who can afford to charter a boat, and who care to learn about plastic ocean pollution, are exactly the kinds of patrons the global ocean cleanup effort needs. The idea is that a week on The Pono will inspire them to become long term supporters for the cause.
The current challenge is that there are no marketing materials yet, no video footage or relationships with travel blogs or media partners, and no sales strategy. There is no website or sign up form for vacationers to book a charter.
That's where we come in : )
Our job is to help Jim and his organization launch this new product. We're going to need some marketing talent, some web developers, a designer, a photographer, a media person, one person with killer branding experience, and as many people as possible to help with the giant social media push we'll need to kick this off!
I'm sure there are other roles I'm missing here, so if you feel super inspired, but don't have any of the titles above, no worries. Join up!
Join Up and/or Invite a Friend
We'll be identifying a venue, detailing our schedule, and choosing a date for this ocean adventure very soon, so sign up to get notified when details are sorted.
Email me to join up! costa@innovationbound.com
Also, please share this page with specific friends or colleagues who you believe would be a great asset to the team, and who would have fun contributing.
