Azraq partners with local swimwear label

The impacts of the fashion industry on the environment are fast becoming well known, with media reports regularly highlighting how clothing production globally produces 10% of all carbon emissions, is the second-largest consumer of the world's water supply, and pollutes the oceans with microplastics. So why would a marine conservation organisation align with such an environmentally polluting industry? The answer is due to the amount of labels now focussing on giving back to the environment.

Recently Azraq partnered with The Good Chic which promotes sustainable French men’s fashion labels, but they have expanded their partnership with fashion brands to also now include local swimwear label, COÉGA and fashion label Amanda x By M.A.R.Y which only utilizes natural fibers in their designs.

Natalie Banks, Founder of Azraq, stated that the team took over six months to investigate the brands and the people behind them, to ensure that a partnership would be beneficial to Azraq’s clients'; the marine animals living in the ocean, before signing the partnership agreement.

“COÉGA Sunwear are already heavily focused on sustainability, and through our discussions have agreed to go the extra step to highlight the impacts of washing swimwear and activewear,” Ms Banks said.

“Even though their swimwear fabric is partially made out of Econyl fibre, that is made from recycled fishing nets, it can still shed mircoplastics into the oceans via the grey water from traditional washing machines.”

Most people do not realize the synthetic fibers such as polyester, elastic and lycra shed microplastics where they are washed, which end up in our oceans.

COÉGA are providing a link on their website for people in the UAE and GCC to purchase the Cora Ball, which is a microfiber-catching laundry ball that stops mircoplastics, threads and pollution from entering the waterways.

Maureen Hall, Chief Executive Officer of COÉGA stated that partnering with Azraq made sense for their brand, providing avenues to strengthen their focus on sustainability, such as educating consumers towards more conscious choices.

“The introduction of the Cora Ball to our website is just one commitment that we are willing to make in order to stand firm to reducing the environmental impacts of our industry,” Ms Hall said.

“Furthermore, we are targeting significant changes within our operations, manufacturing and packaging during 2021, such as striving for minimal waste manufacturing as well as sourcing eco-friendly packaging,”

COÉGA have committed to sponsor events that Azraq will host, which will provide further education about the impacts on the ocean and marine conservation, in order to further generate positive changes in behavior.

The partnership of fashion outlets and brands in the UAE is part of a larger campaign that Azraq is working on to promote sustainable fashion in the region.

How your clothes contribute to ocean pollution

It is no surprise that a large amount of our plastic waste ends up in the ocean. Most of us are now all too familiar with most of the early research, which has been focused on larger plastics found on beaches and floating on the surface of our oceans, less visible, however, are the more pervasive plastic bits that have spread into virtually every crevice on Earth, from the deepest sea trenches to the highest alpine mountains. These are called microplastics, a term that refers to plastic particles that measure less than five millimetres. Some microplastics are even so tiny they are part of the dust that blows around the planet, high in the atmosphere.

Shockingly, our clothes are unfortunately one of the largest sources of primary microplastics and are released when we wash synthetic clothing, such as items made from acrylic, nylon and polyester. These fibres detach from our clothes when we clean them in our washing machines and go into the wastewater and as the fibres are so small, many pass-through filtration processes and make their way into our oceans. As cited by The Fashion Revolution, around 50% of our clothing is made from plastic and up to 700,000 fibres can come off our synthetic clothes in a typical wash. As a result, if the fashion industry continues as it is, by 2050, 22 million tonnes of microfibres will enter our oceans.

What does this mean for our oceans? Much of the plastic that is in the ocean, in terms of the number of pieces, is not in the form of whole products like cups or straws that we so readily think of, but instead broken-down shreds of plastic, and it is having a devastating effect on our marine life.

Microplastics are accumulating in the food chain and being ingested by all sorts of marine wildlife. Studies have found that microplastics disrupt reproductive systems, stunt growth, diminish appetite, cause tissue inflammation and liver damage, and alter feeding behaviour. A recent study found around 73% of fish caught had microplastics in their stomachs. Even the animals that live in the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean, are eating microfibers. However, let's not also forget about us! A new study in the journal Environmental Science and Technology says it's possible that humans may be consuming anywhere from 39,000 to 52,000 microplastic particles a year. With added estimates of how much microplastic might be inhaled, that number is more than 74,000.

Worldwide, there are now vigorous efforts to reduce the use of key products that end up in the oceans, items such as plastic cups, shopping bags and bans on straws. However, as we seek solutions to the overall issue of plastic pollution, we must now educate ourselves and recognize the role of microplastics, the deadly invisible plastic that our clothing is unfortunately a major part.

So what can we do? It might seem like there’s an easy solution to the problem of our clothes shedding plastic: Just buy natural fibres one may say, or indeed fewer clothes overall. However, it shouldn't be so limiting to be environmentally conscious or indeed associated with a higher cost, after all, often synthetic clothing is affordable clothing. For a solution to be doable, it needs to be accessible for all, therefore it has to be more systemic. There are two key things that could make a huge impact. Firstly, our washing machines need to be designed to reduce emissions of fibres to the environment and secondly, textile manufacturers need to design fabrics that shed less. The fashion industry needs to take responsibility for minimising future microfibre releases. Brands can have the most impact if they take microfibre release into consideration at the design and manufacturing stages. Designers should consider several criteria in order to minimise the environmental impact of a synthetic garment. Consumers can then be more mindful. Ultimately, we need change at the ground level up and we must play our part to educate ourselves and champion the cause.

• Written in conjunction with PR firm Atteline

The Christmas Tree Debate

Commentary by Kimberley Monges

It’s that time of the year again, where I have my inner eco-warrior voice in my head, telling me to watch out for Mother-Earth-unfriendly items. Yes, they may shine, they may attract the eye, compelling all with their dazzle and glitter. But my latest issue is to decide on a suitable Christmas tree.

On one hand is the reusable plastic tree made from China, Taiwan or South Korea. Some are already mounted, ready to go home, with imitation snow powder sprayed all over their fake green branches, and on the other hand is the real deal, the one from Denmark, Estonia, Italy or even Sweden. These beauties will only last a season and one needs to buy a tree holder also. But the scent of it, the look of it, the color, the all of it, it’s just so …. natural!

As a mother, I want to show the best example to my child who represents the future generation. So what should I do?

I’m thinking about my exhausted purse, my child and the need to elevate the festive spirits among all this Covid-19 news that’s been tarnishing 2020, and that fact that we’re not even going to be a full family gathered around a common tree this year. And I’m thinking about the very grave and serious concerns of  climate change, global warming, deforestation, waste, pollution, mass consumption, over population, pesticides, over fishing, daily chemical spills and the not so recyclable forever lasting plastic… the list goes on.

Trying not to get depressed, and to act in a positive manner, I tap into it.

The plastic debate…there are so many types of plastics which are used to make a Christmas tree, often emanating toxic chemicals responsible for many illnesses…like polyvinyl chloride, very hard to recycle, that is, so close to impossible that the vast majority of them end up in landfills, giving off toxic gases.

Then there is the carbon footprint issue, which obviously plastic plays a role in, but so does the shipping from all the various countries that fake and real trees originate from. However, to match a real tree, a plastic tree will have to be kept and used for about 12 years in order to have an equivalent carbon footprint with the good old pine tree. But even then, the plastic tree will never break down, in fact it will only break up, and will contribute to soil pollution and increase chemicals in the air as they are destroyed by fire or pollute the land. There is no “compost” for these trees.  Fact: A two-meter fake Christmas tree has a carbon footprint of 40 kg and that’s just on the production.

But what about the real thing?

A Christmas tree on average takes 10 to 15 years to grow to the minimum height for it to be eligible for sale. That's a footprint of 3.5 kg…which is incredibly small; perhaps equivalent to a 14 minutes’ drive. The footprint may increase if it decays in a landfill of up to 16 kg, but it is a natural occurrence and there is no remnant afterwards. Good news, is that it’s compostable, which reduces the footprint drastically either way.

But they are getting pricy and rare. The weather in the past years has not helped. Fires and storms have not spared farms nor the recession. People went for the fake Christmas trees in the ultimate effort to spare some coins. Therefore, many farms disappeared. Now the demand for natural trees is higher even as there are fewer and fewer available. But hey, holiday trees provide wildlife habitat, protect soils from erosion, floods and clean the air, trapping carbon along their life of 10 to 15 years which is a lot! By buying a a farmed tree, you contribute to the local economy of the farm in question with most being run by families, which does not necessarily apply to factory-made low-cost plastic trees. Farms alone will replant trees, more than they wish to sell, in order to maintain stock and encourage growth. Now in Dubai, it would be difficult to think we contribute to the local economy by buying a real Christmas tree, there is a shipping footprint etc. But at the end of the day, am I making a far better choice in encouraging an environmental benefit rather than a fake one.

My conscious is safe, I’m going home with the natural scent of a pine tree and everyone is happy.

References.

 R. Smithers, 2019, « The Guardian »,  Wed 30 Oct 2019 15.11 GMT, accessed 20 November 2020

 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/shortcuts/2019/oct/30/is-a-plastic-christmas-tree-more-sustainable-than-a-real-one

 M.Ketchell, 2019,  « The conversation », December 17, 2019 3.31am AEDT, accessed 20  November 2020 https://theconversation.com/the-great-christmas-tree-debate-is-it-better-to-buy-a-real-tree-or-a-fake-one-128508

 http://www.environmentvictoria.org.au/content/our-guide-greening-festive-season

2020: A transformative year for Azraq

By Azraq Founder, Natalie Banks

Azraq started 2020 with major structural changes to its Board and Operational Team, as well as the Founder of Azraq, Natalie Banks facing health issues which set her back three months. Fortunately, a process of building a working team to continue the operations of Azraq had already been put into place, which stepped up to undertake the necessary requirements to continue operations under the guidance of Kimberley Monges, despite the major upheaval. With her health improving, Natalie attended a Board Meeting in March to discuss the future of Azraq, taking into consideration the potential impacts of Covid-19 which had just started affecting our operations. During this Board Meeting the team discussed Azraq’s goals and plans for the year, as well as undertaking a health check internally to ascertain the financial position of Azraq should our operations be completely stopped due to the pandemic. Fortunately, due to a strong 2019, the organisation was in a healthy financial position.

The first point of action which Azraq undertook in 2020 was a thorough succession planning exercise, which saw our four coordinators promoted to managerial roles, the responsibility of the Founder separated into 15 volunteer positions and a major recruitment drive. This one decision, in my view, has been the biggest reason why Azraq has had such great successes this year and I am extremely humbled by the amount of support and expertise our team brings. We were swift and fortunate to pick up an administrative intern, Shweta Mayekar, who has gone on to not only be our Executive Coordinator and the first port of call for our customers, but our General Secretary. This was followed by the appointment of Juliana Herrera as our Volunteer Community Coordinator, Almudena Casas as our Events Manager and Maria Duloquin as our Partnerships Coordinator, who went on to become our Partnerships Manager. Due to personal changes, Juliana and Kailtynn Simmonds will be leaving us later this year. We have however already welcomed Bianca Moreira as our Social Media Coordinator and Chrishelle Pinto as our Events Manager to our team, with Almudena staying with us as our Events Coordinator.

Covid-19 has without a doubt impacted our operations. Although we were able to attend two events prior to lockdown, and only just recently attended an Artshow hosted by Unite for Planet and Artzezaar where we showcased our lamp shade made from #uselessutensils by Mariska Nell, our inability to attend and host physical events from March until recently, as well as a complete stop to providing team building and corporate environmental responsibility programs and school talks, had major ramifications to the organisation. In 2019, Azraq remained financially viable mainly due to these three areas.

Left: Kimberley Monges presents at the British Mums Event on How to Go Eco
Right: Natalie Banks (far left) on a panel discussion with Jane Goodall

However the pandemic and the subsequent lock-down wasn’t all bad for Azraq. With it came amazing marine creatures, such as whale sharks, whales, eagle rays, black-tip reef sharks and record numbers of Risso’s dolphins venturing into spaces previously full of people. This saw Azraq feature in a number of media articles, including a CCN article which was syndicated and translated into various different languages including Italian, French and Portuguese and resulted in Bollywood actress Esha Gupta reposting our quote that “marine life is benefitting from there not being as many boats in the water, as many people, or as much pollution”. Similar articles relating to the increase in sightings of marine life off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and referring to the expertise within Azraq, appeared in The National multilple times, on Dubai Eye and in Ahlan Live. Azraq was also featured in Scene Arabia and I was extremely honoured to be listed among the UAE’s 12 Environmental Thought Leaders by LiveHealthy.ae as well as to be invited by Emma Brain to be interviewed by Vuzzle TV alongside Kimberley Monges.

On Earth Day, Azraq announced its #totesbetterthanplastic mission in conjunction with our partners Lush Middle East to raise awareness of the impacts of plastic bags on the environment and to reduce numbers in circulation in the United Arab Emirates. We were pleased to see efforts made by Shop Retold, Carrefour, The Good Chic, Thrift for Good and Concepts Dubai to reduce their plastic footprint through this campaign. The mission also involved a design competition as we scoured the country for the best designs to add to our tote bags regarding our campaigns. We were gratefully joined by Milli Midwood, the Editor-in-Chief of Cosmopolitan Middle East and Regional Retail Brand Manager for Lush Middle East, Miche Whitehouse on our judges panel. Congratulations again to Tarfa Khalid, Isadora Molleri, Vandana Vasanth and Sahar Ghavami for designing the winning artwork. We haven’t as yet gone to print with these designs, but hope to soon. We would also like to thank Gulf News for covering this initiative.

Two of the most popular designs in our tote bag art competition in the category of marine debris

As our lockdown continued, internally Azraq started to offer our school presentations and movie screenings online. As happens with new technology, we had some technical issues, but we were able to screen The Story of Plastic to our event members. While navigating this online environment further, and with some coaxing from our new Community Coordinator, Juliana and Board Member, Amanda Rushforth, we also started providing information through Instagram Live Stories and I personally would like to thank all of the speakers we have had on throughout these sessions, including Pooja Balaji, Kaitlynn Simmonds, Almudena Casas, Sagarika Sriram, Wafa Alkatheeri, Neola Castelino, Miche Whitehouse, Sian Rowlands from Shop Retold, Sam Morris from Team Peninsula, Albert Rubio, Kimberley Monges, Rukshana Kauser from Liquid of Life, Emily Armstrong, our Marine Scientist Advisor and Stephanie Millman-Mulet.

On World Oceans Day, we announced our Ocean and Youth Ambassador programs whereby we would secure alternative voices for the oceans, as well as mentor ten youth in the areas of operations for Azraq. I have been thrilled to work alongside these ambassadors and wish to thank Stephanie Millman-Mulet for being our 2020 Ocean Ambassador and welcome Dannielle Blaker to the program. I also would like to congratulate Sagarika Sriram on leading the Youth Ambassadors for 2020 and thank them for the direction that they have provided, particularly being responsible for the announcement of our Reef Rescue campaign this year in partnership with Al Mahara Dive Center, Surfhouse Dubai, Freestyle Divers and Scuba Shade, due to their input. Thank you Sagi, Albert Rubio, Thalia Habib, Neola Castelino, Sophia Sneddon, Lisa Kurian, Alina Ziemian, Kian Fotuhi, Aarav Pradhan and Saad Saeel.

We finalised a new Board in the middle of the year, with Kaitlynn Simmonds, Joe Swords and Omar Al Nuami standing down, and with Shweta Mayekar, Colette Barr and Sarah Al Dakhtar joining us, giving Azraq its first all female board. We also grew our partnerships, with SeaYou confirming their commitment to Azraq and Al Mahara Dive Center, Analog Production, Atteline, Hero Experiences, Team Peninsula, The Good Chic, Amanda x By M.A.R.Y and Thrift for Good joining us this year. We have some super exciting partners lined up already to announce in 2021 too!

With the majority of our activities hampered by Covid-19 regulations, we turned to our eco-friendly merchandise options as a possible revenue stream. Headed by our amazing Retail Manager, Hala Akkor, Azraq was able to provide locally-made, ocean themed, plastic (and elastic) free, reusable and washable face masks which met World Health Organisation standards. Taking on a small order to test the market, we sold out within an hour, but were able to easily restock later that week. Our face masks have been our best selling item and gave our retail team the impetus they needed to add on extra items such as beeswax wraps and rolls, natural scrub brushes for the kitchen, beach towels and reef safe sunscreen. A new product will be launched soon in partnership with Dnata too! (More on this soon).

Our reusable and washable face masks have been our biggest seller this year

Our new partnership with Thrift for Good enabled us to stock our items at various pop up stalls across Dubai and for some time became our main source of funding. I personally can not thank Jen Sault and her team enough for considering Azraq as a retail partner, nor Amanda Rushforth who not only is our networking queen, but consistently has Azraq front of mind in ways to raise funds for our organisation, which included a stall opportunity at Shop Retold. Our Retail Department underwent a slight change, with Hala going on maternity leave, creating an opportunity for Michal Konopa who assisted us for six weeks and provided us with a huge amount of ideas and support, before the incredible and highly experienced and passionate Rochelle Breedt joined the team. Not only have Michal and Rochelle brought a lot of insight into the team, but they have started us on a very exciting venture that I am looking forward to announcing soon.

With our focus on promoting reusable face masks, another mission under our Marine Debris campaign was launched after our Operations team and Board members held our annual strategy meeting, whereby we announced #maskmadness - not only does this initiative help to raise awareness of the approximate 129 billion masks used monthly - but confirms for those concerned, through scientific research, that reusable masks are just as safe, if not in some circumstances safer, than disposable masks. Thank you to Cosmopolitan Middle East for using our expertise and covering this concern in your October issue.

Another initiative that Azraq launched this year, was our paid “Activate” membership option which enables our members to not only be involved in our activities, but take advantage of the wonderful benefits and discounts from our fantastic sustainable partners. I would like to thank our partners, Soul Green, Dutch Oriental, Liquid of Life, Krush Brands, Al Mahara Dive Center, Myocum, Save our World, Quest for Adventure, Boon Coffee, SeaYou, Shop Retold, Surfhouse Dubai, Hero Experiences, Spill the Bean, Thrift for Good and The Good Chic for being a part of this membership program.

This month has been our busiest and is setting us up for 2021. With the assistance of Analog Production, we were able to visually demonstrate what Azraq does and showcase our successes to date through a video compiled and edited completely pro bono. We have also secured the support of public relations agency, Atteline, which will be providing Azraq with strategic planning, press material, media relations and partnership support pro bono for at least twelve months. And most excitingly, Azraq secured its first major sponsor, with regional marine equipment distributor, Exalto Emirates joining us as an “Activate” sponsor.

Our last initiative launched for the year, was our “Socially Shy” corporate environmental responsibility package, which again gave tribute to the social distancing regulations. This package engages our own members who will undertake beach and oceans clean ups, mangrove tree planting days and/or coral reef monitoring sessions on behalf of a corporate. Despite the difficulties of gathering for large scale clean-ups, our members have been undertaking small group activities, removing marine debris from within the ocean itself, including removal of abandoned fishing nets in Abu Dhabi and removal of marine litter alongside the coastlines, including the removal of nurdles at Sadiyaat Island, Abu Dhabi. Today, our members and supporters are planting mangrove seedlings at Al Zorah Nature Reserve, Ajman as well as undertaking a kayak among the already established beautiful mangrove forests as they gather (taking into account social distancing requirements of course) for our end of year get-together.

It’s been a tough but productive year, but one thing I am certain of, is that the team is in a much better position to take on whatever 2021 brings. For everyone’s sake, I hope it will be a less turbulent year than this one. I would like to thank everyone who provided their time, guidance, expertise and/or resources to Azraq and would like to particularly thank the Community Development Authority, the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, our amazing partners, Joelle Ziemian, Georgina Rawlings, Kathleen Russell, Shannon Hore, Aparna Shivpuri, Dr Ada Natoli, John Burt, the Azraq Board and Operations Team and our 75 members.

Wishing everyone a fantastic, safe and joyous festive season and a fabulous start to the new year. Should you be inclined, please consider Azraq for any festive gifts and also help us achieve our Christmas wishes.

Our plans for 2021 are already set, with one new campaign and another new mission set to be launched already. We look forward to announcing these new initiatives and to securing your continued support #fortheoceans

Marine equipment supplier - Exalto Emirates, first major sponsor of Azraq

Local marine conservation organisation, Azraq, is pleased to announce its first major sponsorship arrangement, with regional marine equipment distributor, Exalto Emirates.

Azraq, a volunteer-run not-for-profit entity, recently celebrated its third year of operations and has been aligned to Exalto Emirates since launching in early 2017, through donated stall space at Dubai Boat shows.

With a focus on reducing marine pollution, Exalto Emirates is thrilled to be supporting a grassroots marine conservation organisation with the same values and ethos.

“As we look forward to technological evolution in striking a balance between the environment, global commerce and industry, we recognize our corporate environmental responsibility to reduce pollution,” John Paul, General Manager of Exalto Emirates stated.

“As such, we not only partner with, promote and distribute products that significantly make a difference to aquatic life, but invest in those entities which share this view.”

For Azraq, the investment couldn’t have come at a better time, with the impacts of Covid-19 being felt right across the organisation, with events and service activities which usually generate the majority of the funds for the organisation down due to social distancing regulations.

“Knowing that organisations such as Exalto Emirates are willing to invest in our activities is extremely encouraging and illustrates that there is worth in the activities that Azraq provides, and that is very motivating for our team,” Azraq Founder, Natalie Banks stated.

Despite a tough year, Azraq has grown internally and has this year announced three initiatives, two with a focus on marine debris, including the impacts of disposable facemasks, and a recently launched campaign focusing on conserving and protecting the local coral reef systems across the United Arab Emirates.

The funds have been earmarked for increasing awareness of the issues the local marine environment is facing and educating the public on what activities they can do to increase its preservation and conservation.