Converse Want your Help Removing Plastic From the Ocean
Converse Renew Labs was set up with one goal, to remove 80 million tonnes of plastic from the ocean. Join us as we chat to key drivers of this initiative.
Words: Sasha Wardrop
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, have you heard of it before? – For those who haven’t, it’s a massive patch of garbage floating somewhere between California and Japan. The patch covers 1.6 Million Square Kilometres (roughly the size of Queensland!), contains an estimated 80 million tons of plastic, and is doubling in size each decade.
Now Converse has stepped in to tackle this colossal problem.
How exactly do they plan to do this? With the help of Take3.org and the Converse All Stars, a group of young, eco-conscious activists and artists from around the globe, they have launched a completely virtual store – Renew Labs – located right on the garbage patch itself.
“We want to turn the most iconic sneaker into the most sustainable one” says Miguel Carrillo, Converse Marketing Director, “but we know we can’t do it alone. So, we’re connecting with the All Stars — with these young, progressive thinkers from Bogotá to Bangalore — and getting them to help us figure out how to get there. They’re a real driver in our evolution.”
The store showcases Converse’s highly limited collection of sustainable sneaker prototypes, which have been created by All Stars from around the world. Think shoes made from innovative dyes like colour-changing berries, paint made from glow-in-the-dark microbes, and ink made from air pollution will all be on show. You can go in the running to win your pick of one of these exclusive sustainable sneakers by donating to Take3.org through the virtual store.
However, Renew Labs ultimate aim is to use its proceeds to fund the removal of the Garbage Patch on which it stands – closing it down for good by removing its trash foundation as soon as possible.
To some, this might seem like a contradiction between consumption and conservation, but not to Maggie Zhou, slow fashion advocate and one of the driving forces behind the project: “I’ve always been an advocate for high style with low impact — but with this project, we wanted to do one better: What if style could have a positive impact?”
When asked what she first thought of the idea Maggie was unsurprisingly intrigued, “when Converse approached me I was like “Wait, whaaaat?” You’re telling me you want to build a virtual store in the middle of the ocean on a floating island of trash? You’re dreaming!”. However, Zhou was excited for the challenge “I love that Converse always thinks outside of the box and never fails to challenge existing frameworks. Apart from my shock, I was really excited about the possibility of seeing it all come to fruition. It felt really good being part of something bigger than myself.”
Fellow All Star Varsha Yajman, a Climate Justice Advocate, speaks to the store’s ability to create new channels for climate advocacy, “Renew Labs is really showing people that they have the power to make change. Individual action needs to be embraced and by making a purchase on the virtual store or by having a conversation with someone about it, everyone can be part of the path to a more sustainable future”.
Although the ultimate goal is to close the Renew Labs store, it doesn’t mean the All Stars’ work is over “There’s 80 thousand tons of plastic being released into the ocean every year, and globally less than 10% of plastic is recycled. So while closing the store will not mark the end of the problem, we hope that it will raise awareness for all of us, and future generations, to help find sustainable solutions” says Yajman.
Currently Converse has raised enough to clear 760,000 pieces of trash from the patch and they need our help to clear the rest. Visit Renew Labs to check out the initiative and donate today.
