Words by Smiley Team
Get inspired by crowdfunding projects that give back. Learn how entrepreneurs are solving the world's problems by supplying the goods and services we need.
If you found out you could save the ocean just by drinking water out of a bottle you’d want to know more, wouldn’t you?
Nick Doman, 27, and Will Pearson, 27, from London have created just that with Ocean Bottle – a bottle that directly funds the collection of 1,000 ocean-bound plastic bottles in weight. Locals in coastal communities then turn these bottles into a sustainable livelihood.
Now, the founders are going even further to produce BOB: a Big Ocean Bottle, which is a 1 litre version of the original. Their Kickstarter campaign hopes to help them achieve this goal.
“We knew that we wanted to create a product that would have a positive effect on our ocean,” say the founders. “And, after seeing how destructive single-use plastics are to the health of the planet, creating a reusable bottle made of recycled materials seemed like the obvious choice.”
22 million kgs of plastic enter our ocean every day, they found out. That's one truckload every minute. “Plus, up to 80% of the world's ocean plastic comes from a lack of waste management in coastal communities around the world,” they say. “We have found the most scalable opportunity to stop plastic pollution at the source and improve social mobility for millions.”
By 2025, the founders aim to have collected 80 million kilograms of plastic, which is equivalent to 7 billion plastic bottles, stopping them from ever entering our oceans.
Ocean plastic is an issue that affects us all, but especially those in coastal communities, the founders say. For Nick and Will, a reusable bottle is a product that anyone can have and use every day to reduce their own plastic footprint.
Their business and crowdfunding initiative allows people to have a continued impact the more they use it, and directly connects people to the impact they are creating.
Inspiring other businesses looking to give back, Nick and Will say: “Build impact into your business model, and be transparent.”
Support the Ocean Bottle Kickstarter campaign here.
Could you make this happen in your community? Be part of the change. Or, if you, or someone you know, has launched a crowdfunding social enterprise project, email [email protected].
