This fall, ECO sponsored river and beach clean-ups in the Dominican Republic – a combined effort stretching over several months and involving hundreds of volunteers.
Waste, primarily single-use plastics like food wrappers, straws, and water bottles, clogs up the Ozama and Isabela rivers, and becomes harmful to fish, animals and humans.
This waste moves downstream to the ocean, eventually breaking down into dangerous microplastics, which are ingested by fish, corals and other marine life.
In collaboration with Waste Free Oceans, ECO recently prevented over 10 tons of plastic from ending up in the Caribbean Sea, to be recycled and reused within the nation’s emerging circular market.
“ECO EYEWEAR and Waste Free Oceans established their partnership back in 2021 with the creation of sunglasses made out of ocean plastic. Since then, it has only grown. ECO’s contribution to Waste Free Oceans has made a real impact on the ground. Not only have we managed to clean up rivers and beaches in the Dominican Republic in light of our Caribbean Roadshow, but we also have brought to the attention of the Dominican government the urgency of providing recycling facilities for the region. We’re looking forward to continuing this fruitful collaboration with ECO in the coming years to further enhance our clean up groundwork and develop high quality products made out of recycled plastic.” says Alexandre Dangis from Waste Free Oceans.
At eco-eyewear.com you can follow the Wave of Change initiative! So far, they have collected over 40 tons of plastic, and we keep counting.
Watch the video to get to know the project and the people behind the efforts.
photos, video & text ECO EYEWEAR