Sponsored by L'OCCITANE, Plastic Odyssey weighs anchor on a three-year journey

Sponsored by L'OCCITANE, Plastic Odyssey weighs anchor on a three-year journey

After six years of preparations, the ship Plastic Odyssey and its crew left the port of Marseille on October 1 for a three-year trip around the world. Their goal is to fight plastic pollution at sea by acting at its source, meaning on land.

30 Stops of 3 Weeks Each on 3 Continents

The Plastic Odyssey, a former oceanographic research ship turned into a laboratory to fight plastic pollution, will make 30 stops of 3 weeks each on 3 continents over the course of 3 years: Mediterranean and Africa, South America, Southeast Asia.

Each stop will be an opportunity to raise awareness among locals and train future recyclers with low-tech methods that are easy to implement and use, but also very efficient. The goal is to foster the emergence of an economic model based on waste recovery developed by local entrepreneurs to prevent waste from ending up in the sea. This is an urgent need, since 20 tons of plastic is currently dumped into the oceans every minute.

Clean Up The Past & Build The Future

The Plastic Odyssey project features two pillars, with the first focused on solving an issue inherited from the past, and the second on moving forward.

"Clean Up The Past" means turning billions of tons of plastic into resources.

"Build The Future" brings together the teams' practical actions to promote the understanding and development of how we use plastic.

L'OCCITANE en Provence: Committed Partner

The Plastic Odyssey ship bears on its bow the colours of its main partner, L'OCCITANE en Provence. This partnership is further underscored by the cosmetics and wellness products brand's integration of sustainability into its business.

The brand is particularly committed to numerous waste-related initiatives, which are part of its 3R strategy:

• Reduce – by prioritizing the packaging's eco-design and promoting its re-use.
• Recycle – by promoting the use of recycled materials and ensuring that all waste can become a resource at the end of the products' life cycle.
• Respond to collectively create a sustainable future – an approach that involves partnerships with key players and innovative initiatives like Plastic Odyssey.