Press Release: New partnership looks to stop second wave of plastic pollution through eco masks that takes plastic out of the oceans

An innovative new partnership between eco-swimwear company Rash’R and not for profit campaigners City to Sea has today launched a new reusable mask in an effort “to stop a second wave of plastic pollution” entering our oceans.

The masks are made by Rash’R using ‘Ocean Balance fabric’. It uses sustainably sourced, polyester fibre that made from products such as fishing nets – one of the biggest causes of marine plastic pollution making up to 46% of plastic pollution in the oceans. For every 3-layer mask sold Rash’R will donate €1.50 to City to Sea’s campaigns to stop plastic pollution at source.

The issue of plastic pollution coming from disposable single-use masks has caused a wave of new plastic pollution during the coronavirus crisis. French Environmental Organisation, Opération Mer Propre (Operation Clean Sea)’s founder, Laurent Lombard, has warned there could soon be “more masks than jellyfish in the waters of the Mediterranean” while Scientists at University College London calculated that if every person in the UK used one disposable surgical mask each day for a year, it would create 124,000 tons of waste.

City to Sea have been campaigning during the coronavirus crisis to highlight the impact that it is having on plastic pollution – especially relating to PPE.

Commenting on the new partnership, Rebecca Burgess, the CEO of City to Sea said,

“We are working day and night to stop a second wave of plastic pollution entering our oceans caused by discarded masks. The prospect of more masks than jellyfish ending up in our oceans is both upsetting but also a spur to action. Through our partnership with Rash’R we have a really simple action that anyone can take – buy a reusable mask that not only you can use time and time again, but one that is made from plastics taken out of our oceans. This way we both prevent plastic pollution and begin to tackle the plastics that are already in our oceans”.