Face à La Mer – Sea the change that you wish to sea in the world

As a girl, I aspired to be Ariel in the Little Mermaid. I haven’t pulled it off yet but I’ve kept hundreds of pet fish, relocated to the seaside and learned to scuba dive.  Diving feels otherworldly, breathing underwater and interacting with schools of porcupine puffers, sea turtles at cleaning stations and grumpy eels.

World Ocean Day is coming up (June 8th) and today, I want to introduce you to a brand that also loves the sea.  Face à La Mer is a carbon neutral t-shirt company, dedicated to ocean conservation and created by a (way better) scuba diver named Gordon.  In this post, I’m wearing the Women’s Drop t-shirt. The design reminds me of the ripple effect and how we can all help when it comes to preventing pollution and protecting our waterways.

I was drawn to Face à La Mer’s ocean-themed tees. They are manufactured using renewable energy, printed with eco-friendly ink and, with every purchase, they make a donation to Project Aware (a group of scuba divers protecting underwater environments).  They also have t-shirts for kids and men and the picture below shows the Climate Neutral tag from my tee.

If you’re looking for ways to help take care of the ocean, here are some ideas:

1. Decrease your single-use product consumption (e.g., plastic straws)

2. Take part in a local river or beach clean.  In California, Heal the Bay puts on monthly events.  Surfrider Foundation operates more broadly in the US and Canada and you can find the nearest chapter or club on their website.

3. Avoid products that contribute to harming marine populations or coral reefs.  Examples of these would be tortoiseshell hair accessories or combs and coral or shark jewelry.

4. Don’t eat seafood (google bycatch). If you must, try to buy local.  90 percent of the seafood eaten in the US comes from China and Vietnam, which increases that food item’s carbon footprint.  We also eat the same five types of fish such as salmon and tuna but there are hundreds of sustainable fish species such as scup and mullet.

5. Support brands like Face à La Mer.  It feels good supporting a company that aligns with your values. Vote with your wallet.

I’d like to say thank you to Face à La Mer for sponsoring this post and as always, all opinions are my own.