L’Occitane has partnered with Plastic Odyssey, a 3-year expedition designed to help reduce plastic pollution at sea.

Recent figures have indicated that there is a staggering 165 million tons of plastic in our oceans and that if we don’t tackle the problem of single-use plastic now, the oceans will contain more plastic than fish by 2050.

Plastic Odyssey’s vessel features an on-board plastic recycling point that will generate power as it sails along 33 of the most polluted coasts of Latin America, Africa and Asia.

The vessel and its crew will collect, sort and recycle plastic waste to help reduce pollution at sea. Non-recyclable plastic will be converted into fuel by pyrolysis; a process of decomposition brought about by high temperatures generated by the recycling point.

Plastic Odyssey will sail 40,000 miles over the course of 3 years. On each of the 33 stopovers, the crew will educate local communities on the economic possibilities of recycling and provide the opportunity for people to prevent pollution at its source, while simultaneously enabling the improvement of living conditions worldwide. The team will develop tailored recycling tools for each community it visits in order to meet their specific needs.

To raise awareness and generate funding for the Plastic Odyssey expedition, L’Occitane is launching Green Day on Friday 30th August. £10 from any refill sold on this day will go towards the partnership, funding both the expedition and education resources for stopovers along the way.