The Economist, a leading source of analysis on international business and world affairs, this week unveiled a new experiential marketing programme encouraging Londoners to challenge their assumptions about plastic pollution and its effect on ocean health.

Entitled “Don’t bin plastics, yet” the activation, brought to life by global brand experience agency Sense, comprises an art installation of a fish made from recycled plastic dredged from the river Thames. The fish weighs 24 kilograms, equal to the weight of plastic dumped in the ocean every tenth of a second. The programme is inspired by a recent article in The Economist, The known unknowns of plastic pollution, which explores what we know and don’t know about the costs of the activity.

Visitors discover that of the 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic waste produced since the 1950s, only 9% has been recycled. On current trends, by 2050 there could be more plastic in the world’s waters than fish, measured by weight. Yet only 10% of 3.6 million tonnes of solid waste discarded each day across the globe is plastic. And the alternatives to plastic are not always better.

For example, a British government analysis from 2011 calculated that a cotton tote bag must be used 131 times before greenhouse-gas emissions from making and transporting it improve on disposable plastic bags. The Economist writes that the cost of plastic pollution is comparatively overstated, even if more can be done to reduce it.

“The ‘Don’t bin plastics, yet’ activation brings The Economist’s mind-stretching journalism to life and challenges consumers to rethink what they know about plastic pollution,” said Mark Cripps, Chief Marketing Officer, The Economist Group. “This programme ensures our globally curious readers are armed with useful information about the consequences of plastics versus other environmental pollution, and the gaps that remain in our understanding, to help them make educated decisions about their actions.”

“Visitors will be offered a free coffee in an edible cup by our brand ambassadors and encouraged to take part in a conversation about the plastics debate, including the impact on the oceans and the need for more plastics collection and recycling,” explained Sense Account Manager Loren Heer.

The ‘Don’t bin plastics, yet’ activity is part of The Economist’s live content marketing programme, which aims to attract new readers to The Economist through creative and provocative real-world experiences. People who take part in the programme have the opportunity to subscribe to The Economist at an introductory rate of £12 for 12 weeks, and receive a subscription gift.

The activation kicked off at London’s Paddington Station on 20th November and will continue to Waterloo on 29th November, Victoria on 11th December and Liverpool Street on 12th December. More dates will be announced as they become available.

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Mexican beer brand Corona and charity Parley for the Oceans are taking their partnership against marine plastic pollution to the global stage by hijacking iconic symbols of paradise for today’s World Oceans Day (June 8^th 2018).

As part of the campaign, the partners have created a sculpture, The ‘Wave of Waste’, in Old Street, London, featuring Australian actor Chris Hemsworth (Marvel’s Thor) surfing in a wave of plastic collected in the UK.

Over the last few days, Londoners have been able to contribute to this installation by dropping off their own plastic waste at the site of the billboard.

Corona and Parley launched their partnership a year ago; the latest campaign sees Corona hijacking its own advertising and iconic visions of paradise, plus the classic Hawaiian shirt pattern, to reveal the impact of marine plastic pollution.

Corona is selling a new Hawaiian shirt on its website which features threads made from marine plastic pollution. The Parley Ocean Plastic is collected from the open ocean, remote islands, shorelines and coastal communities. The design subtly features everyday plastic items like toothbrushes and plastic bottles to represent the fact that the issue at a distance is hard to see, but pervasive up close. The limited-edition shirts are available in three colours and can be purchased at wslstore.com/corona for £53 ($70). Proceeds from each Corona Hawaiian shirt will go to Parley for the Oceans to help support its mission to protect our oceans.

Installations like the Old Street one will also be appearing in Melbourne, Santiago, Bogota, Santo Domingo and Lima, all made from plastic collected from local beaches. The London installation includes plastic collected by The Marine Conservation Society from Holywell beach, East Sussex.

“As a brand that is synonymous with the beach, we are seeing the destruction of shorelines and oceans up close,” says Felipe Ambra, Global VP of Corona. “Our ads usually showcase paradise the way we assume it to be, pristine and beautiful, but today it’s increasingly hard to find a beach without plastic. Through our work with Parley, we hope to reverse this trend. This World Oceans Day, Corona wants to remind the world that we all need to protect our beaches to continue enjoying them.”

Corona and Parley point out that roughly eight million metric tons of plastic waste are dumped into the ocean each year. To raise awareness of this fact, the brand is inserting plastic into other places it doesn’t belong. Corona is starting by twisting its own campaign tagline and imagery to show the unfortunate fate of paradise plagued by plastic pollution.

Last month, the partnership changed the name of the “Corona Bali Pro” World Surf League event to “Corona Bali Pro-tected”, to make the point that even the most remote and aspirational paradises around the world are suffering.

Corona and Parley are committed to protecting 100 islands around the world by 2020 (see 100IslandsProtected.com). Launched last year, the partnership is already working with local communities in the Maldives, Dominican Republic and Chile and will continue to scale up efforts in several more regions within the next year. Corona x Parley also announced a fundraising platform called Clean Waves in May that upcycles plastic pollution into fashion products for purchase, with all proceeds going to additional island protection.

Parley for the Oceans is a global network covering the creative industries, brands, governments and environmental groups aimed at protecting the oceans. The organization has formed alliances with major corporations including adidas, Anheuser Busch InBev (Corona), Intel and the United Nations.

Corona is the leading beer brand in the Mexico and the most popular Mexican beer worldwide, exported to more than 180 countries. The Corona brand is owned by Anheuser-Busch.

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Eco-cleaning pioneers Ecover is opening London’s first Rubbish Café Thursday 3rd May in Covent Garden. The Ecover Rubbish Café is currency free, only accepting recyclable plastic as payment, and will serve a zero-waste menu from eco-chef Tom Hunt.

It will be kitted out with a stylish upcycled décor inspired by eco-designer Max McMurdo and consumers will be invited to learn how to #LiveClean while they lunch in sumptuously upcycled surroundings. The two-day pop-up will serve up inspiration and ideas for simple swaps everyone can make to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic.

The Rubbish Café celebrates the arrival of Ecover’s new washing-up liquid range which comes in a new 100% recycled and 100% recyclable bottle. Free re-fills of washing-up liquid will be available – consumers simply have to bring along any old bottle.

The menu created by Tom Hunt, eco-chef and author of The Natural Cook includes:

• The Revolution Bowl – Spelt and rye grains with red kale, cranberries, hazelnuts, beetroot soya-yoghurt, roasted rhubarb and a pickled hen’s egg;
• The Mother Nature Bowl – Wild turmeric rice, cauliflower and leaves, golden sultanas, coriander, chaat masala, coconut (vegan);
• The Rubbish Bowl – Puy lentil salad with sprouting broccoli, dried apple, wild garlic pesto, pink peppercorns, feta and seaweed;
• Banana bread – made from saved bananas.

The vegetarian and vegan bowl food options will be served on a first come, first serve basis to ensure nothing goes to waste.

Consumers will also be able to swap their plastic for a coffee provided by Over Under.

Ecover says it is waging a war against plastic pollution. It believes that using plastic for a single-use is fundamentally wrong. In 2016 less than half of all plastic bottles were collected for recycling and only 7% of those were turned into new bottles. The resulting impact on waterways and marine life is horrifying with an estimated 12.7 million tonnes ending up in oceans each year.

Ecover’s mission is to challenge the perception that ‘rubbish’ has no value, encouraging people to consider their own plastic use and how they can make small positive changes to reduce their impact on the environment.

Ecover also leads by example – the Rubbish Café marks the launch of Ecover’s first 100% post-consumer recycled and 100% recyclable plastic washing-up liquid bottle, which has a 70% lower carbon footprint than a virgin plastic bottle.

Tom Domen, Global Innovation Lead at Ecover says: “We’ve been fighting for a greener clean at Ecover for the past 40 years. We believe that single-use, throwaway plastic culture has had its day. So, we’ve given our plastic packaging a serious rethink. Our new washing-up liquid bottle is 100% recycled and 100% recyclable – with a commitment that all our bottles will go this way by 2020. The Rubbish Café is part of our Clean World Revolution… to show the public the incredible value of putting plastics back into the recycling system to help close the loop on plastic production, minimising the amount of new plastic that is created. So besides serving up fantastic sustainable food at The Rubbish Cafe, we’ll be revealing small steps we can all make to benefit our environment so more can pledge to #LiveClean”.

Ecover is one of the largest producers of ecological cleaning products in Europe. Founded 39 years ago in Malle, Belgium, Ecover was among the first to put phosphate-free washing powder on the market which were only banned in 2013. With a rebellious spirit, experience and clever science, Ecover has developed vegan-friendly cleaning products with plant-based and mineral ingredients that help consumers clean their homes with great efficiency and minimal impact on our environment. These products are available in around 40 countries and Ecover’s contribution to the environment over time has been recognised by Time Magazine and the United Nations Environment Programme.

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