Has the blue beauty movement caught your eye? More importantly, has it touched your heart and inspired you to do more? 

According to the World Wildlife Federation, a dump truck-sized load of plastic enters the world’s oceans every minute. That amounts to 8 million tons of plastic a year. The blue beauty movement not only shows its concern for this statistic and the health of our oceans but also acknowledges the steps it takes to use fewer plastics to make a much-needed impact. It’s a significant first step, but Coastal Cleanup Day gives you another way to make an even bigger impact.

Coastal Cleanup Day

The third Saturday in September is International Coastal Cleanup Day. This year that's September 18th! It’s designed to encourage people to head to the beach, not for a day in the sun, but to help rid beaches of the garbage they collect. It’s also designed to spread awareness about the importance of protecting and preserving the world’s oceans and other waterways.

If you live near an ocean, join local ocean conservation groups to hit the beach and become a part of the global movement to do your part and clean up the coastline. The exciting news is that it’s estimated that 6 million volunteers across 90 countries participate, making this a global movement.

Beach trash breakdown

What’s really interesting about the Trash Free Seas movement is that they remove the trash, but they also catalog it, so it’s easier to see what the problems are. They do this so that they can make a stronger impact directly at the source. The results for 2020 are:

#1 cigarette butts

#2 food wrappers

#3 plastic bottle caps

#4 plastic grocery bags

#5 metal bottle caps

#6 plastic beverage bottles

#7 straws, stirrers

#8 beverage cans

#9 plastic takeout containers

#10 glass bottles

You can see that plastic is a huge problem because most items in that top 10 list contain plastic in some form or another, even the filters of cigarette butts. That’s a pretty shocking amount of plastic garbage in the oceans. Then, when you realize that on International Coastal Cleanup day in 2018, just that one day, 23 million pounds of that plastic garbage was collected—it’s jaw-dropping.

How you can help

Obviously, heading to the ocean and participating in these efforts is a beautiful way to help make an impact. Even if you don’t live near an ocean, you can contact local conservation groups to see which of your waterways need help, be it a river, lake, pond, creek. There are a lot of waterways in this world and most of them are currently in need of human support. Don’t worry if you’re not available on the official cleanup day, you can do your part anytime.

Going beyond picking up garbage, there are other things you can do to help:

♦ Don’t litter

♦ Reduce the amount of trash, especially plastic trash you create.

♦ Buy recyclable or compostable products.

♦ Don’t put recyclables in plastic bags.

♦ Recycle more, recycle right

♦ Be a responsible seafood consumer and look for seafood and fish that’s been farmed in a way that doesn’t harm the ecosystem and doesn’t create pollution.

♦ Watch what you flush down the toilet.

♦ Learn about rainwater runoff and how to manage it better.

♦ Target rivers and join the National River Cleanup.

♦ Stay educated and up to date on ways you can help the environment.

♦ Be an advocate for change by sharing your knowledge and encouraging others to be more responsible, too.

Hair La Vie does its part

At Hair La Vie, we’re willing to walk the walk and do our part to help reduce waste and protect the oceans. You can feel good about using our products because we ensure that they are ocean safe, our bottles are recyclable, and we’ve switched to lower-impact packaging for our Shampoo, Conditioner, and Hair La Vie Mask. If you think our packaging looks and feels different, this is why. You’re still getting the same quality, all-natural products, and you’ll see the same results, but now we’re even more eco-conscious.

We’ve also rolled out our new Foundation Collagen Elixir in packaging that uses 86% less plastic than traditional containers. This means you can cultivate your utmost beauty from within while still being mindful of the environment. This is blue beauty at its finest.

Final thoughts

Garbage, especially plastics, in the ocean and other waterways is a huge problem that seems to be growing exponentially. This is not a problem that will be solved in a short period of time or through one movement. This is something that needs the attention of everyone on the planet, and proactive steps are a crucial part of the process.

Participating in International Coastal Cleanup Day is a wonderful start. You can be a part of a big community of likeminded people who care about the oceans and this planet as a whole. It doesn’t matter if you live near an ocean or not, there’s most likely a body of water near you that can use your help.

Go beyond helping one day a year to helping every day by changing some of your habits. Cut back on the plastics you use, how you dispose of plastics, and how you approach the environment as a whole. Education is always important and can help you learn even more ways to make a positive impact and to encourage others to do the same.