The Story Behind The Chipolo Ocean Edition

Chipolo is joining the fight against ocean plastic pollution by turning discarded fishing nets, trawls and ropes into a key-finding solution.

Since the beginning, we’ve put a lot of effort into making the Chipolo key finders a lasting product that would provide people with peace of mind for years to come.

The replaceable battery that makes the Chipolo a durable solution to your key-finding problems has been at the core of our every collection from the start.

But the replaceable battery has been more than just a way to keep Chipolo active for as long as possible. It was also our way to ensure the Chipolos don't turn to more waste as soon as the battery runs out.

And to make sure as few Chipolos as possible end up discarded, we also created our own Recycle & Renew program.

Through the program, Chipolo users can replace their old Chipolos that don't have a replaceable battery with new ones that do and send the old Chipolos back to us for recycling, free of charge.

From ocean plastic to Ocean Edition

Now it’s time for the next step.

The shell of Chipolo has always been made of plastic. It's soft to the touch and durable enough to protect the smart parts inside the Chipolo from the daily wear and tear.

But plastic is also one of the biggest pollutants on the planet, so we looked into alternatives that could help us minimize our impact here too.

With a little research, we found the perfect solution – recycled plastic made from discarded ocean fishing nets.
Recycled fishing nets fit the Chipolo perfectly and we are very enthusiastic to use ocean waste to create something helpful again.

Repurposing ocean plastic waste

Only about 10% of the plastic the world produces is recycled, the rest accumulates in landfills, or even worse it is dumped or washed away into the ocean where it kills marine life and threatens our existence.

Plastic particles can now be found in every part of the ocean and they’re here to stay; it can take up to 600 years for plastic to break down and in the process, it produces toxins that poison both air and water.

Today, we find ourselves at a tipping point where preserving the environment should already be our priority and anything we can do to help is a step in the right direction.

For the Ocean Edition project, we connected with Oceanworks, the global marketplace for recycled ocean plastic materials and products, whose mission is to accelerate the market for recycled ocean plastic to clean-up the ocean.

The recycled ocean plastic that was used in the Chipolo Ocean Edition comes from recycled fishing equipment, such as fishing nets, trawls, and ropes.

The problem of discarded fishing nets, known also as ghost nets, is harrowing since they not only pollute but also keep on killing marine life long after they become trash.

We were especially happy to find recycled fishing nets are perfect for making Chipolos!

This type of plastic (polypropylene ocean plastic) is recovered from discarded fishing gear collected in shallow waters near the shoreline, as well as on land through interception programs that allow fishermen to dispose of their old fishing gear without polluting the environment.

$1 donated to Oceanic Global

While companies like Oceanworks are trying to minimize the already existing problem of plastic by repurposing different types of plastic waste, others are focusing on improving our habits for the future.

This is why we're also donating $1 from each Chipolo Ocean Edition sold to the non-profit organization Oceanic Global in support of their ocean clean-up efforts.

Oceanic Global inspires us to care deeply for the ocean and provides solutions to protect it. The international non-profit sheds light on humanity’s essential relationship to the ocean and empowers individuals, communities, and industries to create positive change.

Donate to Oceanic Global in support of their conservation efforts

How you can help even more

Fixing the problem we already have is only the first step. The good news is that there is a lot you can already do to help minimize plastic waste today.

Do you carry stuff in bags, drink water and eat lunch?

With just a few small changes to these, you can prevent more than 400 pieces of plastic from becoming waste.

The easiest way to start is to stop using plastic bags and start using reusable bags made of fabric.

Already doing that? Follow it up with reusable water bottles.

By using these you can prevent an estimated 156 single-use plastic bottles from ending up as trash in just 1 year!

To help even more, you can also switch to reusable lunch containers.

Changing our personal habits for a better tomorrow is a global challenge that we can all be part of, and it starts with the little things in our homes.

_Sources:

_{• Earth Day – Single-Use Plastics • Ecowatch – Ghost Fishing Gear Greenpeace Report • National Geographic – Plastic Planet Waste Pollution Trash Crisis • National Geographic – Plastic Produced Recycling Waste Ocean Trash Debris Environment • Nature – Great Pacific Garbage Patch Accumulating Plastic • Phys – Ghost Fishing Gear: The Trash Haunting Ocean Wildlife • Phys – Ocean Acidification And Human Health • Some Vegan Facts • The Guardian – Dumped Fishing Gear Is Biggest Plastic Polluter • The New Plastics Economy – Rethinking The Future Of Plastics • The Ocean Cleanup – Great Pacific Garbage Patch • WWF – Removal Of Ghost Nets}