#Take3FortheSea :: An interview with the legends who started this charity

I'm sure you have probably already seen our recent launch of our CHARITY T-SHIRTS.  Recently our head designer, Rosie designed 4 T-Shirts to unite together and help raise awareness around the Global Plastic Pollution crisis.

Here at La Luna Rose we are dedicated to help raise awareness for a healthier sustainable planet all while supporting ethically made products. 100% of the profits from every T-Shirt sold (That's 40% of the retail price) is donated directly to TAKE 3 FOR THE SEA, a non-profit based out of Australia and making waves through their global voice and education around the world. Each T-Shirt purchased educates 7 kids on the future of their planet and the Global Plastic Pollution Crisis that we are in. We’re a huge believer in knowledge & understanding that brings about the change and leads the future so we’re pretty stoked with what we can collectively achieve with these Tee’s.

SO. Who is TAKE 3 and why are we so passionate about supporting their non-profit? We recently caught up with them and asked them a few questions about the work they are doing, how we can help and what our future looks like.... Read on, get inspired and get behind this great charity. x

Hey guys, thanks for taking 5 and chatting to us about your mission and the amazing work you are doing with TAKE 3. 

It’s a pretty big force to reckon with, to save the sea but we are right behind you. Can you tell us about your main mission for Take3fortheSea?

Take 3’s mission is to reduce global plastic pollution through education and participation. We deliver education programs in schools, surf clubs, communities and online to raise awareness of plastic pollution and inspire action to prevent it. We champion a very simple call to action: to Take 3 pieces of rubbish with you when you leave the beach, waterway or… anywhere, and you’ve made a difference. Every single person’s #Take3fortheSea contributes to a cleaner and healthier planet.

Our original mission has recently evolved to include ‘and promote the transition to a circular economy’. We recognise the need to defer from the traditional and wasteful ‘linear’ economy to a circular model where technical resources are valued for their ongoing contribution and recycled indefinitely and biological nutrients are returned safely to become soil.

How was TAKE 3 FOR THE SEA born?

The concept of Take 3 was developed in 2009 during a discussion between co-founders Amanda Marechal and Roberta Dixon-Valk as the pair spoke about the ever-growing problem of marine debris. (You can watch the recent short film about our creation story here:TOMRA PRESENTS: Take 3 For The Sea)

Mandy and Roberta realised that if everyone took just 3 pieces of rubbish when they left the beach, the amount of plastic pollution ending up in our oceans would decrease significantly. Mandy and Roberta joined forces with environmentalist Tim Silverwood in 2009 and Take 3 officially launched in 2010. In 2011 the organisation won the inaugural Taronga Conservation Society’s Green Grant and $50 000. With this grant, Take 3 began setting up education programs in schools and establishing projects with key user groups including surfers and recreational fishers.

Take 3 obtained deductible gift recipient (DGR) charity status in 2017 meaning that donations to to the organisation over $2 tax deductible (in Australia). Fast forward to today and Take 3 have a truly global impact with participation in 129 countries through social media. Take 3 have over 170,000 followers across our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter pages and over 70,000 ‘#Take3forthesea’ photo tags.

The Take 3 message has never been louder! Educate, participate, share the Take 3 vision for clean oceans.

What do you see as the major obstacles in accomplishing your main mission or Goals?

In the beginning, one of our biggest obstacles was getting the message out there that our oceans were in danger. That what you see on the surface is not what was lying beneath. As our CEO and co-founder, Tim Silverwood said recently, “This is a snowball now. This issue when we first started sounded like you were shouting out and there was nothing coming back. But now, we don’t have to shout. We just whisper and it reverberates.”

Our next major obstacle is achieving sustained, societal behavioural change. The success of our message lies in its simplicity, hence people are willing to Take their 3 pieces of rubbish because it’s a small task. However, asking people to avoid single use plastics means asking people to change their daily rituals; like a takeaway coffee every morning or takeaway food on a Friday night. The next step in this tricky puzzle is continuing to wage war on waste and then following through with avoidance of it in our daily lives. The good thing is, the Take 3 team and countless others have proven that the switch away from single use plastics is not only achievable; it’s not as hard as people may think! We have just as much hope and optimism about tackling this challenge and for the future of our oceans as ever before.

Tell us a little more about what we’re currently ‘working’ with. What state are the oceans in today compared with say, 10 years ago? 50 years ago?

The current state of our oceans is not good. Our oceans are suffocating under the weight of all of this plastic and it’s as bad as it has ever been. That said, the knowledge and understanding of the plastic problem has never been greater! More and more people, communities, businesses, corporations and governments are taking action on plastic and adopting systems to solve the problem. So, what we’re working with is a big problem, but even bigger potential in finding a sustainable solution.

To avoid the decline in Ocean ‘quality’ you have set up an education program. Can you tell us a little more about these programs? Who are they for specifically and how does one get involved?

Take 3’s Education Programs are fundamental to achieving our organisation’s mission. Our Education Programs include our Schools Program, Early Childhood Program and Surf Life Saving Clubs Project (among others).

Each program or project is engineered to educate participants through hands-on activities and multimedia presentations. Through Take 3’s Schools Education, we work with primary and secondary schools to raise awareness of plastic pollution & waste and encourage simple actions to prevent it. Our approach is to provide students with a compelling reason to act before encouraging them to develop their own ideas to solve the problem locally.

The Take 3 Early Childhood Program allows children to participate in learning experiences that include discussions, art and craft work, storytelling and music to introduce the problem and inspire solutions. Adopting the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), students will become mini marine conservationists, communicating their new found knowledge to families and the community.

Take 3’s Surf Life Saving Project works with Surf Life Saving Clubs (SLSCs), with a particular focus on nippers, educating about plastic pollution, to spread at the Take 3 message and inspire SLSCs to become active in reducing the litter, waste and pollution that is so detrimental to our coastal and marine environment.

What are some of the major action items that you are focusing on at the moment?

Through the support and participation of our partners and community we aim to achieve the following in the next 12 months: remove 3 million items of rubbish; educate 30,000 students and deliver 100 events & activities. We’re particularly passionate about building our #take3forthesea movement across the globe and enhancing our relationships with key stakeholders to make it happen. In 2018 we developed a new partnership with the World Surf League (WSL) to engage the global surfing community in our project – we’d love to see millions of surfers and surf fans participating in our simple action. That includes you too! Simply share your #take3forthesea on social media and you will help us in our mission.

Is there a primary area of coastline you are focusing on? If so, why?

Take 3’s simple message can be actioned anytime, anywhere. From inland rivers, creeks and lakes to parks, forests and beaches: no matter where you are, you can always pick up rubbish and dispose of it thoughtfully. For this reason, we aim to focus on every coastline internationally! In saying that, Take 3 is based near Sydney, Australia and we deliver most of our direct programs along the east coast of Australia.

What have you achieved to date through TAKE 3 FOR THE SEA?

To list all of Take 3’s achievements would take quite some time! Some of our milestone achievements that we’re particularly proud of include:

•Educating over 200 000 students on the global plastic pollution crisis

•Removing an estimated 2.5 million pieces of rubbish from the environment every year

• Establishing our program in over 30 surf life saving clubs

•Partnering with the World Surf League in 2018 to spread our message to the global surfing community.

• Establishing sponsorships from aligned businesses including: TOMRA, JOCO, The Clean Collective and AVID.

• Participating in major media projects like the documentary BLUE and ABC’s War on Waste.

Apart from of course picking up 3 items of trash from the beach and waterways when we visit (Which we definitely do here in Bali!) how else can people get involved with TAKE 3 FOR THE SEA?

Other than Taking 3, people can spread the Take 3 message in their local communities. #Take3fortheSea has strength in numbers! As a NFP organisation, Take 3 relies on donations and the support of volunteers to help us achieve our goals. We’d encourage anyone who has the capacity to donate to please do so. For every $10 we receive we can remove 30 pieces of rubbish from the environment or educate a student in our schools program.

What are your 5 best tips you can give to our readers to keep the ocean clean?

1. #Take3fortheSea ! To clarify what this means – it is to simply take 3 pieces of rubbish with you when you leave the beach, waterway or… anywhere and dispose of them responsibly.

2. Refuse single use plastics . The ‘big four’ are plastic water bottles, takeaway coffee cups, plastic shopping bags and plastic drinking straws. The good news is that all of these have awesome, sustainable and reusable alternatives that are widely available. Purchase yours here!There are many other plastic offenders like takeaway food containers/cutlery and cheap clothes made from synthetic materials (also known as fast fashion) that you should seek to avoid too. But we suggest tackling those ‘big four’ first and switching out other single use plastics once you get the hang of it.

3. Share knowledge about ocean plastic pollution with your friends and family and always try to lead by example.

4. Vote with your wallet. Avoid purchasing items wrapped in plastic (like fruits and vegetables) as this is simply unnecessary. Once retailers realise that consumers don’t want their produce plastic wrapped – they’ll change their habits for the better!

5. Vote for leaders who are committed to protecting our precious environment. We need leaders and legislation that value the natural environment over destruction and greed. So have a think at election time about the type of planet you want and vote for leaders who share that same vision.

Thanks so much for your time, keep up the killer work guys! If you are interested in learning more about the work Take 3 does you can check out their website over here. If you're interested in supporting their work, you can shop our T-Shirt's that directly donate $25 for each T-Shirt sold to help with the amazing work they do! You can shop the collection here.