Flossie Donnely and her marine charity Flossie and the Beach Cleaners have teamed up with Irish outdoor and adventure travel clothing brand Craghoppers to clean up Ireland's beaches for the month of July.
The 16-year-old and her marine charity aim to clean up a beach with the help of locals in the area, offering them a chance to learn about the damage that plastic pollution can have on marine life as well as climate change. Every Saturday the charity clean up a different beach.
Last Saturday on July 1 the charity alongside Craghoppers took to Seapoint beach, located just outside Dun Laoghaire, to kick off Plastic Free July. Some of the rubbish found included underwear, towels and false teeth.
Managing Director for Craghoppers Brian Fox said: “We’re so proud to be able to work with Flossie and the Beach Cleaners in this way. Their inspiring work has allowed everyone at Craghoppers learn about the most sustainable ways we can help keep Dublin’s beaches cleaner.
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"Sustainability is such a huge part of the DNA of the brand, we aim to help people explore the beauty of the world as sustainably as possible and helping to take care of Ireland’s coastlines with a beach clean is a new step we’re proud to have taken. We are thankful for the work Flossie and the Beach Cleaners have done so far, we’re already looking forward to partnering with them again.”
Alongside the charity members and Craghoppers were local members of the community and in total they gathered 19kg of waste which is about equal to the weight of an elephant’s heart. A number of hazards to wildlife were found, including a 20 year old credit card from 2003.
Speaking about the clean up Flossie said: “We’ve found a lot of strange things since we started cleaning beaches. Underwear and toys are surprisingly common, but we have found waste dating all the way back to the 60s! It's important to see Ireland inspired to make sure that our beaches are keeping free from plastic pollution and its refreshing to see brands like Craghoppers who genuinely care about sustainability, get involved with our work."
Flossie and the Beach Cleaners are at a different Irish beach each Saturday, which saw Flossie being named Eco Hero of the Year in 2023's Outsider awards. The marine charity will be at Dun Laoghaire for a clean-up at West Pier this Saturday, July 8.
For the calendar of beach clean ups and to donate to Flossie and the Beach Cleaners all the information can be found on their website. Craghoppers products can be bought from their website also.
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