Shop with a cause and help restore coral reefs !
We all love turquoise water, vast marine life and coral reefs in this caribbean paradise.
Global warming, ocean acidification, overfishing, ignorance and basically all of our consumerism habits as humans, have a greater impact in coral reefs that we either know or want to accept.
It's time for us HUMANS to unite 4 coral REEFS.
PRODUCTS WITH PURPOSE
¿What are corals?
Corals are tiny animals, they are colonial organisms. This means that they are composed of hundreds of thousands of individual animals, called polyps.
Each polyp has a stomach that opens at only one end. This is their mouth and it's surrounded by a circle of tentacles. The polyp uses these tentacles for defense, to capture small animals for food, and to clear away debris.
Most reef-building corals (hard corals) also contain photosynthetic algae, called zooxanthellae, that live in their tissues. The corals and algae have a one of a kind mutualistic relationship.
The coral provides the algae with a protected environment and compounds they need for photosynthesis. In return, the zooxanthellae produce oxygen, help the coral to remove wastes and supply the coral with glucose, glycerol, and amino acids, which are the products of photosynthesis.
The coral uses these products to make proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, and produce calcium carbonate. This is the amazing driving force behind the growth and productivity of coral reefs.
¿What's happening with coral reefs?
Coral reefs have been in global decline because of us humans. Global warming and ocean acidification, are the main reasons, ¿how, you might ask?
With more and more green house gas emissions released to the atmosphere, due to our civilization's way of living, fueled mainly on fossils and based on a feeding system that relies on industrial farming (meat, dairy and fishing industries), and if you add on top of this, the massive deforestation currently happening around the globe, the result is the elevation of the planet's temperature including the oceans, and the loss of entire ecosystems.
Oceans and coral reefs serve as natural filters; nature is very wise and it is prepared to deal with challenges, however oceans are battling to filter these huge amounts of toxic emissions, and at the same time dealing with the massive problem of plastic and chemicals released directly and indirectly into them; we are literally suffocating our oceans.
Another main reason coral reefs are in decline is overfishing, an industry that is massively unregulated and that is wiping out fish from oceans at a very disturbing pace; fish that is so very important to coral reefs for their strong mutual dependencies.
Fishes benefit from coral reefs, they get shelter and food from them, but they are not the only ones that benefit from this relationship, corals benefit from fishes in so many ways, for example corals get nutrients from fish excretions that help them grow; or even coral diseases can be mitigated by fishes.
With that said, is no surprise coral reefs health around the world is declining at a very alarming rate. Some regions, like the Caribbean have lost over 80% of coral and they've lost more than half of fish species.
Residual waters from industrial farming is filled with fertilizers and chemicals. That includes fish farms in the ocean, this type of farming is creating dead zones in the ocean, meaning the levels of oxygen are not good enough for life to thrive, which ends up killing and wiping out marine life and coral reefs.
If we don't change our eating and consumerism habits now to more sustainable options, we will be damaging and destroying one of the most important ecosystem of all.
It's very important to recognize that this change does not apply to the communities of humans that rely entirely on fishing for them and their families to eat and generate an income to support them, their way of living is a trade they've been taught from their ancestors and passed along from generation to generation.
However, if you are reading this, you most lightly have the privilege and possibilities to make significant changes to your diet. We are the ones that need to do better and stop financing industrial fishing.
Please understand that we simply cannot exist with dead oceans.
Products with purpose
Our products are beautifully unique creations designed by humans that want to raise awareness on the planet and ocean's health.
Our tees are made out of 100% organic combed cotton which is nice, soft, most important no pesticides or chemicals are used to cultivate this cotton and no micro-plastic fibers are released into the ocean with this fabric.
The inks are water-based, meaning there aren't any heavy metals or petroleum derivatives that are harmful to the planet and us humans, creating a cool eco-friendly shirt.
And our shipping packaging contains zero plastic.
¿Why are coral reefs important?
- Coral reefs generate around 50-85 % of the air humans breathe, the rest of the oxygen is generated by trees and rainforests.
- They serve as nature's water filtration system.
- Control how much carbon dioxide is in the ocean water.
- They are an important food source for a lot of humans and communities that rely entirely on fishing as their way of generate income for their families and to feed themselves.
- Different corals are used in medicines for humans, for example medicine for cancer, virus, Alzheimer, heart disease and many more.
- Coral reefs generate jobs and business supporting millions of families through direct and indirect tourism.
- Coral reefs protect humans; they act like natural barriers against storms, hurricanes, big waves and currents.
These are only a few examples of how much coral reefs give us, so, ¿Why we wouldn't take care of them?
Healthy reefs=healthy humans
shop with a cause
With your support we will:
· Help restore corals with our partner Cozumel Coral Reef Restoration Program, helping create larger coral restoration areas and nurseries in Cozumel.
· Work with marine biologists in different restoration and coral propagation projects in Mayan Riviera, Mexico.
· Help support different approaches to save coral reefs, such as micro fragmentation, coral propagation and coral spawning.
· Raise awareness on our oceans health and coral reefs and the direct relation between fishing, meat and dairy industries and the fragile state of our planet.
· Share other smaller ways to help protect and preserve our oceans and reefs, like correct diving protocols, create awareness on stopping the use of damaging chemicals when swimming, snorkeling, diving, etc in the ocean and cenotes, and transitioning into a more sustainable way of co-existing.
¿What can you do to help?
This blue planet is our home and we only have one. Coral reefs and the entire marine ecosystem is collapsing because of us humans.
It's been proven repeatedly by the scientific community that the easiest and quickest thing you can do to help fight global warming today, is to stop or reduce significantly your consumption of animal products (plus is proven to be healthier for humans), because of the massive amount of green house emissions that these industries release to the atmosphere.
The time for mild actions is long gone, we are in the middle of a climate crisis and we need a radical change as a species, to mitigate green house emissions and climate change.
Think about it , if you stop supporting fishing, meat and dairy industries with your diet, you will be helping directly to stop animal cruelty, reduce plastic pollution, preserve marine life(included coral reefs) and mitigate global warming.
It's not a popular and comfortable fact but is the real one. You will still find a lot of people that criticize or don't agree with these actions, that talk about "sustainable consumption" and that is ok, everyone has their own process and timing; however you have to remind that their posture comes within their comfort zone, of not wanting to do the necessary changes in their daily living towards a more empathic and loving way of living in this planet, where we stop using animals for our enjoyment and we start seeing them all as the sentient beings they are, ask yourself: ¿Would you eat your dog o your cat? People that argue that is not the same, they are discriminating through speciesism, meaning they are the judges of what animal's life has the most value, when we are all the same, we are all animals, humans included.
We need more humans that become conscious of their decisions. Is not an easy transition, specially because of the hundreds of years of programming towards that way of living, but definitely with so much information and options nowadays personal evolution and as a collective is at the reach of each and one of us.
This is what we can do at a personal and individual level, however let's not forget we need to demand our governments, politicians and authorities to create and support more sustainable ways of living.
For example, cleaner energies away from fossil fuels; or a better use of land far from industrial farming; and to implement stronger environmental laws and punishments for those who break the law.
This planet is our home, and we all need to take care of it, we cannot rely entirely on governments to do the right thing, specially if we can all do something to help.
Also you can:
THE PROGRAM: COZUMEL CORAL REEF RESTORATION
HUMANS 4 REEFS THANK YOU WALL
Thank you to all of the amazing humans that have supported us from the start, you all know who you are and this wall is a tribute to all of you.
Thank you for becoming part of this movement of humans that want to leave this planet better than we found it, is not an easy road, but it is the most rewarding!
Thank you for supporting actions that are directly aimed at the benefit of this ecosystem that needs to be preserved and protected; the easy and comfortable thing is to do nothing, but that is not the case with all of you and that fills us with happiness and hope!
You are now a speaker and ambassador of our mission by using our beautifully unique design tees. Wear them proudly!
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