{"id":51047,"title":"What's the Biggest Threat to Marine Life?","description":"Over here at Earth & Aura we\u2019re big fans of the sea and the free therapy it provides, and what would it be if it wasn\u2019t for the marine life teaming beneath its waves?","content":"<p>Well now <em>that\u2019s <\/em>a good question for National Marine Week. Over here at Earth &amp; Aura we\u2019re big fans of the sea and the free therapy it provides, and what would it be if it wasn\u2019t for the marine life teaming beneath its waves? But between climate change, pollution, and over fishing, there are a number of issues that face the watery world beneath our surfboards that should be highlighted this Marine Week. We wanted to take a moment, too, to share the things we\u2019re trying to do to help.<\/p><h3>The fashion industry Vs Marine Life<\/h3><p>There\u2019re a few specific ways that the fashion industry harms our waterways, seas and marine life (not to mention the habitat and health of those animals and plants who live next to the water). Let\u2019s take a look at the big ones:<\/p><ul><li><p><strong>Textile dye<\/strong> is the second biggest water pollutant - as the water used in the dyeing process is often dumped in ditches, streams or rivers. Enough of this toxic chemical laced water is produced a year to fill two Olympic size swimming pools.<\/p><\/li><li><p><strong>The Aral Sea Problem <\/strong>- in Uzbekistan, so much water was diverted from the sea, to irrigate the dry lands that were being used to grow cotton, that they drained the sea dry. The sheer volume of water required to grow cotton is a huge problem causing marine life habitat destruction. In fact, the fashion industry is the second largest consumer of water worldwide.<\/p><\/li><li><p><strong>Microplastics. <\/strong>You knew this one was coming, right? Washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibres into the ocean every year (think 50 billion plastic bottles) and materials like polyester don\u2019t break down, so they get eaten by plankton and then gradually move up the food chain.<\/p><\/li><\/ul><p><\/p><p><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/wxbctkzhz37xvzp823268u3pf8d3t4oehdvgusmx548uqp8a.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&amp;h=auto\" alt=\"wxbctkzhz37xvzp823268u3pf8d3t4oehdvgusmx548uqp8a.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&amp;h=auto\" \/><\/p><h3>What are Earth &amp; Aura doing about it?<\/h3><p>Our dyeing process is a closed-loop system. Meaning, when water reaches the end of the process, it is cleaned and reused - not a drop of it is dumped. It just goes round and round. Marine Life = safe.<\/p><p>The organic cotton used to make our products is grown in Northern India, where it originates from. Nature doesn\u2019t do things by accident. The cotton plant will grow naturally there due to the heavy monsoon rains, meaning there is no need for intensive irrigation systems that destroy habitats.<\/p><p>Unfortunately, there\u2019s no way to remove microplastics once they\u2019re in the water. What\u2019s done is done. What we can do, is ensure that we don\u2019t make the problem any worse. We choose materials made solely by plants and from the very beginning, our products are designed to be bought, loved and worn out - and then sent back to us for us to remade into something new, rather then ending up in landfill (which also sometimes ends up in the ocean!).<\/p><p><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/ulffaekrdt3yruhgdy5xerqwkay9ai6ejvfthd8bqfmnw6mg.png.png?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"ulffaekrdt3yruhgdy5xerqwkay9ai6ejvfthd8bqfmnw6mg.png.png?w=1140&amp;v=2\" \/><\/p><h3>Earth &amp; Aura Supporting Marine Life<\/h3><p>If you follow us on Instagram you may have recently seen the release of our new <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/product\/shark-t-shirt-celebrating-400-million-years\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><u>Whale Shark t-shirt. <\/u><\/a>We\u2019re pretty pleased with this gorgeous depiction of two whale sharks circling the Earth - inspired by the knowledge that sharks have belonged to this planet for over 400 million years. We\u2019re even prouder to say that we\u2019re donating all the profits from this t-shirt to The Shark Trust to help with their conservation.<\/p><p>But if whale sharks aren\u2019t your thing (who even are you?) - we\u2019ve got a few more marine-inspired designs for you to choose from:<\/p><h3><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/gvvagkxsoqy8ua2nvme6yzw8d6nuiuxyeorax6mskwasuyhq.png.png?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"gvvagkxsoqy8ua2nvme6yzw8d6nuiuxyeorax6mskwasuyhq.png.png?w=1140&amp;v=2\" \/><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/product\/breathe-deep-live-slow-whale-jumper\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><u>Breathe Deep, Live Slow Whale Jumper<\/u><\/a><\/h3><p><\/p><h3><img src=\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/evjtixeaccqwt5blh40eblsaubcfk9ykmcfxakv7xa8ov6hm.png.png?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"evjtixeaccqwt5blh40eblsaubcfk9ykmcfxakv7xa8ov6hm.png.png?w=1140&amp;v=2\" \/><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/product\/tarot-card-t-shirt-the-sea\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><u>The Sea - Tarot Card T-shirt<\/u><\/a><\/h3><p><\/p><p><\/p>","urlTitle":"whats-the-biggest-threat-to-marine-life","url":"\/blog\/whats-the-biggest-threat-to-marine-life\/","editListUrl":"\/my-blogs","editUrl":"\/my-blogs\/edit\/whats-the-biggest-threat-to-marine-life\/","fullUrl":"https:\/\/earthandaura.co.uk\/blog\/whats-the-biggest-threat-to-marine-life\/","featured":false,"published":true,"showOnSitemap":true,"hidden":false,"visibility":null,"createdAt":1753878375,"updatedAt":1755638057,"publishedAt":1755638056,"lastReadAt":null,"division":{"id":380373,"name":"Earth and Aura"},"tags":[],"metaImage":{"original":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/o71sswi99trzx7oinhxmcjotworr8ht7rod9qlqfecjuauuq.jpeg","thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/o71sswi99trzx7oinhxmcjotworr8ht7rod9qlqfecjuauuq.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/o71sswi99trzx7oinhxmcjotworr8ht7rod9qlqfecjuauuq.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"metaTitle":"What's the Biggest Threat to Marine Life?","metaDescription":"Over here at Earth & Aura we\u2019re big fans of the sea and the free therapy it provides, and what would it be if it wasn\u2019t for the marine life?","keyPhraseCampaignId":null,"series":[],"similarReads":[{"id":47914,"title":"What is \"sustainable clothing\" & does it matter?","url":"\/blog\/what-is-sustainable-clothing-and-does-it-matter\/","urlTitle":"what-is-sustainable-clothing-and-does-it-matter","division":380373,"description":"Our sustainable clothing is designed for both style and functionality, the fabrics are ultra soft, but still durable, making them ideal for both outdoor adventures and casual everyday wear.  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