No More Plastic Tides: Let's Do Good Together

When you imagine the perfect holiday getaway, what is it that you imagine? Surely it involves palm trees, sunny days, a refreshing sea breeze, maybe sipping cocktails on a yacht, and daily swims in stunning bays, right?

And a little sailing of course… 😉

One thing we’re sure it doesn’t involve is swimming, walking, or relaxing in plastic trash.

But unfortunately, plastic pollution around the world, especially in our seas and oceans, is inescapable. And a growing problem we’ve noticed in some of our most remote sailing destinations.

Without a doubt, one of the largest environmental issues we face right now is plastic pollution and the effect it is having on our oceans and the marine life within them — which in turn will drastically affect our lives as well. Something has to be done.

As the topic of plastic pollution is now at the forefront of environmental discussions, it’s important to join together to combat it, lessen our impact, and put an end to plastic tides. Even small changes can lead to a huge impact.

But what are some ways we can combat plastic pollution in our oceans and lessen our impact while travelling?

The ocean is directly tied to our lives, and for MedSailors, directly tied to our passion. In the summer of 2018, MedSailors kicked off a few eco-initiatives to make steps toward these goals but there is much more we can do before coming aboard, and while on board.

So, we have come up with some easy habits and ways all of us can travel more sustainably and to come into your sailing holiday more eco-friendly than ever.

Here’s our quick guide to travelling more sustainably!

1) Bring A Reusable Water Bottle

We’ll start with one of the easiest habits to break, buying bottles of water while travelling. One of the biggest culprits of plastic pollution we see is bottles, so bringing your own reusable bottle will make a big impact.

On your MedSailors holiday, we supply fresh clean drinking water for you on board so it’ll be a breeze to top up whenever you need to instead of buying packs of water.

Of course, some countries don’t have safe tap water to drink, but many restaurants and cafes will refill them for you, and many countries have safe water stations to refill water for a coin or two.

2) Say No To Plastic Bags

Another everyday item that has a huge impact on our environment and our oceans are single-use plastic bags. When shopping for all those SCHNACKS and other items, take along a tote bag or two if you think you’ll need a bag. If it’s just a handful of items, no need for a bag, simply ask for “no bag please” when paying.

Better yet, use the nifty eco-friendly tote bags MedSailors will give you!

We’ve partnered with Bags of Ethics to produce our environmentally friendly and ethically sourced tote bags just so you can use them for your shopping on your sailing holiday, and when you head home after!

3) Say No To Straws

In our 2018 season when MedSailors kicked off #MedSailorsBeachClean, one of the main items we found on beaches and around the shores were plastic straws. Not a couple — a ton, but this is another easy item to eliminate from your life and while travelling.

While bouncing around the Med we’ll be stopping off in dreamy destinations and fantastical towns with ample time to wander, feast and have a drink or few. But when going out to bars and restaurants, one awesome habit to build is to ask for no straws when ordering. It’s an easy couple words to remember and can amount to hundreds and thousands of straws prevented from ending up in the oceans.

If you do prefer having a straw with your cocktails (ladies, we know the lipstick issue) there are some incredible eco companies that make travel straws from bamboo or metal you can bring with you on holiday!

4) Gelato Lovers, Get A Cone Over Cup

There’s nothing better than a cold creamy gelato or sorbet on a hot day, and en-route there’ll be plenty of stops to indulge in that tasty summer treat. But best practice will be to go for cone over cup, which eliminates the use of those tiny plastic spoons and cups that aren’t regularly recyclable. Plus, the entire treat is edible that way!

5) Don’t Bring A Floatie

We know, there isn’t anything better than floating in a beautiful bay, basking in the sun and letting worries drift away on that special floatie you bought just for the trip. Trust us, we love it too, but that is a large amount of plastic being brought into the country which usually gets tossed or left behind.

That’s why we started our floatie recycling program! It’s best practice to, if needed, purchase your floatie in country and recycle it with us after your trip so more isn’t brought in. We take the old floaties each week and reuse them the following week, selling them for cheap, with the money raised going to a local charity or environmental company. So once we have built up enough stock, there’ll be no reason to bring more so check with us before bringing one!

These 5 small steps can make a huge positive impact!

There you have it, 5 super easy eco-friendly habits to build that will make you a much more sustainable traveler and help us fight plastic pollution in our oceans together this summer!

Book your MedSailors sailing holiday today and come join us and this summer in the beautiful Mediterranean to put those eco-travel habits in motion!