Greenpeace and DDB HK highlight current state of plastic pollution in oceans with new 'Seabed'

Greenpeace East Asia (Hong Kong) and DDB Hong Kong have partnered up to raise awareness of the current state of plastic pollution in oceans, by encouraging the public to sleep in its new “Seabed”.

This comes as a recent Greenpeace research suggested that up to 12.7 million metric tons of plastic waste enters the oceans every year and the city alone flushes 48,000 pieces of plastic out of Tolo Harbour daily. 

In order to raise awareness of fighting against plastic pollution, Greenpeace and DDB Hong Kong hope to reveal the cruel truth beneath the stunning ocean by making the invisible visible.

As part of the initiative, a custom-made “Seabed” with ocean blue bedding and a “mattress” made from real local ocean trash has been created. The trash had been picked up by a Greenpeace volunteer in Sai Kung, Hong Kong. They were mostly made of plastic items in consumers’ daily lives.

The waste used includes mostly single-use plastic from food containers and personal use, reflecting the reality that the onus to solve the problem is on every stakeholder of society.

Running until 16 July, this “Seabed” can be viewed by the public via an art exhibition “The SEA OUR HOME: Artistic Exhibition for Ocean Protection Awareness” at the PMQ gallery in Central district, Hong Kong.

The exhibition employs home décor as a conceptual framework, taking viewers from the ocean surface to the seabed to unravel the shocking reality of plastics pollution at sea. Three local artists, Isaac Spellman, Maf Cheung, and resin artist Rolland Cheung, also participated to employ their distinctive artistic languages to raise awareness of oceans and encourage visitors to look beyond the ordinary and promote widespread commitment to behavioural change when it comes to disposing of plastic.

Commenting on the initiative, Leanne Tam, Greenpeace East Asia campaigner, said, “This exhibition brings us straight to the seabed environment to witness the pollution in person. Nobody would want a bed like this in their home, and yet this is what sea creatures are getting in theirs. Plastic doesn’t belong in the ocean, and we must stop producing unnecessary packaging in plastics and expanding the use of reusable and refillable systems.”

Meanwhile, Phoebe Chan, creative director at DDB Group Hong Kong, commented, “This initiative really exemplifies the belief that creative communication has great power to make an impact. Once people look beyond the ordinary and see for themselves the realistic state of the seabed, we are hopeful that people will now think twice about disposing of plastic in the ocean.”

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to DDB HK for more information. 

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