It’s no secret I have a low-key obsession with water. And not just on World Oceans Day. Naming Loch Life that’s based in Dubai after the Scottish word for lakes was not just a pretty name choice. It was a deliberate nod to the nourishing power of purity.
For over a decade now, all my life’s work has been centred around water. Loch Life was a solution to a uniquely “Dubai problem”: how do you stay hydrated in this weather and this on-the-go lifestyle, while having a flawless look at all times?
However, let’s backtrack for a second. We as a society have unfortunately normalised seeking nourishment and hydration for our bodies at the expense of tarnishing the purity and health of our oceans. When we founded Loch, a huge question was always “how many single use plastic cups and bottles can we target to eliminate”?
While it’s hard to pinpoint that number now, whenever I think of how many reusable bottles are out there in people’s hands, I'm still elated. I imagine tonnes of potential plastic waste still on the shelves and not making its way to floating in the ocean.
On World Oceans Day, I would like you, dear reader, to always take a moment to think of the lifespan or life cycle of any single-use plastic item presented to you. Your plastic bottle will be used for about an hour… yes its contents will hydrate and nourish you… but you will throw it away. It may or may not be recycled. If recycled, it’ll take up a hefty amount of energy to give it new life. If not, it will most probably eventually make its way to our oceans.
I’m keen on World Oceans Day because it is a day when more people and more companies take these kinds of moments to think about how collective little individual actions can help make a dent in saving the oceans. So for me, it’s a day of hope. The more we as a society are aligned on the amount of damage we cause to marine life, the more we can agree on starting to make the right moves to fix things.
