LA DIGUE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

With just 2,800 people, La Digue is the Seychelles’ third-most populated island, and the kind of place where traffic, in the form of bicycles and oxcarts, stops to let its beloved giant tortoises cross the streets. With most of the population centered around the resorts of La Digue’s sheltered west coast, those who truly want to get away from it all take a 30-minute ride through its jungle-clad interior to get to the wild beaches of its south and east coasts. 

Without the protection of a coral reef– it is said the early colonialists once harvested coral lime from off these shores, leading to their decline – the waters of these beaches, such as Grand and Petit Anse which Clean Waves pays particular attention to, are often too deep and the currents too strong to swim. While this might make them a surfer’s paradise, lacking coral reefs means Indian Ocean swells bring millions of pieces of microplastic broken down from larger pieces of trash on their journey with the waves to La Digue.  

PLASTIC IN THE SEYCHELLES

While the Seychelles are known to have some of the cleanest waters in the world, due in no small part to a 2017 campaign to ban single-use plastic and bags initiated by the teenage sisters, and future Parley ambassadors Jessica and Alvania Lawen, as an archipelago of 155 islands with little waste infrastructure, most trash on the coasts of the country’s inner islands result from their local populations. Meanwhile, on more isolated beaches and islands lying in the sphere of monsoon and trade winds, studies have shown that trash washes ashore from as far away as mainland Asia and Africa.

The Seychelles also suffer from the particular problem of marine debris in the form of ‘ghost’ fishing nets and other cast-offs from industrial fishing vessels such as purse seiners, trawlers and factory ships – many of which are from the European Union – which congregate around the incredibly rich, biodiverse waters of this tropical island nation. 

PARADISE PROTECTED

Your support directly funds the protection of this unique place in two ways. Working with Parley and our partners in the Seychelles, you are making it possible to intercept plastic waste on La Digue and upcycle it. You’re also supporting education and infrastructure projects to reduce plastic at source – an essential part of our mission in the Seychelles and beyond. 

WELCOME TO THE MOVEMENT

Your sunglasses are just the beginning of the Clean Waves journey. In the months ahead, we’ll take you to La Digue and other islands around the world through exclusive content and reports of how your support helps us protect these fragile marine ecosystems from plastic pollution. 

It's great to have you onboard.