Ethical Pages Podcast
By Adam Costello
Ethical Pages PodcastJan 18, 2021
The Flip Flop Crisis with Luke McMillan
Did you know flip flops make up 25% of the ocean's plastic pollution? Luke McMillan is on a mission to solve this massive issue, flip flops are the worlds most used footwear. Often made from cheap low quality plastics, which break and are discarded often ending up in the sea. This is only adding to the existing plastic pollution crisis in our oceans, but Luke from Sea Sense flip flops has a solution. The biodegradable flip flop, made from natural rubber and dyed using natural colouring.
He doesn't stop there though. Luke's business is actively involved in supporting and working with Empower, The Ocean Cleanup and Ocean Sole Africa to help reduce plastic pollution and also provide a vital income for plastic collectors in developing countries.
If you want to learn about how Luke setup the business and also how both Adam and Luke used Kickstarter to crowdfund their ideas, dive into episode 13 of the podcast.
A bit more about Sea Sense Flip Flops
Sea Sense Flip Flops want to reduce plastic use and prevent plastic from entering our oceans. We have designed and produced a range of stunning plastic-free 100% Biodegradable vegan Flip Flops. With profits we will collect at least 1 million ocean bound plastic bottles in 2021. So far in 2021 we have used funds to collect 150,000 bottles.
We want to transform the flip flop market. We have a great product and great ethos. We want to give people the choice to make a difference through the simple act of choosing our product. By 2030 we want to prevent 10 million plastic bottles entering our oceans each year.
To find out more please go to their website here:
https://www.seasenseflipflops.com/oneoceanproject
The Dutch (Sea)weed Burger with Mark Kulsdom
Seaweed is emerging to be one of the most important ingredients in the plant based vegan food industry. It has so many plus points, the biggest is how good it is for you, with so many incredible health benefits including being high in protein and rich in iodine.
Mark Kulsdom is a TedX speaker and also created a documentary all about vegan food and plant based food. The documentary was where Mark researched and discovered how cultivating seaweed could be the answer to ensure anyone who wants to be vegan ensures they get their imporant protein hit.
Once Mark had the idea, he went to New York to test out his idea and formulate a new type of food. This was there the Dutch Weed Burger was born.
Adam chats with Marc about his incredible journey.
A Surfboard made from Seaweed with Charlie Cadin
Stop press! Stop world! Seaweed has once again potentially answers our problems of having to rely on plastic and the dirty oil based industries. Charlie Cadin, a student and surfer from Jersey has invented and made the worlds first ever biodegradable surfboard, made from seaweed.
Surfboards are traditionally made from a combination of plastic based polyurethane, fibre glass and resins. Whilst there has been some advances to create 'greener' surfboards they still remain a huge toxic piece of modern day sports equipment. They break easily and can't be recycled into anything really other than another surfboard. For surfers this has been a huge problem which most would really like to solve, and Charlie Cadin may well have achieved it.
Listen to our chat about how Charlie turns commonly found sea lettuce into a surfboard, it's incredible stuff.
The health benefits of eating seaweed with Dr Seaweed
In this episode you can learn about our successfully funded Kickstarter, to create a clothing range made from seaweed fibre. Adam shares some insight into that journey and has some top tips for anyone who is thinking about using Kickstarter as a platform to launch a business idea. It's never been a better time to launch a new innovative business which will help to solve the climate crisis and remember this is what this podcast is all about, chatting to other like minded people who share a vision of running an ethical and sustainable business which actually helps solve the climate crisis and not add to it.
The whole seaweed journey has led Adam to discover Dr Seaweed, (Dr Craig Rose) who is managing director and founder of Seaweed and Co.
Dr Seaweed has created a range of ingredients made from seaweed which can be used for so many nutritional, food and beverages.
Dr Seaweed has their own brand called Weed and Wonderful which creates a supplement of pure seaweed tablets as well as culinary oils which contain seaweed. All Dr Seaweed products use their own seaweed which is wild harvested in the Scottish Hebrides. If you want to learn more about all the incredible health benefits of seaweed as well as how Weed and Wonderful harvest their seaweed, dive in to the podcast!
All Weed and Wonderful products are available on their website here.
https://www.weedandwonderful.co.uk/
Are Seaweed Farms a bad idea? With Dr Tony Butt
So it's the final week of the Kickstarter to create a clothing range made from seaweed fibre and invest in seaweed farms here in the UK. I am trying to find any issues with the overall idea of seaweed farms, are they a bad or good idea? What problems could they cause? Is the idea or investing in seaweed farms to offset our carbon footprint going to enable us to carry on with our hedonistic fast paced lifestyle of travel and consumption? Could seaweed farming help to solve all the complexities of the climate crisis?
I chat with Dr Tony Butt to try and work it all out. Are seaweed farms going to save the world? Maybe not but it might buy us the time we need to change the way we live.
You can read more about the Kickstarter here; T-shirts made from seaweed fibre
Green Ocean Farming with Alec Watt
Today is the eve of my 40th birthday! I give an update on the Kickstarter to create a clothing range made using seaweed fibre and how challenging that can be to run during the pandemic, home schooling and keeping a business going.
The guest on todays show is founder of Green Ocean Farming, Alec Watt. Green Ocean Farming acts as a consultancy helping people to setup seaweed farms here in the UK. If you are thinking about doing this, Alec would be the best man to speak to as he has a wealth of knowledge and contacts to get licenses and help with all the issues you have to over come in order to set one up.
Please check out Alec's website if you want to chat to him and learn more about seaweed and all the incredible benefits for health and climate change.
How to setup a seaweed farm
Meg has been involved with helping setup Car y Mor seaweed farm, Pembrokeshire in Wales for 3 years now and this is the incredible story so far.
Learn how seaweed is grown, how this is a completely new industry here in the UK as well as how the business is setup though a Community Benefits Society model. It’s truly incredible stuff, we try and debunk questions raised about whether seaweed farms can help tackle the client crisis and how we all must work together, if we stand any chance of solving climate change.
We chat about how protesting for climate action to force the government to change policies doesn't necessarily work, and how positive change through business and pro-active ideas such as seaweed farms could be the answer to solving this crisis.
Adam from Inland Sea is looking to work with Car y Mor for the Kickstarter to create a clothing range made from seaweed fibre. The Inland Sea dream is to invest in seaweed farms such as Car y Mor and one day even harvest our own seaweed which can then be used in our clothing.
Carbon Kapture with Howard Gunstock
I introduce this podcast talking about Inland Sea's Kickstarter to create a clothing range from seaweed fibre. This leads nicely into our first guest of 2021, Howard Gunstock from Carbon Kapture.
The description is on the tin, Howard Gunstocks mission is to capture carbon from the atmosphere and contribute to solving the climate crisis. Howard started the business in August last year after a chance meeting with business partner Dave Walker Nix at a film showing of The Race is On: Secrets and Solutions of Climate in September 2019. During the film Dave remarked that kelp grows at least 30 times faster than trees, which sparked a conversation with Howard and the idea was born.
Carbon Kapture allow you to invest into seaweed farms within the UK and have just started to acquire sites in Wales.
You can read more about what Carbon Kapture do on the website here.
Pebble Magazine with Georgina Wilson-Powell
Georgina is on a mission to reduce overconsumption through positive storytelling. As the founder of pebble, she has been inspiring consumer change through her much-loved magazine, events and community for the last 4 years. She has 17 years experience as a magazine publisher and editor, has worked with corporations and charities as an editorial and comms strategist and her first book, Is It Really Green? is out in January 2021. She hates the word sustainable and is allergic to jargon.
Bamboo Golf Tees with Ed Sandison
Hear the mind blowing story and brainchild idea of Ed Sandison's golf tee made from bamboo. This story proves that the smallest and simplest ideas are often the best and can only be the catalyst to help create change within an industry. Ed, a keen sportsman and golfer noticed just how problematic the golf industry was with a huge plastic problem as well as apparel and equipment being unsustainable and highly pollutive. Learn how Ed is pushing the boundaries with new materials for sportswear and how he has truly made a big impact on the golf industry within just a couple of years.
Dirtbags with Jennifer Wood
Dirtbags was founded in 2017 by Jennifer Wood in Kendal, the Lake District. Dirtbags is a climbing accessories company who up-cycle (not re-cycle) old climbing gear such as ropes, coats, bags, hats, buckles - you name it Jen has a use for any waste product which would more than likely end up in land fill. We chat about how recycling is really not the answer, waste within the climbing industry, current and new projects and how Covid has impacted climbing and bouldering.
Happy Prawns with Rosida and Aanisah Idriss
If anyone knows me they will know I am a prawn obsessive, I literally eat prawns for breakfast (well I would if I could!) I have always had a bad feeling about the prawns I consume, especially those tiny ones squashed into a supermarket produced prawn and mayo sandwich. So I fiercely searched for some ethical good prawns and found The Happy Prawn Co! Founded by Indonesian born Rosida Idriss who grew up farming black tiger prawns. Rosida like me was very unhappy with the prawns she found in the UK and therefore started to import her own prawns from Indonesia. A true circular economy where everyone is happy, the farmers, the consumer and the prawns!
Your own two hands with James Otter
This is the first Ethical Pages podcast episode where I chat with business owner and head shaper, James Otter of Otter Surfboards in Cornwall. What better way than to kick things off than a surfboard shaper who makes incredibly beautiful solid wooden surfboards. But there is so much more to Jame's super ethical business which you will find out.