Osea is taking its mission to protect the environment a step further than climate neutrality.
The skin care brand has joined forces with SeaTrees by Sustainable Surf, a nonprofit organization that restores coastal ecosystems in order to help companies become Ocean Positive, or to remove more carbon from the atmosphere than they emit.
“When we started, there was nothing like Climate Neutral — that wasn’t even an option,” said Melissa Palmer, chief executive officer of Osea, who cofounded the brand with her mother, Jenefer Palmer, in 1996. “This partnership was a natural evolution of our ethos, of everything we’ve done and an extension of our Climate Neutral commitment.”
According to The National Ocean Service, ocean ecosystems (otherwise known as blue carbon ecosystems) have the ability to sequester carbon at faster rates than their terrestrial counterparts.
“The goal here is that you can’t just offset your emissions and call that good — we’ve got to reduce emissions, too,” said Kevin Whilden, who cofounded SeaTrees and has partnered with brands across the apparel, travel and lifestyle industries. While SeaTrees has teamed with a handful of beauty brands in varying capacities, Osea is the first to become Ocean Positive Certified to date.
By planting and protecting mangrove and kelp forests, seagrass meadows and other productive underwater ecosystems, SeaTrees not only sequesters carbon, but also protects marine wildlife.
“This is a really incredible new opportunity for brands who are already Climate Neutral Certified, who are looking for other ways to become truly a more sustainable brand. Ocean Positive is an incredible way to do that,” Palmer said.
The initiative is par for the course the skin care brand, which uses seaweed in many of its products for its mineral and vitamin-rich properties, and whose name stands for Ocean, Sea, Earth and Atmosphere.
Source: WWD
