A boatful of women is mapping ocean plastic right now
Emily Penn's eXXpedition is tracing trash back to the shelf it came from.
Key takeaway: While we're scrolling, a crew of women is sailing the South Pacific tracing plastic back to the brand it came from. Here's the bit that's actually for us.
By Dear Sarah ·
There's a sailboat in the South Pacific right now, full of women you've never heard of, scooping bits of plastic out of the ocean and asking a very specific question: where exactly did this come from?
The boat is called eXXpedition. It set off from Auckland on April 27 and it's been working its way through ten legs of a global voyage ever since. The mission director is Emily Penn, a British ocean advocate who has been on this for more than a decade. Onboard right now: an engineer from Bulgaria, a marine biologist from Oman, a materials innovator from the Netherlands, a waste-management expert from Norway. Most of them had never sailed before.
What they're doing isn't a beach cleanup. It's forensics. They pull microplastics out of the surface water with a portable spectrometer, identify the polymer, and then go on land to trace the trail backwards. Which shop. Which brand. Which product. The goal is to hand the world the first global map of ocean plastic that names sources, not just sites.
Why this one's worth your attention
We've been told for years that fixing plastic is about us. Our straws. Our tote bags. Our guilt at the grocery checkout. Emily's framing is different, and honestly, kinder: the sources differ, the solutions differ, and everyone has a role. Not every role is the same role.
That matters for you specifically. If you've ever felt like the eco-pressure aimed at women is exhausting and a little gaslighty (it is), this work is a quiet permission slip. Your job isn't to single-handedly fix the Pacific. Your job is to find the one piece of the puzzle that fits your actual life.
One thing to try today
Pick a single product you buy on autopilot. Shampoo, snack bars, makeup wipes, the one. Check the package. Is it a recyclable polymer? Does the brand have a take-back program? If the answer's no on both, swap that one thing on your next order. Not your whole life. One thing. That's how the women on the boat are thinking, and it's a much saner pace than the version we usually get sold.
Quote to sit with
"Everyone has a role to play in solving the plastic crisis. We want to get as many people as possible — with diverse skills, backgrounds and influence — to connect with the plastic problem and fulfil their unique role in tackling it." — Emily Penn, founder of eXXpedition
💌 Sarah
Sources
- Global All-Women Sailing Expedition Launches — eXXpedition
- eXXpedition All-Women Sailing Mission Sets Off to Map Global Ocean Plastic — Marine Technology News
- eXXpedition Then and Now: Women Sailing for Plastic Pollution Science and Solutions — Plastic Pollution Coalition