Russell Wilson, Renee Erickson, Tom Douglas and more are saying no to Plastics and want you to do the same too. Last night was the closing celebration of a month long campaign called Strawless in Seattle, to get Seattle businesses to reduce the use of plastic straws.
The event was held at the Woodland Park Zoo, and hosted by the Lonely Whale Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing awareness and education towards ocean health and the wellbeing of marine life. The foundation was founded by Adrian Grenier and Lucy Sumners and born out of a documentary, 52: The Search for the Loneliest Whale. Adrian was in attendance and spoke to the crowd about the efforts of the foundation. He even made a sly remark, calling out Starbucks to use alternative staws. He encouraged the audience to get on social media and tag Howard Shultz, and Starbucks corporate to challenge the global coffee-giant to make the commitment to go plastic-free.
Resturanters Tom Douglas & Renee Erickson were in attendance in the nights festivities and even spoke on their respective restaurant groups’ efforts to use less plastic. Douglas said that in the month of September, his resturants have saved 83,000 straws from use. During his address to the crowd, he voiced concern about the ecological challenges Salmon face, as reports cite that plastic fibers are being found in wild caught salmon, which in return, are then being consumed by us, putting our health at risk. The evening concluded with the reveal of a certain Seattle celebrity athlete who lead the way for a Strawless Seattle- Seattle Seahawks Quarterback Russell Wilson. You can see his “Confession” – https://www.strawlessocean.org/stolen.
Strawless in Seattle is part of a larger Inititive, Strawless Ocean, by the Lonely Whale Foundation. Every day, 500 million single use plastic straws are used in the United States. According to Lonely Whale, by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans. To find out more on Strawless Ocean, and to find out what city the campaign will go to next, visit www.lonelywhale.org, and accept the challenge to #StopSucking.