By Kevin Majoros
Bacardi and Lonely Whale have announced a partnership that hopes to remove one billion single-use plastic straws from circulation by 2020.
Together, they have issued a “cease and de-sip” letter to the Unicode Consortium, the organization that manages the emoji catalog, requesting the removal of plastic straws from the soda cup and cocktail emojis. The initiative is just one of many ways
Bacardi and Lonely Whale are working together to ensure #thefuturedoesntsuck.
Partnering to Shift Cultural Norms Around Drinking with Single-use Plastic Straws
Since joining forces in 2018, Bacardi Limited and Lonely Whale have collaborated to spread the message of reducing the use of single-use plastic straws through brand activations, influencer events, social media and other platforms.
In partnership, they have recruited customers to join the pledge through campaigns in the United States, UK, China and New Zealand. Bacardi also committed to a full review of its supply chain to eliminate the use of plastic where possible while developing recyclable and biodegradable alternatives.
Both Bacardi and Lonely Whale are supportive of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, comprised of goals and targets set to stimulate action in areas of critical importance for both humanity and the planet.
Sydney the Sea Turtle as the Face of the Campaign
Through the creation of a mascot, Sydney the Sea Turtle, the #thefuturedoesntsuck campaign has established a reference point to encourage the general public to eliminate their single-use plastic straw usage.
Bacardi and Lonely Whale were eager to help Sydney shed light on the threat of plastic straw pollution, showing how one man’s straw is another turtle’s backyard trash.
To ensure all of her friends on land could understand her turtle talk, Sydney worked with Bacardi and Lonely Whale to enlist comedian and activist Daniel Franzese to deliver her message via a PSA-style video.
“I was honored when Sydney first floated her anti-emoji straw campaign by me, mainly because I shared the same salty feelings about single-use plastic straws,” said Daniel Franzese. “I challenge not only Unicode, but everyone to join and pledge so we can ensure a bright future for Sydney and all her marine life friends.”
Bacardi Limited is the largest privately held spirits company in the world
Founded more than 157 years ago, in Santiago de Cuba on February 4, 1862, family-owned Bacardi currently employs nearly 7,000, operates more than 20 production facilities, including bottling, distilling and manufacturing sites in 11 countries, and sells its brands in more than 170 countries. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited.
“Marine life is badly affected by plastic waste in our waterways, and refusing disposable plastics, such as the single use plastic straw, is a simple way that each of us can take action,” said Jacob Briars, global advocacy director for Bacardi. “One of the world’s most popular cocktails is now the ‘tropical cocktail emoji’ with millions ‘served’ every year. Yet every one of those comes with a straw. To draw attention to the use of straws in a lighthearted way, we hope we can get our digital symbols to reflect the work Bacardi, as well as hundreds of bars, and thousands of cocktail drinkers, are doing to reject single use plastic straws in real life (the drinks are better too IRL).”
Lonely Whale driving impactful change on behalf of our ocean
Founded in December 2015 by Adrian Grenier and Lucy Sumner, Lonely Whale is inspired by the power of community to create the change needed to ensure a healthy planet. Lonely Whale is working towards a new era of radical collaboration, together facilitating the creation of innovative ideas that push the boundary on current trends in technology, media and advocacy that positively impact the health of our ocean.
The organization spearheaded the global Strawless Ocean movement, which permanently removes single-use plastic straws from establishments and markets, and NextWave Plastics, the first global network of ocean-bound plastics supply chains.
To give avid supporters an alternative emoji solution, Bacardi and Lonely Whale have released a collection of Giphy stickers inspired by the campaign. Bacardi and Lonely Whale hope that by removing plastic straws from digital usage, they too can shift cultural norms around drinking with single-use plastic straws altogether.
“Many have made a commitment to eliminate single-use plastic straws yet the emojis we use in social media haven’t kept up with our commitment to an ocean free from plastic. What better way
to delete the notion of using single-use plastic straws than by taking it out of the icons more than 90 percent of the world’s online population uses every day to communicate?” said Dune Ives, executive director of Lonely Whale. “We hope that as we urge Unicode against including digital straws, consumers will sign #thefuturedoesntsuck pledge to help us remove real plastic straws.”
To join this global campaign, visit www.thefuturedoesntsuck.org. There, individuals can declare their pledge to #thefuturedoesntsuck by committing to go plastic-straw free and recruit restaurants, hotels, bars and other venues to do the same. Establishments can register their commitment and challenge others to take the pledge so that together we can all ensure #thefuturedoesntsuck.
Watch the Daniel Franzese video here.
Lonely Whale on Instagram.
Bacardi Limited on Instagram.
Kevin Majoros shares stories on sports, ocean adventuring and conservation. He is based in Baltimore/Washington and travels the world as a competitive swimmer.